Realtors note advantages to tax reform’s special session

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – May 3, 2007 – Realtors want property tax reform as soon as possible – yesterday would have been great – but they also want it done right, and a one-month waiting period leading to a special session of the Florida Legislature gives lawmakers time to consider the complicated issue. It also gives Realtors an opportunity to meet their lawmakers locally and push for positive and substantial change. Everyone agrees that it’s important to get it right the first time, notably since some changes would have to go to voters as a proposed constitutional amendment.

“While I am disappointed the Legislature didn’t finalize the property tax reform plan during the regular session, the 30 days they will be home before the June special session allows us even more time to make our voices heard,” says Florida Association of Realtors® President Nancy Riley. “It is my hope that a special legislative session devoted entirely to this issue will be able to deliver even more comprehensive tax reform than what could be negotiated in the waning hours of the regular session. The Legislature will be able to roll back rates immediately and, if we remain strong, we will get our special election this year for portability and other constitutional issues that must be ratified by the voters.”

The personal lobbying efforts of Realtors could be vitally important. Once in their home districts, FAR expects local governments to lobby strongly for limits to property tax reform, fearing cuts to local spending would run too deep. Riley is encouraging local boards, associations and individual members to be proactive during May and early June, keeping political leaders focused on the need for significant reform.

While many details still need to be worked out, however, a number of Realtor-supported changes already appear to be part of any final package. Both chambers, for example, support a tangible personal property exemption, probably $25,000, for businesses. And Senate President Ken Pruitt (R-Port St. Lucie) has suggested that there’s a tentative general agreement on some type of property tax portability.

The special session will be held June 12-22.

Other bills that advanced in Tallahassee include:

Hurricane shutters

HB 7057, passed by the Senate and sent back to the House, requires some Citizens Property Insurance customers to get hurricane shutters to keep their policy. The rule would apply to homeowners with at least $750,000 in insurance who live in high-wind areas, mostly along the coast.

Ballot initiatives

FAR successfully backed a constitutional amendment requiring a 60 percent majority of voters to approve any constitutional change. This year, the Legislature wants to tighten the process a bit more. The House passed SB 900 82-35, which requires petition signatures to be turned into supervisors of elections within 30 days of the signing; allows petition signers to revoke their signature within 150 days; and requires paid petition gatherers to identify themselves as non-volunteers by wearing an identification badge. Since the House added an amendment to the bill, it must now go back to the Senate for a vote.

Home inspector bill

The House yesterday made a minor change to SB 2234, a bill that would require home inspectors, mold remediators and mold assessors to be licensed by the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, setting the stage for a final vote in the Senate.

Condominium law

SB 314 by Sen. Steve Geller (D-Hallandale Beach), which seeks to enable condos to be sold with an 80 percent approval of owners, was approved by the full Legislature and is now on its way to the governor. Current law calls for unanimous consent from all individual condo owners before a condo association can be dissolved, which could be necessary following a major disaster that destroys a building in a hurricane. Following 1992’s Hurricane Andrew, for example, buildings were destroyed beyond repair but owners, forced to evacuate, could not be found, making it almost impossible to achieve a 100 percent approval to dissolve the condo association.

© 2007 FLORIDA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®

Questions, comments or suggestions on this article? Have a news tip? Send a letter to the editor to: Newseditor@floridarealtors.org.