What a great week for Missouri REALTORS®!
The General Assembly was still talking about our Capitol Conference and their meetings with our well-prepared grassroots lobbyists.
You have no idea how much of an impact you make in meetings because you are prepared and focused on a limited set of issues.
The best news was the hearing on HB 1796, Rep. Becky Ruth’s First-Time Home Buyers Savings Account Act. The fiscal note last session created real problems because in the first year it projected a cost of $65,146 and in the second and third years the cost “could exceed $1,000,000”. This year the amount of contribution was reduced, which reduced the possible deduction, and the fiscal note went up, significantly. The first year cost was projected to be $99,872, second year $1,422,903 and third year $2,746,272. These numbers are chilling in a political climate that includes significant potential budget problems. This year the department claimed that they would need three additional employees to handle the work produced by the proposal.
Rep. Lyndall Fraker, Chair of the House Committee on Financial Institutions asked the Department of Revenue to send a representative to explain their reasoning on the fiscal note. The premise that Revenue used was that every person who was eligible to open an account would.
Adam Davis testified in support of the bill for Missouri REALTORS®. He had spent several days developing data from other states and NAR and knew the material and the issue. He did an excellent job.
There were hearings this week on both historic and low-income Housing tax credits. There was a large group of developers and other stakeholders who testified about the impact that the historic tax credit had on their communities. There was an excellent presentation on the low-income housing tax credit; it focused on the frequently raised issue that the credit only returned 42 cents on the dollar. That number was developed several years ago by the Department of Economic Development and has been used to attack the program.
And! HB 1954, modifies provisions relating to real estate licensee immunity from liability, introduced by Rep. Cody Smith was assigned to the House Committee on Professional Registration chaired by Rep. Robert Ross. The companion bill in the Senate, SB 920 introduced by Sen. Jeanie Riddle, was assigned to the Senate Committee on Professional Registration, chaired by Sen. Jeanie Riddle.
See why I said it was a great week!