NYSAR SUPPORTS ENACTMENT OF THE FOLLOWING
Mandate Relief
NYSAR joined a coalition of 11 business, local government and education organizations to launch “Let New York Work: A Common Agenda for the Common Good.” This initiative was designed to advance significant mandate relief in New York such as making the pension system predictable and affordable, reducing the costs of construction on public/private projects, and reforming the Scaffold Law. To date, the coalition has been successful in supporting Tier VI implementation and the takeover of Medicaid growth by the state. NYSAR will continue to work with this coalition this year to advocate for mandate relief for New York’s local governments and school districts.
Appraisal Management Company Registration
A new issue that NYSAR will be considering in 2013 is legislation that will require the registration of Appraisal Management Companies (AMCs) that operate in New York State. Many other states have already put into place laws that require this type of registration and in some cases, licensure to attempt to address some of the problems that homeowners and REALTORS have experienced. AMCs are not new, but the number and the frequency of their use have increased since the adoption of the Home Valuation Code of Conduct (HVCC) in 2008. The HVCC prohibits mortgage professionals from ordering appraisals and mandates that lenders have either a separate department to order appraisals or use third party companies to select appraisers such as AMCs. In recent years many lenders have simply chosen to use AMCs rather than restructure their own operations. First-time Homebuyer Savings Accounts (S.3581 – Robach)
NYSAR supports passage of legislation that will allow individuals and couples to make pre-tax contributions to a savings account that would be dedicated to the purchase of a first home.
Transparency and Disclosure in Co-operative Housing (A.2556 – Lavine; A.4388 -Perry)
Status: Assembly Housing Committee NYSAR supports legislation that would bring greater transparency to the process of considering the sale of shares in a co-operative housing corporation.
Intro. 188 – New York City Council
Status: New York City Council Committee on Housing and Buildings NYSAR strongly supports enactment of Int. 188, titled the Fair Cooperative Procedure Law. Int. 188 will significantly improve the transparency of the cooperative purchase by adding uniformity and predictability to the application process. Additionally, Int. 188 provides consumers with up front information on the cooperatives’ purchase requirements and informs them of their rights under fair housing and anti-discrimination laws.
Vested Rights for Property Owners (A.494 – Paulin/S.2565 - Ball)
Status: Assembly Local Governments Committee/Senate Local Governments Committee NYSAR supports legislation to create a six-year pilot program in the counties of Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Rockland and Westchester relating to limiting a municipality’s ability to alter local codes, laws, ordinances, rules and regulations during the course local development projects. This legislation will require municipalities to maintain a consistent set of rules throughout a construction project, except in certain reasonable instances.
Definition of Resident for Income Tax (A.4677 – Thiele/S.3642 – LaValle)
Status: Assembly Ways & Means/Senate Government Operations and Investigations
NYSAR supports legislation to clarify the definition of “permanent place of abode” for personal income tax purposes. Under this bill, the usage or ownership of a vacation home would not be sufficient to establish residency for personal income tax purposes so long as the taxpayer spends less than 90 days per year at the vacation home, and the home is located more than 50 miles from the taxpayer's primary place of employment in New York.
Increasing the Threshold for the Mansion Tax (A.160 – Kavanagh) (S.2061 – Latimer)
Status: Assembly Ways and Means Committee/Senate Investigations and Government Operations NYSAR supports legislation to increase the minimum price threshold at which the so-called “Mansion Tax” is triggered. The “Mansion Tax” imposes an additional one percent tax on buyers who purchase a home for $1 million or more.
Exemption of Mortgage Recording Tax for First Time Homebuyers (A.907 – Weprin/S.2456 Lanza)
Status: Assembly Ways and Means Committee/Senate Investigations and Government Operations NYSAR supports legislation to exempt first time homebuyers from paying the state mortgage recording tax where the residential property being mortgaged is the mortgagor's principal place of residence.
NYSAR OPPOSES ENACTMENT OF THE FOLLOWING LEGISLATION
Residential Fire Sprinklers Status: New York State Codes Council
NYSAR opposes a proposal pending before the New York State Code Council which would amend the building code to mandate the installation of fire sprinklers in all new one and two-family homes and townhomes in New York. The decision to install fire sprinklers should be a consumer choice or left to local municipalities.
