On the week of May 13th, several R-BAR members made the trip to Washington, D.C. for the annual NAR Legislative Meetings and Expo. During visits with members of Congress, Federal Political Coordinator Mark Mohn and other R-BAR members discussed three key issues:
Fair Housing
Nearly a decade ago, NAR’s Code of Ethics was changed to require REALTORS® to provide equal professional services without discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. REALTORS® spoke with members of Congress to support H.R. 5, the Equality act, which adds those same protections against sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination to the fair housing act. Later that week, H.R. 5 passed in the House of Representatives, and will now move on to the Senate.
Flood Insurance
The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) provides flood insurance coverage where it is required for federally backed mortgages in 22,000 communities nationwide. Each month, over 40,000 home sales rely on the program to go through. The NFIP was set to expire on May 31st, but REALTORS® secured a 4-month extension while pushing for work to reform the program, including modernizing flood mapping and mitigation investments.
Qualified Opportunity Zones
Established in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, Qualified Opportunity Zones were created to provide an incentive to invest in economically depressed areas. There are more than 9,000 zones in the US, including several areas within the City of Reading. Proposed regulations for the program were released by the Treasury in October 2018 but still have not been finalized, meaning that investors and communities can’t yet take advantage for this program, which is already set to sunset at the end of 2026. REALTORS® have asked Congress to consider extending the program to make up for the time that has been lost waiting for the rules surrounding the program to be finalized.