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2008
State And Local Issues Committee
National Association of REALTORS®
2008 Midyear Legislative Meetings & Trade Expo
Marriott Wardman Park
Marriott Balcony C&D
Wednesday, May 14, 2008 & Tuesday, April 1, 2008
10:00 AM - 12:01 PM
Chair:
Phil McGinnis
(DE)
Vice Chair: Ronnie
Thompson (NC)
Committee Liaison:
Mary Antoun (MD)
Committee
Executive: Bob McNamara (DC)
I.
Welcome and Introductions
II.
Ownership Disclosure And Conflict Of Interest Policy
Ownership Disclosure and Conflict of Interest Policy
1. When NAR
has an ownership interest in an entity and a member has an ownership
interest* in that same entity, such member must disclose the existence of
his or her ownership interest prior to speaking to a decision making body
on any matter involving that entity.
2. If a member has personal knowledge that NAR is considering doing
business with an entity in which a member has any financial interest**, or
with an entity in which the member serves in a decision-making capacity*,
or wit, then such member must disclose the existence of his or her
financial interest or decision making role prior to speaking to a decision
making body about the entity.
3. If a member has a financial interest in, or serves in a decision-making
capacity for, any entity that the member knows is offering competing
products and services as those offered by NAR, then such member must
disclose the existence of his or her financial interest or decision-making
role prior to speaking to a decision making body about an issue involving
those competing products and services.
After making the necessary disclosure, a member may participate in the
discussion and vote on the matter unless that member has a conflict of
interest as defined below.
Conflict of Interest Policy
A member of any of NAR?s decision making bodies will be considered to have
a conflict of interest whenever that member:
1. Is a principal, partner or corporate officer of a business providing
products or services to NAR or in a business being considered as a provider
of products or services (?Business:); or
2. Holds a seat on the board of directors of the Business unless the
person?s only relationship to the Business is service on such board of
directors as NAR?s representative; or
3. Holds an ownership interest of more than 1 percent of the
Business.
Members with a conflict of interest must immediately disclose their
interest at the outset of any discussions by a decision making body
pertaining to the Business or any of its products or services. Such members
may not participate in the discussion relating to that Business other than
to respond to questions asked of them by other members of the body.
Furthermore, no member with a conflict of interest may vote on any matter
in which the member has a conflict of interest, including votes to block or
alter the actions of the body in order to benefit the Business in which
they have an interest.
________________________________________
*Ownership interest is defined as the cumulative holdings of the member,
the member?s spouse, children, siblings and to any trust, corporation or
partnership in which any of the foregoing individuals is an officer or
director, or owns, in the aggregate, at least 50% of the (a) beneficial
interest (if a trust), (b) stock (if a corporation) or (c) partnership
interests (if a partnership).
**Financial interest means any interest involving money, investments,
credit or contractual rights.
III. Approval of Previous Meeting?s Minutes
IV. Committee Purpose
- To assist REALTORS®
in understanding the connections among, ?smart growth,? quality of life
issues, and fiscal policy;
- To assist REALTORS® to act as spokespersons in their communities on
quality of life issues;
- To monitor state and local tax laws and other budget activities;
- To monitor the government financing and construction of
infrastructure,
including transportation, water and sewer, and education facilities;
- To assist REALTORS® in promoting fiscal responsibility in state and local
government;
- To assist REALTORS® in promoting the construction of and the
equitable financing of infrastructure to accommodate new growth;
- To work for the reduction and more equitable distribution of the tax
burden.
The Committee evaluates and makes policy recommendations on programs that
build infrastructure, such as transportation and school construction, on
community development and economic development programs, on taxation at the
state and local levels, and on other smart growth issues. The Committee
shares ideas on how to effectively analyze, lobby, and advocate REALTOR®
policies at the state and local level, and stays abreast of trends in Smart
Growth.
V. Committee Goals
State and Local Issues Committee 2008 Goals
1. The State and Local Issues Committee
will form a working group that will review and update various "toolkits"
starting with the Transportation Toolkit, followed by Public Schools and
Smart Growth toolkits.
2. The Committee will research, study and report on the trend of private
real estate transfer taxes imposed by home owners
associations.
At the
October 2007 C.A.R. meetings, the following policy was taken, ?That C.A.R.
staff will explore the option of expanding the use of the Mello-Roos Law to
allow funding for environmental mitigation and/or affordable housing, while
otherwise prohibiting PTTs, and report back to the committee in January of
2008.? At the January 2008 meetings a task force was formed to
?explore alternatives using mechanisms such as Mello-Roos to deal with the
problems associated with private transfer
taxes?.
3. The Committee will examine the efforts of state governments to provide
affordable health insurance for all citizens.
