VAR Brokers Digest

From taxes to contracts to transportation, your business is affected by Virginia's legislature. Every week during the General Assembly session, VAR brings you Capitol Connections: a comprehensive and concise summary of the previous week's legislative actions affecting Realtors^®, property owners and prospective buyers. VAR encourages you to stay informed about the legislative process for the sake of your business and your clients.

The "easy" bills

The first full week of the 2010 General Assembly session is in the books.

As of Friday morning, 2,292 bills had been introduced in the House of Delegates and the Senate. As commonly occurs during the first week, committees hear and dispatch the "easy" bills.

RealtorsŽ have had our share of "easy" bills in the past. Does anyone remember the Rental Inspection bill of 2003? We considered it to be an "easy bill" at the time – with an easy passage. Or so we thought. Guess which bill was the only one Governor Warner vetoed that year?

2004 marked the "Housing Partnership" license plate bill. Who can forget the waves we made by suggesting that one? A couple of members of the House (now former members of the House) inferred something very different about the term "partner" than we did.

How about the background check bill from last year? Who couldn't support higher standards for licensees coming into the business by requiring them to get fingerprint background checks? Well, ask the State Police; that "easy" little bill passed the 2009 General Assembly on the last day, in the last hour of floor debate.

This year, the VAR legislative agenda contains several high-profile issues. RealtorsŽ again are supporting a pro-business, pro-property rights agenda. Sign regulations, vested rights, assessment reform, 1031 exchange facilitators, interpleader jurisdiction: these are all issues that you will hear your lobbying team talking about during this year's 60-day session.

VAR will be on the front lines of virtually every major policy debate in 2010: stormwater regulations, regulatory reform, transportation funding and reform, holding the line on statewide grantor and recordation tax increases, and in general protecting RealtorsŽ, their clients and the property rights of all Virginians.

We will update you weekly with the happenings in Capitol Square. We will ask you to talk to your members of the House and Senate. We may even ask you to come to Richmond to help us lobby particular bills. The 2010 General Assembly session is here. The 2,292 bills have been introduced. Let the games begin!

Follow the bills VAR is tracking

Stay up-to-date on the bills VAR is actively tracking.

Click here for the list of bills along with the positions that were recommended by the Bill Review Committee.

Our positions on legislation are as follows:

VAR Bill (Part of VAR's 2010 Legislative Agenda)

Support (VAR will aggressively support)

Oppose (VAR will aggressively oppose)

Support with Amendment (VAR Will be able to support if the bill is amended satisfactorily)

Support No Action (VAR will track but only offer support if needed or requested)

Oppose No Action (VAR will track but only offer opposition if needed or requested)

Monitor (VAR will monitor and take appropriate action as necessary)

Would you like to see the text of a particular bill?

Go to the General Assembly Web site. There is a box in the bottom left-hand corner in which you can enter the bill number (e.g., hb40 [House Bill 40], sj121 [Senate Joint Resolution 121]). Once the page loads, click on the "full text" hyperlink to read the bill. Additionally, from there, you may click on the "pdf" in the upper right-hand corner for a numbered version of that bill.

VAR's 2010 Legislative Agenda

Read it online or download our newly-designed 2010 legislative agenda. Your RealtorŽ lobbying team uses this document when talking with members of the General Assembly and their staffs.

We hope you will discuss it with your agents and your clients. It is an easy way to inform them of what RealtorsŽ are doing at the General Assembly.

New Committee Breakdowns

With 20 newcomers in the House of Delegates and two in the Senate, it was again time for the annual "committee round-up and shuffle." In the House, the Speaker names the members of each committee; in the Senate, committee assignments are made by the Rules Committee.

A number of new appointments were made to the committees in which we do the largest portion of our work:

House Counties, Cities & Towns

2009 Partisan Mix: (22 members) 13 Republicans; 9 Democrats (59.1 % GOP)

2010 Partisan Mix: (22 members) 14 Republicans; 8 Democrats (63.6 % GOP)

Leaving Counties:

Not Returning: Hall, Hull, Nichols, Caputo, Saxman, Poisson
Transfers Out: Orrock, Massie

Joining Counties:

Freshmen: Edmunds, Kory, Surovell, Stolle, LeMunyon, Morefield, Torian
Transfers In: Algie Howell

