2009 Commercial Legislation And Regulatory Subcommittee
National Association of REALTORS®
2009 REALTORS® Conference
Manchester Grand Hyatt
Manchester Ballroom A
Friday, November 13, 2009
9:00 AM - 10:30 AM

Chair: Debbie Tamlin
Vice Chair: Randy Scheidt
Committee Liaison: David Lockwood
Committee Executive: Jeff Lischer/Megan Booth

I. Call to Order and Opening Remarks
Debbie Tamlin, Chair
Randy Scheidt, Vice-Chair

II. Approval of Previous Meeting's Minutes
Previous Meeting's Minutes

Review of Conflict of Interest Statement
Conflict of Interest

III. Legislative and Regulatory Update
Megan Booth, NAR Senior Policy Representative

IV. Commercial Real Estate Industry Coalition Update
Bob Toothaker, RCA Chair

V. Review of 2010 Goals

Purpose:
To identify and analyze emerging legislative and regulatory issues that impact commercial real estate; monitor and analyze current and prospective housing issues affecting federal multifamily housing programs and recommends appropriate policy; to develop, communicate, and advocate public policy which benefits the business interest of our commercial members while protecting and enhancing the right to own, use and transfer real property.

Liaison:
David Lockwood, dlockwood@collierskeenan.com

Subcommittee Staff:
Megan Booth, MBooth@Realtors.org

Subcommittee Goals:
Support efforts to stimulate and stabilize the commercial real estate credit markets
Maintain or enhance federal tax policies that strengthen the commercial real estate market

Encourage the commercial real estate industry’s investment in energy efficiency and “green” building initiatives through tax and other incentives, and not through legislative and regulatory mandates that artificially raise the cost of construction and operation of commercial real estate properties.

Ensure that efforts to overhaul and reform the financial services regulatory framework do not undermine or complicate efforts to restore liquidity to the commercial credit markets.

Continue to raise the profile of NAR’s commercial real estate practitioner and issues within NAR, as well as within the business community.

Continue to monitor NAR’ s Tenant-in-common (TIC) Exemption Request

Subcommittee Actions:
Develop policy as needed.
Report to full Committee at two annual business meetings.

Expected Outcome:
Increase NAR’s profile on issues that impact the commercial practitioner. Promote policies that will protect and strengthen the commercial real estate markets, recognizing the importance of commercial real estate to the overall U.S. economy.

VI. Energy Efficiency and Global Climate Change Initiatives
Russell Riggs, NAR Staff

On March 31, 2009 Representative Waxman (D-CA) introduced a proposal for energy and climate change legislation, which became H.R. 2454.  H.R. 2454 passed the House on June 26, 2009 by a vote of 219-212.

Part of the original proposal included a Point-of-Sale (POS) program that would require an energy label on real property.  C.A.R. and NAR opposed this legislation since it included POS which adds unnecessary costs to transactions and has been shown to be an ineffective tool for implementing changes in energy efficiency.  However, REALTOR® opposition was removed when Rep. Waxman agreed, as part of a manager’s amendment, to greatly amend the POS labeling language so it would only apply to new construction, and NOT to existing homes. Additionally, the bill does not include any retrofit mandates at POS. 

Partisan politics threaten to derail progress on a Senate climate change bill, even before the first committee markup.  Republicans on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee say they will carry through on threats to boycott markups on the bill, which panel Chairwoman Barbara Boxer (D-CA) had wanted to begin the first week of November.

The Republicans — led by Oklahoma’s James Inhofe, the Environment panel’s ranking GOP member and the Senate’s most vocal climate change skeptic — say they will not be present at the Tuesday session.  Because two members of the minority party must attend in order for a markup to proceed, Boxer has scheduled a “committee business meeting” — an apparent procedural gambit designed to allow work without a GOP quorum.

The panel has a 12-7 Democratic majority and can easily approve a bill without any Republican support. But observers say the development of a partisan rift so early in the legislative process could threaten the bill’s prospects on the Senate floor, where it is unlikely to pass without some Republican support.

VII. Other Business

VIII. Adjournment