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JANUARY 2019 • VOLUME 23 • ISSUE 9
• WCR Austin Installation & Awards • AYREP Happy Hour • Model Home Grand Opening at La Cima • M/I Homes Food Drive • SouthStar Bank Gift Wrapping Party for Blue Santa • Trinity Title of Texas Ugly Christmas Sweater Party • Marge Phillips Retirement Party • WCREALTORS Installation & Awards Banquet • Classic Realty Christmas Party & much, much more!
Industry leaders focus on the Texas legislative session By Riki Markowitz
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very two years we talk about the importance of keeping an eye on the current legislative session. This year, however, will be an interesting one to watch following the recent midterm elections. Senators in the 86th legislative session, according to those who follow Texas politics, are shifting their focus back to “bread and butter issues.” With a new speaker in the House and gains in progressive representatives in both chambers,
lawmakers are eager to get back to working on property tax reform, school finance reform, and emergency management planning and relief. Notably, these are all issues that the Texas Association of REALTORS (TAR), the Austin Board of REALTORS (ABoR), and the Texas Association of Builders (TAB) say are some of their most pressing legislative priorities as well. TAR, the state-level advocacy group for real estate professionals, announced that 89 percent of REALTOR-supported candidates won their races this past Election Day. Then, on the first day of pre-filing in Texas, more than 400 bills had been submitted to the calendar clerk by lunchtime. So keeping tabs on every legislator or every bill that affects real estate consumers is not the best use of anyone’s time. Instead, sign up for notifications from your local REALTOR advocacy association so you can keep up with the lawmakers who are working to make Texas a great place for doing business, especially for real estate professionals. In the meantime, here are some of the issues that your advocacy organizations are watching:
Property Tax Reform In 2017, at the end of the 85th legislative session, Gov. Greg Abbott called a special session for the purpose of passing property tax reform. But the session abruptly closed out even though there were still 27 hours available for arguments and negotiations. According to The Texas Tribune, it was a disappointing end for Abbott’s No. 1 issue. Property tax reform is on the agenda again this year and chances of passing a bill that favors real estate consumers are better. The issue received heightened visibility when Senate committees were charged with studying property tax reform during the interim. Texas REALTORS want to see discussions continue from where they left off in 2017 – “enhanced taxpayer notifications and the elimination of a petition requirement on the rollback tax rate, which will improve public education about appraisals and the process to set tax rates,” says Jaime Lee, TAR’s governmental affairs communications manager. One reason a property tax reform bill keeps dying on the floor is because no one can agree on how to make up for reducing taxes.
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Features of the Month
Wednesday, Feb. 20 WCR: Winter White Party
Column: ABoR — Big Goals for 86th Legislative Session . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pg. 4 Column: WCREALTORS — Welcome 2019! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pg. 7 Column: HBA — Eyes Set on Texas' Legislative Session. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pg. 14 Column: RRC — 2019 is Our Year . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pg. 18 Expert Commentary: New Technology in Mortgage Transactions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pg. 20 Column: Women's Council of REALTORS — It's 2019, Let it Go! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pg. 22 Associates in Progress: Legacy Mutual Mortgage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pg. 25 News & Notes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pg. 28 Upcoming Events & Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pg. 30