PROView - April 2008 - (Page 6) PROActive FAR’s 2008 Legislative Priorities by Mike Mayo, Director of Public Affairs Following are FAR’s main legislative priorities for the 2008 legislative session. REALTORS® from across the state were in Tallahassee on March 25 and 26, meeting with legislators to advocate these priorities: Property Tax Relief and Reform The “highest and best use” appraisals standard should be changed to force uniform enforcement throughout Florida, and to have appraisers take into account permit and zoning allowances. Legislation has been filed (HB 129 and SB 626) to address this issue. The Value Adjustment Board (VAB) appeal process should be changed in two important areas, both by statute. The presumption of correctness the appraiser enjoys should be changed to the “preponderance of evidence”; and the makeup of the VAB should be more representative of the taxpaying public. Though it will require passage of a Constitutional Amendment, more relief for first-time and recent homebuyers is needed. HJR 421 would provide this additional relief. FAR’s 2007 President Nancy Riley was appointed by Governor Crist to the state’s Tax and Budget Reform Commission (TBRC). The Commission has until May 8 to propose amendments to Florida’s Constitution that will appear on the November 2008 ballot. FAR is working with the TBRC for further property tax relief and to prevent a sales tax on professional services. Property Insurance Florida’s property insurance market has yet to fully recover from the hurricanes of 2004 and 2005. Carriers continue to reduce their risk in Florida and complain of overregulation and unfair competition from Citizen’s Property Insurance Corporation. FAR continues to support the “My Safe Florida Home” windstorm inspection program, which has proven effective in lowering rates for many homeowners. As a result, FAR will advocate for additional mitigation funding in 2008. Floridians have witnessed three large carriers (Allstate, State Farm, and Nationwide) steadily reduce their number of insurance policies in the state. We should be encouraged, however, that approximately 25 new companies are underwriting policies in the state. In 2007, FAR 6 PINELLAS REALTOR® ORGANIZATION supported an earmark of $250 million in a loan-matching program to help attract companies, and 13 insurance companies either expanded or started as a result. FAR will advocate that this program continue in an effort to bring more private companies into the market. Workforce Housing The Sadowski Affordable Housing Trust Fund should be utilized for its intended purpose – to provide housing and jumpstart Florida’s sluggish economy. With over $500 million available to be allocated, the Legislature should invest in Florida’s housing infrastructure. Once again this year, FAR will urge the Governor and Legislature to “scrap the cap” on these funds, and not divert them to other uses. FAR is also pushing for the reauthorization of the Florida Forever program and to ensure the Florida Department of Business Regulation and the Florida Division of Real Estate are more responsive and accountable to its licensees. You can learn more about these issues by reading the online edition of our magazine – please go to www. TampaBayRealtor.com/proview and select the April issue of the magazine. Licensure Concerted efforts have been made to make the Florida Department of Business Regulation (DBPR) and the Florida Division of Real Estate (DRE) more responsive and accountable to its licensees, and positive results are beginning to show. Over 10 new positions have recently been added to the DRE and, to allow quicker response times for the 11 million pieces of mail the department receives each year, the DBPR has added a state-of-theart document imaging system. Much work remains to be done however, and FAR continues to seek further improvements. For instance, FAR will seek to prevent the Legislature from reallocating the department’s real estate-related trust funds while requesting the conversion of 4 positions to investigative positions and the continued proviso appropriation of $400,000 from the unlicensed activity fund. Additional new DRE positions are needed and have been requested. However, 2008 poses incredible budgetary challenges, even though DBPR is funded solely by trust funds and not General Revenue. April 2008 http://www.TampaBayRealtor.com/proview http://www.TampaBayRealtor.com/proview
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