REALTOR® & GOVERNMENT Day
April 18, 2007
Monona Terrace Convention Center | Madison, Wisconsin
1:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Help Lobby Your Legislators at REALTOR® & Government Day 2007
The state Capitol won’t be quite the same after April 18, at least not if we have anything to say about it! Because that’s the day we hope to fill the building with over 500 REALTORS® from every corner of the state to lobby lawmakers on issues that will improve the quality of life for Wisconsin homeowners, property owners and REALTORS®. And we want you to be a part of it!
What is REALTOR® & Government Day?
REALTOR® & Government Day is the one day each year when we ask REALTORS® to invest their time to come to Madison and meet with their state legislators to discuss the key issues facing our industry and Wisconsin property owners. There is no lobbying effort more effective than REALTOR® constituents visiting Capitol offices and making face-to-face presentations on key issues such as the real estate transfer tax hike proposal, health care, property taxes, land use, property rights and license regulations. Along with fellow REALTORS® from your area, you can help explain to your state senators and Assembly representatives the real impact of proposals they will be voting on during this legislative session.
Why should you care?
First, you should care because it’s important to lawmakers and to Wisconsin. The toughest job of a state lawmaker is to stay informed about important issues and the impact of those issues on the state generally and on their constituents specifically. Because REALTORS® are involved so deeply in their communities, our members know better than perhaps anyone what’s important to their communities, markets and people. Taking the time to pass this information on to your legislators is therefore important to them in reaching the right conclusions and making the right vote.
Second, you should care because it’s also important to you. An uninformed legislator, or one that is only getting information from groups or interests that may oppose our position, will make the wrong vote – either intentionally or unintentionally. By taking the time to talk to your legislators, you’re making sure the views of our industry and that of property owners are well known to lawmakers before they vote. They may not always agree with us, but at least they will be making well-informed decisions.
What are the key issues in 2007?
In the new two-year legislative session that began in early January, over 2,000 individual bills will be introduced for consideration by the Legislature. Some of these will be short – a word or sentence or two. Some will be very long and complex, like the state budget, which could be thousands of pages and chock-full of new policies. The WRA lobbying and legal team reviews every bill, every rule and every amendment to determine which of these will impact our industry. The staff consults with the WRA Public Policy Committee, the WRA officers, and the WRA Board of Directors to determine positions on the hundreds of bills that impact your business and Wisconsin homeowners. Once positions are taken, WRA staff must contact lawmakers to explain our positions.
This is where you come in. At REALTOR® & Government Day you are the messenger. REALTOR® constituents meet with legislators and their staff to discuss these issues and explain the impact - good or bad - on the industry and on property owners. If we seek changes to proposed laws, we discuss the merits of those changes and listen to what legislators and other interests have to say. This process of communications is what democracy is all about.
So what are the key issues facing our industry this session? Here’s a look at some of the major issues in this new legislative session, many of which will be talked about on April 18 at REALTOR® & Government Day 2007.
Tax issues
Home tax
* The Governor has proposed to double the real estate transfer tax! This will hurt housing in Wisconsin and must be defeated.
Property tax relief
* Support legislation to provide immediate and permanent property tax relief for Wisconsin homeowners.
K-12 funding reforms (including property tax reductions and possible sales tax increases and/or exemption repeals)
* Work with all stakeholders to reform elementary school funding with the goal of permanently lowering property taxes, while improving education.
Budget deficit
* Monitor the creation, introduction and consideration of the 2007-09 biennial budget to ensure anticipated deficits are not addressed through increased taxes that will hurt property owners, the real estate industry or economic growth.
Transactional issues
Health insurance reforms for independent contractors
* Seek legislation to ensure members have full access to all medical insurance opportunities available in the marketplace.
fees
* Provide brokers with a legal remedy if they want recourse following a transaction where a third party company demands unearned referral fees.
Settlement services - predatory lending, mortgage fund availability and credit scoring
* Provide standards for loan commitments, disclosures, and timely funding of loans, etc.
Regulation and Licensing Rules
* Update Department of Regulation and Licensing rules to be consistent with recent changes to Ch. 452
Practicing without a Wisconsin license
* Clarify the law relating to out-of-state brokers practicing in Wisconsin without a Wisconsin license.
Land use and environmental issues
Pier regulations
* Grandfather all existing piers that were not illegal when originally placed and guarantee the right for all riparian owners to place a pier.
Shoreland zoning
* Ensure that revisions to the state’s shoreland zoning regulations (NR 115) adequately protect the rights of property owners, while at the same time protecting our state’s water resources.
Purchase of development rights (PDR) program
* Ensure that any PDR program (a) contains locational criteria that restricts the preservation of land that should be developed, and (b) is not funded through real estate-related fees.
Farmland preservation
* Encourage farmland preservation plans to include density requirements, rather than minimum lot size requirements.
Stewardship
* Support re-authorization of the Stewardship program.
* Work with other interested groups to require a portion of state Stewardship funding to be used for the acquisition of land in urban areas for the purpose of developing neighborhood parks.
Economic development
Annexations
* Ensure any changes to annexation requirements protect the ability of property owners to choose which local unit of government provides them with services.
Income tax/sales tax increment
* Support the use of increased incremental income tax withholding/sales tax revenues, derived from increased/improved jobs, for payment of certain economic development project costs.
Limitations on moratoria and allotment ordinances
* Limit the ability of local units of government to enact moratoria and place restrictions on the number of building permits to be allocated each year.
Miscellaneous
Broker/salesperson education
* New post-license requirement for licensed salespeople: require all newly licensed salespeople to take a mandatory post-license course within 12 months of licensure.
* Increase pre-license requirement for brokers to 72 hours (from 36 hours).
* New experience requirement for broker license: to obtain a broker license the agent must have one year documented experience, as established by the REB and confirmed by the broker-employer, or have held a salesperson license for two years.
* Increase real estate continuing education requirements to 18 hours (from 12 hours). Also create CE 4B as a mandatory course, specific to broker management (i.e., broker supervision). (REB to establish definition of group to take the specific course.)
Campaign finance reform
* Support compromise campaign finance reform legislation developed by the WRA and others to emphasize transparent disclosures and reporting of campaign contributions while protecting the rights of individuals and organizations to participate effectively in political campaigns.
No Call / telemarketing legislation
* Contain fees; oppose increased fines
We need you and Wisconsin homeowners need you!
The WRA is considered one of the most legislatively successful organizations in Wisconsin and in the nation. Our success is due in very large part to the time and effort REALTOR® members invest personally in the political and legislative process. As an association and an industry, we need you to personally take part in these important efforts. But Wisconsin homeowners and property owners need you too. You are their organized voice when it comes to legislative issues that impact their lives.
By investing one day you’ll be investing in yourself, your family and your business, and homeowners across Wisconsin. Make the commitment today by registering at www.wra.org/RGDay.
By: Michael Theo
For questions contact Mike Theo at mtheo@wra.org
Michael Theo is Vice President of Legal and Public Affairs for the WRA.
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