C.A.R. would like to remind our members that C.A.R.?s position
concerning Small Business Health Plans (SBHPs) and Association Health Plans
(AHP) is ?NEUTRAL? and differs from that of NAR. C.A.R. is asking its
members not to lobby or initiate discussions on this issue with their
Senators or Representative. California currently has a comprehensive
pooled small business health insurance plan to keep premiums low and
affordable; however, recognizing that not every state possesses a similar
plan, C.A.R. does not want to obstruct legislation which may help lower
insurance costs for REALTORS® in other states.
4. The
Committee will prepare and maintain a ?critical issues? list of the highest
priority items being reviewed and analyzed for potential committee
action.
5. The Committee will work with the Smart Growth Program Advisory Group, as
well as other related committees and working groups, in developing a
?Community Spokesperson? program to prepare REALTORS® to participate at the
grassroots level in public policy discussions affecting land use employing
NAR policies, programs, and tools.
6. The Committee will serve as a central clearinghouse for information and
resources relating to all public policy matters affecting land use at the
state and local levels, and will make such information and resources
available to other NAR committees who share an interest in these
matters.
VI.
Unfinished Business
A. School Of The Future Design Competition
1. 2008 Program - Staff Report
2. Promotion
for 2009 Program -
Volunteers To Form
Subcommittee
3. Current
Website Presence
B. Smart Growth Program
Update
1. Current Website Presence
C.
Transportation
1. NAR Joins Transportation Coalition- Staff Report
2. Report of
Working Group Chairman
3. Discussion
And Vote On Proposed Policy
Proposed
NAR Policy on Federal Transportation Authorization
[new language in italics]
The timely provision of safe, convenient and efficient transportation
infrastructure enhances the quality of communities, supports property
values, and mitigates the effects of traffic congestion that accompany
growth. REALTORS® support improving mobility in communities so that all
citizens have access to transportation means best suited to their needs.
Changing travel patterns, shrinking petroleum supplies, and continuing
technological innovation will challenge traditional means of transportation
planning, construction and funding. With these challenges in mind, NAR
urges the federal government to incorporate the following principles in
future transportation authorization legislation.
1. Federal spending for transportation infrastructure should be sufficient
to maintain the current physical condition and level of performance of
highways and transit systems and to make improvements to reduce congestion
and to foster economic development. To finance increased transportation
spending, NAR supports both a modest increase in the federal transportation
user charge tax rate and indexing the tax rate to account for inflation.
In addition, the federal government should explore a variety of means
to ensure a reliable stream of revenue for transportation funding so that
revenues grow in step with increasing travel demand.
2. High occupancy toll lanes should be permitted on roads financed with
federal assistance. All tolls collected on such lanes should be dedicated
to transportation purposes in the same community in which they
are collected.
3. Taxes levied on transportation users should be deposited in a trust
account for spending exclusively on transportation purposes.
4. Interest on balances in the Highway Trust Fund should accrue to the Fund
and be spent exclusively for transportation purposes.
5. States should have a large measure of flexibility in determining how
Highway Trust Fund monies are spent within their borders.
6. Highway Trust Fund revenues should continue to be used for projects
designed to mitigate air pollution by reducing vehicle travel.
7. The federal share of funding for new transit capital projects should
remain on a par with the federal share of funding for highway
projects.
8. Transportation planning and implementation should be fully
integrated into a comprehensive community planning effort, coordinated with
state and metropolitan planning processes, using substantial citizen
involvement and civic leadership to achieve the consensus vision of the
community.
9. The federal transportation funding bill should provide a predictable
level of funding that avoids large changes from one year to the next.
10. All federal taxes levied on any fuel or alternative energy source
used for surface transportation should be applied equally and deposited in
the Highway Trust Fund.
11. The time required for environmental review of transportation projects
should be significantly reduced without compromising environmental
protection.
12. Federal surface transportation assistance programs for states
should be structured so that:
13. Transportation improvement planning should consider the needs of
all transportation users along a transportation corridor and provisions
should be made to accommodate a variety of users in every transportation
projects, where possible.
The following statements in current policy are proposed for deletion:
"Federal transportation funding programs should not favor one land use over
another.?
"Federal taxes on ethanol fuels should be deposited in the Highway Trust
Fund. However, ethanol fuels may be subject to a different tax rate.?
"Transportation funds should be available to enhance the quality of life of
American communities.?
D. Private
Transfer Fee White Paper - Staff Report
At the October 2007 C.A.R. meetings, the following policy was taken,
?That C.A.R. staff will explore the option of expanding the use of the
Mello-Roos Law to allow funding for environmental mitigation and/or
affordable housing, while otherwise prohibiting PTTs, and report back to
the committee in January of 2008.? At the January 2008 meetings a
task force was formed to ?explore alternatives using mechanisms such as
Mello-Roos to deal with the problems associated with private transfer
taxes?.
VII. Housing Opportunity Advisory Board Report
Report -Vice
Chair Ronnie Thompson
VIII.
New Business
A. Critical Issues List
B. Issues Tracker Website Presence
C.
Committee Open
Discussion
on Emerging State and Local
Trends
D. Other
Business
IX. Adjournment