House Courts of Justice

2009 Partisan Mix: (22 members) 13 Republicans; 9 Democrats (59.1 % GOP)

2010 Partisan Mix: (22 members) 14 Republicans; 8 Democrats (63.6 % GOP)

Leaving Courts:

Not returning: Fralin, Melvin, Marsden, Valentine
Transfers Out: None

Joining Courts:

Freshmen: Cleaveland, Hope, Villanueva
Transfer In: McClellan

House General Laws

2009 Partisan Mix: (22 members) 12 Republicans + 1 Independent; 9 Democrats (59.1 % GOP + Independent)

2010 Partisan Mix: (22 members) 13 Republicans + 1 Independent; 8 Democrats (63.6 % GOP + Independent)

Leaving General Laws:

Not returning: Hull, Eisenberg, Bowling, Fralin
Transfers Out: J. Miller, Tyler

Joining General Laws:

Freshmen: Anderson, Carr, Comstock, James, Torian
Transfer In: Peace

Senate Courts of Justice

2009 Partisan Mix: (15 members) 8 Democrats, 7 Republicans (53.3% Dem)

2010 Partisan Mix: (15 members) 10 Democrats, 5 Republicans (66.7% Dem)

Leaving Courts:
• Not returning: Cuccinelli, Stolle
• Transfers Out: None

Joining Courts:
• Freshmen: None
• Transfers In: McEachin, Petersen

Senate General Laws & Technology

2009 Partisan Mix: (15 members) 8 Democrats, 7 Republicans (53.3% Dem)

2010 Partisan Mix: (16 members) 9 Democrats, 7 Republicans (56.3% Dem)

Leaving General Laws:
• Not returning: None
• Transfers Out: None

Joining General Laws:
• Freshman: Marsden
• Transfers In: None

Senate Local Government

2009 Partisan Mix: (15 members) 7 Democrats, 8 Republicans (46.7% Dem)

2010 Partisan Mix: (15 members) 8 Democrats, 7 Republicans (53.3% Dem)

Leaving Local Government:
• Not returning: Cuccinelli
• Transfers Out: None

Joining Local Government:
• Freshman: Marsden
• Transfers In: None

How are VAR's Legislative Agenda and Standing Positions Chosen?

Good question.

Creation of the 2010 Legislative Agenda began soon after last year's session ended. Local associations report issues they hear about from members like you, and VAR lobbyists keep their ears open for any ideas on legislation that will make your job easier. The legislative agenda is composed of bills that VAR will seek to have introduced in the General Assembly.

The Public Policy Committee (PPC) approves the agenda and it goes before the Board of Directors for final approval in September.

The VAR standing positions are developed by the same process as the legislative agenda. They are updated annually by PPC and final approval is made by the Board of Directors. They are used as a benchmark to determine which bills VAR will support or oppose during the session.

Who makes the decisions during the session about which bills to support and oppose? The Bill Review Committee is a group of 20 Realtors^Ž who convene every Friday during the session. They leave no stone unturned: they review each bill on the "watch list," over 400 of them.

General Assembly Session Tools

Respond to Calls-to-Action; VAR sends them out only on critical issues, but when you receive an e-mail asking you to contact your legislators, PLEASE DO SO. Legislators listen when over 30,000 Realtors^Ž speak.

Do you know a legislator on a first-name basis? Then become a Key Contact by contacting Meredith Cox at MCox@VARealtor.com.
See who gave money and who received money with VPAP.org.
Or, just look up your legislators.

Invest in RPAC: It Works for You!

RPAC is people: It's not vote-buying or wasted money thrown at legislators who don't think like we do. It's monetary backing for candidates who support our issues. Political campaigns take money, and with RPAC's support, real estate friendly candidates stand a better chance of getting elected.

And how do they vote once in office? For the issues they consider important: especially pro-real estate legislation.

See how that works?

And there is no better time to see how critical your investment in RPAC is than during the session.

So invest in RPAC today.

You Look Out for Your Clients. VAR Looks Out for You.

Your VAR Law & Policy team will be tracking many other bills as they are introduced. Look forward to receiving information on numerous other pieces as the Bill Review Committee has an opportunity to designate a position on the issue. The goal of the VAR Law & Policy team is to ensure that measures introduced into the legislature are beneficial to you as a Realtor^Ž. We appreciate your time and effort when you volunteer for our legislative efforts; it helps ensure that all Virginians have the ability to realize the American dream of homeownership.