February 20, 2019
Legislative Update
CAR’s Legislative Policy Committee reviewed a few new bills at its latest meeting, most of which are not particularly interesting, but Vice President for Public Policy Liz Peetz warned that many more bills relevant to real estate will be introduced later in the session.
HB-1170 “Residential Tenants Health And Safety Act” CAR Position: Monitor
This bill is the latest version of the “warranty of habitability” for renters that CAR has opposed in previous iterations. This time CAR is monitoring the bill because it is changing rapidly and there is no need to take a position until the language is finalized. Hopefully, with pressure from CAR and other groups supporting landlord rights, it will end up being palatable.
HB-1118 “Time to Cure Lease Violation” CAR Position: Neutral
In an interesting turn of events, the sponsor had the bill reassigned from Business Affairs & Labor to the House Committee on Transportation & Local Government in a fit of pique. It will be interesting to see what Committee Chair Matt Gray does with a bill that is completely unrelated to transportation when it faces its first hearing on Feb. 27.
CAR is preparing for the introduction of a bill to revise the First Time Home Buyer Savings (FHBSA) Accounts legislation it promoted last year. The bill would allow employers to make contributions to an employee’s account and incentivize employers by providing a tax credit. The bill would also increase the maximum annual contribution to a FHBSA to $50,000 a year. Finally, the bill requires the money in a FHBSA account to be used within five years of the account’s creation to avoid penalties. Peetz says this time limit will push employers to contribute.
IRES MLS: Come Home to Colorado 