Requirement of License Number Disclosure (A.4216 – DenDekker)
Status: Assembly Judiciary
NYSAR strongly opposes legislation that would require every real estate salesperson and real estate broker involved in or present during a real estate transaction to include his or her license number on every document requiring a signature. This bill is unnecessary, burdensome and will not achieve its desired result.
Broker Signature on All Real Estate Documents (A.4217 – DenDekker)
Status: Assembly Judiciary NYSAR strongly opposes this legislation, which would require real estate brokers to sign every document that requires the signature of a salesperson during the lease, rental or sale of real property. This bill is unnecessary, impractical and overly burdensome. License law and the REALTOR Code of Ethics already impose a duty of supervision and responsibility on brokers and their affiliated licensees.
Source of Income (S.168, S.187 – Squadron; S.2716 – Adams)
Status: Investigations and Government Operations NYSAR opposes this legislation which seeks to add “source of income” as a protected class in New York State Human Rights and Executive Law. The sweeping language of these bills would constitute a serious intrusion on the rights of property owners to conduct their own business with prospective purchasers and renters.
Expanded Agriculture Disclosure Notice (A.1393 – Gunther)
Status: Assembly Ways & Means/Senate Agriculture Committee NYSAR opposes legislation to expand current law by requiring sellers of property partially or wholly within 500 feet of an agricultural district to provide the agriculture disclosure form to prospective buyers. Most sellers do not have the ability to accurately determine where 500 feet beyond their entire property line extends and whether that additional 500 feet runs into an agricultural district. This legislation fails to provide a mechanism for sellers to definitively obtain this information.
Wetlands Oversight (S.728 – Avella)
Status: Senate Environmental Conservation NYSAR opposes this unnecessary legislation which will increase the state Department of Environmental Conservation’s oversight of wetlands. If enacted, this proposal could stop or delay construction and development projects throughout New York and discourage future business investments.
Statewide Transfer Tax Authorization (S.1145 – Breslin)
Status: Senate Environmental Conservation NYSAR opposes all legislation that would allow greater municipal oversight and responsibility for the approval of transfer tax increases, regardless of the intent of the dedicated monies.
Payment of Independent Contractors (S.231 - Squadron)
Status: Senator Labor NYSAR opposes legislation relating to the payment of independent contractors. The requirements outlined in this bill are unworkable and impractical as they relate to the real estate industry and the relationship between brokers and the independent contractors affiliated with the brokerage.
Doubling of Fines for Violation of RE License Law (A.731 – Weprin) Status: Judiciary Committee NYSAR strongly opposes legislation to increase the fine imposed for violations of the real estate licensing laws from $1,000 to $2,000, and creating new procedures relating to cease and desist zones. This legislation is unnecessary. In 2011, the Department of State had no reported violations of cease and desist zones by real estate licensees. The current fines and procedures relating to cease and desist zones are clearly adequate.
Sex Offender Disclosure (A.1763 – Englebright), (S.1527 – Flanagan)
Status: Judiciary Committee NYSAR opposes legislation to require disclosure of the availability of certain sex offender information upon the sale or lease of residential real property. While NYSAR supports disclosure of sex offender information, NYSAR is concerned about the liability created by these requirements, the necessity of including sex offender information within a real estate contract or lease, and other technical flaws contained in these bills.
Interest On Brokerage Accounts (S.248 – Sampson)
Status: Senate Judiciary NYSAR opposes this legislation which would require brokers who receive monies in a fiduciary capacity to deposit such monies in an Interest on Broker Account (IOBA). The interest earned off of the IOBA accounts would be used to fund civil legal service organizations. While NYSAR supports the intent of this legislation, interest earned off of brokers’ escrow accounts should be dedicated specifically to fund housing issues including foreclosure prevention, disaster recovery relief and other important challenges facing the real estate industry in New York
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Private Well Testing Act (A.1040 – Jaffee)
Status: Assembly Calendar #82
NYSAR opposes legislation to require a water quality test as a condition of the transfer of any real property served by a well. This legislation will delay real estate closings and it is unnecessary, duplicative and essentially an unfunded mandate on New York State homeowners.