PROView - June 2008 - (Page 14)

PROActive END OF 2008 LEGISLATIVE SESSION REPORT by Mike Mayo Every year at this time, PRO gets many questions from members about what happened - or did not happen - during the annual session of the Florida Legislature. Following is a comprehensive report of action taken - or not taken - on important real estate industry issues. Overview: Facing a budget deficit in the billions - and 37 lawmakers leaving office due to term limits - some observers and pundits predicted an anemic legislative session. Quite the contrary, as FAR considers it a successful session for REALTORS ® and their priority issues. In fact, when the 2008 Legislature adjourned on Friday, May 2, FAR counted numerous changes in the law that will benefit property owners, renters and the real estate market in general. Please keep in mind that these bills still must escape the Governor’s veto pen. Additional Property Tax Reforms: Commercial property owners will be pleased to learn that legislation passed requiring property appraisers to consider zoning and permits before applying the “highest and best use” valuation standard. FAR has long maintained that businesses should be assessed for current use, not for best “possible” use. HOB 909 - sponsored by Rep. Peter Nehr of Tarpon Springs - also changes the makeup of the value adjustment board in each county to include property owners in addition to local government officials. This will give citizens more power in challenges to property assessments. The tax benefits set forth in HB 909 complement three proposed state constitutional amendments approved in late April by the Tax and Budget Reform Commission. One amendment would reduce property taxes by at least 25% and cap annual assessments on non-homestead property at 5%. A second amendment would give marinas, commercial fishing facilities and other “working waterfront” businesses a possible tax break by setting tax assessments according to current use rather than “highest and best use”. A third amendment would exempt land held in perpetuity for conservation from property taxes. Other conservation lands would be taxed based on their current use rather than “highest and best” use. Property Insurance Reforms: The so-called Homeowners’ Bill of Rights (SB 2860) seeks to 14 PINELLAS REALTOR® ORGANIZATION improve upon the property insurance reforms enacted in 2007 by: • Extending the rate freeze for Citizens Property Insurance Corp. to January 2010. The freeze was set to expire in January 2009. • Allowing single-family residential properties and condos with a replacement value of up to $2 million into the Citizens insurance pool (up from $1 million) • Requiring Citizens’ policyholders of property located in wind-borne regions and with an insured value of $500,000 or more to disclose the property’s windstorm mitigation rating to prospective buyers. • Increasing fines for violations of the insurance code and for unfair trade practices by private insurers. • Extending by one year to January 2010 a provision from last year’s insurance bill that requires insurers to secure state approval before raising property insurance rates. • Requiring insurers to notify state regulators 90 days before dropping more than 10,000 homeowners’ policies in one year. • Requiring insurers to use state-approved methods to predict the risk of hurricanes, a key factor in setting rates. Affordable Health Insurance: Towards the very end of the session, SB 2534 passed. This bill changes current law to allow insurers to offer “no-frills” insurance coverage for as little as $150 a month. The legislation allows small businesses with up to 50 employees to participate in a “cafeteria-style” plan that gives consumers a choice in the type and amount of health care coverage they can afford. Under the plan, individuals will also be able to purchase basic health coverage. Affordable Housing Trust Fund: Lawmakers allocated $303 million from the Sadowski Affordable Housing Trust Fund for housing assistance programs for moderate- and low-income Floridians. This is $60 million more compared to the spending cap imposed by lawmakers in 2005. Unfortunately, lawmakers also used $250 million from housing trust fund reserves to make-up for shortfalls in the state budget. June 2008

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of PROView - June 2008

PROView - June 2008 Contents Chairman’s Notes Sustainable Lifestyles Greening the Not-So-New House Green Renovation Checklist Green Building Tips Going Green PROActive You Have 30 Seconds to Prove Your Value Marketplace Analysis Home Sales Report PRO Biz Calendar of Events & Programs New Members and Affiliates

PROView - June 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.