Real Estate LEADER Magazine (Summer 2004) - Mississippi ...

CAPITOL WATCH
UPDATE ON LEGISLATIVE ISSUES IMPORTANT TO YOUR BUSINESS
2004 legislative session yields major REALTOR ® victories
MAR agenda will enhance housing opportunity in Mississippi
The Mississippi Legislature may have grappled with thorny state budget
issues and tort reform, but when it came to passing the Mississippi
Association of REALTORS ® ’ 2004 legislative agenda, lawmakers wasted
no time in saying "aye." Every bill MAR had an
interest in this year was signed by Governor Haley
Barbour.
The REALTOR ® agenda included measures to
ease financial, regulatory and education barriers
to homeownership in Mississippi.
"As part of our focus on a better quality of
life, MAR is dedicated to strengthening the relationship
between current and future homeowners,
the communities in which they live
and the elected officials and policymakers
who affect their lives and futures," said MAR
President Bruce Kammer of Poplarville. "We
thank our legislators for moving forward
with responsible state policies that provide
for broader housing opportunity."
Thanks to MAR’s efforts, the following
new laws will take effect July 1:
Housing opportunity
MAR was successful in passing new
legislation that establishes financial literacy education
as part of secondary schools’ curricula (SB 3016).
"Financial literacy education will allow young people to learn about the
consequences of bad credit before they begin to receive all of those credit card
and car loan advertisements," Kammer said.
And the interest on real estate brokers’ escrow accounts statute has been
updated in order to be used more effectively. Brokers voluntarily will be
allowed to designate their escrow accounts as interest bearing, and the interest
will fund a new Housing Opportunity Trust Fund administered by MAR and
the Mississippi Bankers Association designed to provide local grants
and fund programs that create greater housing opportunity (HB 1597).
MAR also pushed to allow municipal governments the option of offering
down payment assistance to their employees.
Homestead exemption
Downtown revitalization remains a priority for our state in towns stretching
from the Delta to the Coast. That’s why REALTORS ® supported legislation that
aids in revitalization efforts in downtown communities where citizens are moving
to live and work. MAR helped to pass legislation that will allow homestead
exemption for owner-occupied residences in multi-use properties (SB 2438).
REALTORS ® assisting cities
Prior to the legislative session, Meridian commercial broker Larry Dudley
alerted MAR’s Legislative and Regulatory Affairs Advocacy Group to the fact that
there were statutes preventing REALTORS ® from getting paid for assisting cities
in the disposition of surplus city-owned property. Thanks to successful legislation,
after July 1 REALTORS ® can be compensated for their efforts in selling
city or county property (SB 2502).
Mississippi License Law
Working with the Mississippi Real Estate Commission and the Senate and
House committee chairmen, MAR was successful in securing passage of legislation
that would allow brokers to pay commissions to an individual agent or
agent’s LLC, LLP or S-Corp.
Also, MAR successfully increased the errors and omissions insurance premium
cap to $250. The previous law allowed for a $150 cap. While premiums
are not expected to increase in the near future, MAR wanted the law to anticipate
any market-driven changes in insurance premiums so that the insurance
remains available to real estate licensees and ultimately benefits the consumer.
Other bills
1% professional services tax dies
MAR was successful in killing a bill that would have created an additional tax
on professional services that REALTORS ® render. (HB 757)
Municipality "home rule" bill dies
In partnership with the Mississippi Home Builders Association, MAR helped
kill a bill that would have given cities virtually unlimited taxing authority and
could have made impact fees legal in this state (SB 2915). MAR is currently
challenging the constitutionality of impact fees in Mississippi and is supported
by Attorney General Jim Hood.
Thanks to you!
MAR’s legislative victories are the direct result of members’ grassroots lobbying
initiatives, calls to action, fair share contributions and conversations with
legislators by members like you. These accomplishments continue to move
Mississippi forward and reaffirm that the REALTOR ® voice is being heard by the
state’s elected officials. Your involvement makes a difference. n
Got issues?
MAR’s Legislative & Regulatory Affairs Advocacy Group will meet this summer
to discuss the association’s 2005 legislative agenda. Your input is
needed. Contact Quentin Whitwell, MAR Vice President of Public Policy at
qwhitwell@msrealtors.org if you have ideas or suggestions.
5 / MISSISSIPPI REAL ESTATE LEADER / Summer 2004