Utah
Association of REALTORS®
Political Victories 2001
by Christopher Kyler, UAR Director of Government Affairs and General Counsel
to one of the most complete and successful goverment
affairs programs anywhere. We focus our efforts in four areas:
1. Legislative policy analysis and lobbying;
2. Fundraising for candidates and issues;
3. Candidate interviews and fundgiving; and
4. Candidate recruiting and campaigning.
Our focused effort is producing superior results as reflected this past year:
YEAR 2000 THROUGH THE 2001 LEGISLATIVE SESSION:
-Fundraising: highest
ever at $116,000, putting us at #1 richest business PAC in the state.
-Candidate interviews: statewide coverage
by local boards, making us the most well-informed lobby in the state.
-Fundgiving: highest ever at $75,000
to candidates and $10,000 to issues, putting us at #1 largest business-related
contributor in the state.
-Election success: better than 90% of
the candidates we gave campaign assistance to won.
-Legislative policy analysis and lobbying:
-REALTOR® Day at the Legislature: over 300 REALTORS® in attendance, making REALTOR® Day the single largest grassroots visit to the Legislature during the session.
-Policy analysis: 726 bills introduced and read, 81 bills analyzed by the committee, 33 dropped, 12 monitored, 11 opposed, and 25 supported, making the 2001 Session twenty-five percent busier than last year.
-Our record of success: 33/36 for 92%. Of the 11 we wanted defeated, we defeated 11. Of the 25 we wanted passed, we passed 22. Of the remaining three, two were passed but remained unfunded, and the third made it through the House but ran out of time before it went through the Senate.
-In sum, we reached new heights during the 2001 Legislative Session . . .
PROPOSALS AND BILLS WE KILLED DURING THE 2001 LEGISLATIVE SESSION:
200 years
of land-use case law preserved
SB 80 -County
Statutes Revision: this bill would have been devastating to all land owners
and developers in Utah. The bill was designed to do two things: First, reverse
the current presumption in zoning decisions, making the benefit of the doubt
flow to cities and counties rather than landowners; and Second, prevent the
Courts from considering case law when hearing land-use issues. In other words,
200 years of case law would be abolished, along with critical land-use principles
such as vested rights. The UAR killed these two provisions.
State-wide
land-use planning threat tamed
Quality Growth
Commission Act Amendments: the Commission sought to strip the Act of various
protections written into the law by the UAR in 1998, namely the 50% public
ownership 20 acre limit, and the restriction on who can own conservation easements
purchased with taxpayer dollars. The UAR's representatives on the Commission
were able to defeat this movement in committee.
Cell phone
use preserved
HB 182 -Use
of Mobile Phones in Vehicles: this bill made it illegal and costly to
use a cell phone or personal digital assistant while driving on any state
owned roads. This bill targeted a single act rather than the root problem
of inattentive driving, and therefore was defeated.
Hidden transfer-tax
revealed
SB 62 -Optional
County Affordable Housing Funds Act: this bill, couched in the amicable
language of affordable housing, was really a tax on each and every transfer
of real property. This bill died a quick death.
Eminent domain
power remains the right of an "elected few"
HB 249 -Public
Transit District: this bill was designed to give the Utah Transit Authority
the direct power of eminent domain. This abuse-laden power shouldn't be granted
to a body of non-elected individuals because they are not accountable to the
public, and therefore the bill was defeated.
Real property
owners attacked from all sides
HB 96,
SB 43, & SB 77 - Three bills dealing with Mobile Home Parks: these bills
made it illegal for a landowner (the park owner) to evict tenants (the mobile
home owner) from the land for any reason. In so doing, this bill would have
elevated personal property to a status greater than real property, and would
have interfered with private contract rights between both parties. The UAR
killed each of these bills.
Public/private
partnerships preserved
HB 121 -Management
and Development of Trust Lands: this bill interefered with those REALTORS®
partnering with School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration (SITLA)
developments by mandating that SITLA not only consider economic factors, but
Department of Wildlife Resources (DWR) factors too. The UAR felt that allowing
DWR sole access to SITLA would place additional environmental barriers to
development and would ultimately have an adverse effect on the school fund.
The UAR defeated this bill.
The right
to write your own contract
HB 379 -Home
Owners' Association Fine Authorization: in its original version, this
bill interfered with contracts between HOA's and the homeowners. The UAR fought
and amended the bill to work in conjuction with HOA bylaws, making the bill
more balanced.
No more mandates!
SB 42-Equity
in Prescription Coverage: this bill mandated that businesses provide health
insurance covering prescriptions. The UAR fights against all mandates, especially
where the private market provides for such coverage, because it raises insurance
premiums for businesses and individuals alike.
