|  | | Government Affairs News MAR represents Maryland REALTORS® by making your voice heard in Congress and at the State Legislature. Our primary concern is protecting your professional and business interests. Our Legislative and Public Policy Committees develop a straightforward political agenda to: - Support and develop legislation that helps our industry, and
- Oppose legislation that hurts the free transfer of real estate.
The Legislative Committee typically reviews over 120 pieces of legislation and regulations each year.
Governor Signs MAR Record Keeping Bill | 05/13/2008 | On May 13th, Governor Martin O'Malley signed into law legislation requested by the Maryland Association of REALTORS® that would allow real estate licensees to dispose of certain real estate files 5 years after the transaction. The bills, SB 762 and HB 1316, were sponsored by Senator Joan Carter Conway (D-Baltimore City) and Delegate Michael Vaughn (D-Prince Georges). The legislation would also permit these files to be stored electronically.
In addition, the Governor signed another bill, SB 718, which was sponsored by Senator Kathy Klausmeier (D-Baltimore County). This legislation would extend liability protection to an innocent purchaser of a lead contaminated building. The legislation seeks to provide incentive for purchasers who would be willing to fix up a building and register it with the Maryland Department of Environment (MDE), but did not because of concern over the lliability created by previous owners. This legislation was based on a House of Delegates bill sponsored by Delegate Michael Weir (D-Baltimore County) that had passed the House of Delegates in previous sessions but that was never approved by the Senate.
For a description of all of the real estate bills signed by the Governor on May 13th click below.
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New GSE Appraisal Code | 04/30/2008 |
The National Association of REALTORS® issued a statement on April 29, 2008 expressing concern over the implementation of the “New Home Valuation Protection Code (NHVPC)” created by the “Independent Valuation Protection Institute.”
The NHVPC was proposed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in response to a lawsuit brought by the New York State Attorney General. The Code will establish standards regarding conflicts of interest in the appraisal industry, and will cover everything from compensation to solicitation. Starting January 1, 2009, Fannie and Freddie have agreed not to purchase any loan from lenders if the appraisal fails to meet the NHVPC.
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Summary of HB 1253 Amending the Critical Areas Law | 04/24/2008 |
Effective July 1, 2008 subject to the different grandfathering dates.
Amends the Critical Areas and Coastal Bay laws to provide the Critical Areas Commission (Commission) with greater regulatory oversight for more uniform enforcement/protection of critical areas and coastal bays. The legislation was significantly scaled back by the General Assembly. As passed, it would give the Commission greater regulatory authority over the standards used to regulate activity in the Critical Areas, including management of the buffer, mapping, growth allocations, and variances. However, the local county commissions would still enforce the program as under current law. The legislation makes contractors liable for violations of the critical areas and coastal bays law based on the actions of the contractor. Under the old law, the home improvement commission had difficulty taking action against a contractor for such a violation. The new law gives the Home Improvement Commission clear authority to act on such violations. Additionally, the legislation adopted more uniform enforcement measures. While some counties already adopted such enforcement measures, others had not. The legislation makes clear that the current maximum penalties apply daily. It also makes clear that some alleged violators face additional fine limits for after-the-fact variances if the person challenges the Commission’s action and loses. The legislation sets a more uniform definition of what constitutes unpermitted lot coverage. Though the new definition will not affect how some counties determine lot coverage, it will likely limit some other counties where items such as permeable pavers, shell and gravel were considered permitted, impervious surfaces. As for the definition of lot coverage, the legislation grandfathers existing lots as of July 1, 2008, and applies the current, local calculation of lot coverage to building permits applied for before July 1, 2008 which commence construction and have an inspection before July 1, 2009. The legislation changes the 100 foot buffer for new subdivisions in a Resource Conservation Areas (RCAs are the most restrictive land classification under the law) to 200 feet unless the increase in the buffer area would reduce the overall density of 1 per 20 acreas permitted in an RCA. The legislation grandfathers projects from the increased buffer requirement if the projects apply for a subdivision approval before July 1, 2008 and are legally recorded before July 2010. The legislation also grandfathers intra-family transfers from the new buffer requirements as long as the transfer complies with existing requirements for intra-family transfers. Existing lots are not subject to the increased buffer requirement, nor are future lots in either Intensely Developed Areas (IDAs) or Limited Development Areas (LDAs). Finally, the legislation creates a presumption that a landowner can construct a soft shoreline, unless the landowner and their contractor show that a soft shoreline is not feasible. The legislation makes clear that the presumption would not apply to areas mapped as inappropriate for soft shorelines.
