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Last week was spring break and the legislators were in a hurry to have a break of their own to get back to their home and work on campaigns (the primary election is Tuesday, May 25th).   The House’s adjournment sine die came at 9:18 p.m. last Monday night.  Although a relatively short session it was filled with a number of difficult issues and decisions, primarily focusing on the budget. 

As one of the most respected lobbying groups in Idaho, we have two issues that are integral to all decisions made regarding our legislative positions and advocacy.  They are protecting private property rights by opposing legislation that would allow intrusion, and opposing sales tax on services because REALTORS® already pay income tax on their commissions.  With the state budget facing a 20% decline in revenue, there was a great deal of work to be done on both of those issues.

Some of the legislation we supported this session included several bills proposed by IREC.  There was legislation to provide a process for the Commission to consider a license applicant's previous license revocation before issuing a new real estate license.  An IREC law pertaining to how timeshares in other states are marketed in Idaho updated the current code to reflect new national practices in this arena.  And a bill that clarifies that a licensee who buys or sells on his own account must make the required disclosure concerning his licensed status by the time he presents the purchase and sale agreement.

We also supported the Rules Pursuant to the Idaho Residential Mortgage Practices (short sales) that was brought forward by the Department of Finance. The new Act incorporates the standards of the federal Secure and Fair Enforcement for Mortgage Licensing Act of 2008 (the S.A.F.E. Act), DOF is to adopting rules to establish consistency with the requirements of the new Act, and to interpret some of such requirements.

Perhaps most importantly there were a number of bills proposed that would have opened the doors to taxing services. SB 1381 passed the Senate and was held in the House by the Chairman of the House Revenue and Taxation Committee without a hearing.  The bill would have required an annual review process for sales tax exemptions and exclusions; this would have included a review of placing a sales tax on real estate commissions.

Other legislation we supported included changes relating to the International Fire Code to provide that counties may expand the exemption and to provide for notice and hearing. This legislation provides a statewide exemption from the water supply and access requirements established by the International Fire Code concerning detached single family dwellings.

Along these lines, a significant issue we face on the local level is requiring fire sprinklers in single family residences. You may have read about the changes to Boise’s Wildland Urban Interface district responding to the Oregon Trail fires.  One of the changes included requiring fire sprinklers in single family houses over 5,000 square feet.  At a Boise City Council meeting, ACAR pointed out a change to the law that we passed last year which does not allow a mandate of fire sprinklers in single family homes.  The Council agreed with our recommendation and removed the requirement from the new ordinance.  We applaud the City for the work on the new fire code and protecting its citizens from another tragedy while being sensitive to the importance of private property rights and cost of housing.