Property tax
exemption preserved
SB 63-Residential
Property Tax Exemption on Secondary Residences: This bill had two very
serious consequences: First, it would have increased the property tax burden
on all primary residences, and Second, it would have abolished the residential
property tax exemption on all rental properties, costing the average rental
owner hundreds per year per rental. Imagine what this would do to the affordable
housing market and investment. The UAR first amended this bill and then killed
it altogether.
BILLS WE PASSED DURING THE 2001 LEGISLATIVE SESSION:
A stand for
states rights!
HB 189-Federal
Government Acquisition of Real Property in the State: this bill does two
things: First, it states that the Legislature shall have the power to consent
before state agencies give or sell Utah lands to the Federal Government, and
Second, it authorizes the Utah Attorney General to seek enforcement of the
compact or contract entered into between Utah and the Federal Government at
statehood, namely, to require them to introduce Federal lands back to Utah.
The UAR was instrumental in fighting the opposition to get this bill passed.
Affordable
Housing is still a priority
HB 204 -Olene
Walker Housing Trust Fund Appropriation: this bill appropriated money
to the trust fund and for Section 8 housing. The UAR is always a champion
for affordable housing and lobbies this issue year after year.
More fairness
in property tax
HB 313 & HB
354 -Property Tax Relief Amendments: these bills address property tax
exemptions and extend the time for fling a claim for tax abatement in certain
circumstances. The UAR promoted each of these bills.
Tax collectors
become more accountable
SB 76-Property
Tax Appeal Amendments: this bill significantly extends the time period
for appealing the valuation of real property assessed by the county.
Resources
for decisions being made at the local level
HB 71-Appropriation
for Land Use Planning: this bill gives money from the general fund for
local governments to develop and implement local land use plans.
Protecting
our rights-of-way through federal lands
SB 130-RS 2477
Amendments: this bill requires that property owners and adjoining counties
have their rights considered whenever RS 2477 rights-of-way are relinquished
to the Federal Government.
NO! We don't
want your waste
SB 81 & SB
198 -High-Level Nuclear Waste Provisions: these two bills provide resources
and legal impediments to fight against the storage of high-level nuclear waste
in Utah. The UAR has been and will continue to be a major player in providing
evidence and testimony regarding the negative impact high-level nuclear waste
will have on Utah real property values.
Mortgage Practices
Act is fine-tuned
HB 114 -Mortgage
Practices Act Amendments: this bill modified the dual registration requirement,
making it easier for mortgage lenders to comply.
RDAs are recodified
HB 7 -Recodification
and Amendments of Redevelopment Agency Statutes: this bill codified all
existing good practices and made the law more concise.
Affordable
housing is not just a Utah issue
HCR 10 -Housing
Preservation Resolution: this bill conveyed the importance of affordable
housing projects to the Federal government and encouraged the use of public
and private partnerhips.
Water is handled
carefully
HB 14 -Certification
and Training for Underground Wastewater Disposal Systems: this bill recognizes
the importance of careful handling of wastewater disposal by requiring training
for individuals who install systems or conduct percolation tests.
Utah Housing
Finance Agency given the reins
HB 28 Independent
Entities Act: this bill establishes the legal relationship between various
quasi-governmental agencies, including the Utah Housing Finance Agency, and
the state government.
No special
favors for certain PACs
HB 179 -Voluntary
Contributions Act: this bill, also known as the paycheck protection act,
prohibits labor unions from using taxpayer-funded payroll systems from collecting
political actions committee (PAC) funds. Now they will have to fundraise like
the rest of us do.
I.D. required!
HB 247 Requirements
for Filing Judgments: simply put, this bill requires persons recording
judgments to show personal identification information.
Tax brackets
fixed
SB 36 -Individual
Income Tax, Bracket Adjustments: this bill requires the commission to
make certain changes to the individual income tax brackets and amounts of
tax.
Equality for
all
SB 158 -Manufactured
Housing Development Equal Treatment: this bill requires cities and counties
to treat developments that include manufactured home equal to those that don't
include manfactured homes.
Foreclosures
not as painful
SB 53 -Trust
Deed Law Amendments: this bill gives REALTORS® more options when working
foreclosures by expanding the hours of auction, expanding the place of auction,
and by ensuring marketing costs are included in the transaction.
Long overdue
amendments made
SB 254 -Residence
Liens Recovery Fund Amendments: this bill modified the lien recovery fund
by extending the filing deadline and making information more readily available
to the homeowner.
In sum, the 2001
was a major success in every way.