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Governor Signs Real Estate Bills into Law | 04/24/2008 | On April 24, the Governor signed a number of real estate related bills into law, including measures that would: permit different delivery methods of pre-licensing courses; increase the enforcement powers of the Real Estate Commission; and reform the Critical Areas Law. Click below to see summaries of each of the bills.
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Foreclosure Law: Questions and Answers for Real Estate Agents | 04/18/2008 | The Governor's recently passed foreclosure bills contain specific requirements that may impact real estate agents. Read the following article to determine what your duties may be when dealing with a homeowner in default, and the new requirements for recording.
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Governor O'Malley Signs Emergency Legislation to Protect Homeownership | 04/04/2008 | The Governor joined with Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr., House Speaker Michael E. Busch, Lieutenant Governor Anthony G. Brown, community advocates and other officials Thursday, April 3rd, to sign emergency legislation that would help thousands of Maryland homeowners who are at risk of losing their homes and to prevent future generations of homeowners from losing their homes due to foreclosure. MAR participated in the Governor’s Homeownership Preservation Task Force prior to this General Session and the emergency, signed foreclosure bills are an effort to ensure impacted homeowners have a better opportunity for maintaining their homes. The measures include the following - Real Property – Recordation of Instruments Securing Mortgage Loans and Foreclosure of Mortgages and Deeds of Trust on Residential Property bill; The Real Property - Maryland Mortgage Fraud Protection Act; and The Protection of Homeowners in Foreclosure - Prohibition on Foreclosure Rescue Transactions – Enforcement.
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A Victory for Housing Affordability and a Preview of the 2008 Maryland General Assembly | 02/06/2008 | The Special Session culminated almost a year of intense work by the Maryland Association of REALTORS® (MAR) to defeat newly proposed real estate taxes. After tens of thousands of legislator contacts, a state-wide media campaign, personal meetings with Legislators and their leaders, the Governor and Comptroller, and Local REALTOR® Associations and Boards transporting hundreds of REALTORS® to Annapolis to protest such taxes, the Legislature heard REALTORS® and other housing affordability activists loud and clear.
With the end of the Special Session, MAR has geared up for the 2008 General Assembly, which convened on January 9th. The following article briefly highlights both the Special Session and describes some of the issues that are expected to arise in the 2008 Legislature…
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NEW Real Estate Commission Statement on Teams | 12/19/2007 | On November 21, 2007, the Maryland Real Estate Commission adopted a policy statement addressing teams that provide real estate brokerage services from within a real estate brokerage. The Commission also adopted a series of practice pointers concerning advertising and dual agency issues as they relate to team practice. The link below will take you the Commission's new statement on team practice.
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Special Session Update: Tax on Property Management FAILS! | 11/19/2007 | SPECIAL SESSION NEWS! The Maryland General Assembly and the Governor heard REALTORS loud and clear, and removed real property management as a taxable service in the budget package approved early Monday morning, November 19th. Other real estate provisions considered during the Special Session were resolved as well; read full article for details.
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Solvency and Reform Proposal for the Federal Housing Administration | 03/15/2007 | Read the recent testimony presented by 2005 MAR President JoAnne Poole to a hearing of the Federal Senate Appropriations Committee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development for the reform of the Federal Housing Administration (FHA)
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