2011 NYSAR Legislative Priorities

NYSAR SUPPORTED ENACTMENT OF THE FOLLOWING 

Property Tax Cap (A.8518 Lopez, V./S.5856 Skelos)
Status: Enacted
Property tax relief was a top legislative priority for lawmakers and NYSAR alike. REALTORS® strongly supported the proposal to cap property taxes at two-percent, or the rate of inflation, whichever is less. NYSAR is proud to report that on Friday June 24, 2011 the NYS Legislature enacted a property tax cap! The legislation was signed by the Governor and will take effect in the 2012 state fiscal year.

Prohibition of Private Transfer Fees (A.7358-A Morelle/S.5203-A Libous)
Status: Under consideration by Governor Cuomo
NYSAR strongly supported legislation to prohibit the use of private transfer fees by developers, and to provide notice, disclosure and remedy procedures for exiting private transfer fee obligations. Private transfer fees are fees of typically1% or more that are automatically inserted into the contract of sale on real property and are paid by the seller, to the original developer of the property or their designee, every time the property is transferred for up to 99 years. These fees represent an additional hindrance to the transfer of property with no valid public benefit or purpose. With the advocacy and support of NYSAR, both the NYS Senate and Assembly overwhelmingly approved this legislation which is now awaiting the signature of Governor Cuomo.

Tax increment financing bond reform (A.5296 Schimminger/S.2446 Young)
Status: Not Enacted
NYSAR strongly supported legislation to allow municipalities to apply the school portion of real property taxes – with school district approval – to pay for debt service on tax increment financing (TIF) bonds to redevelop blighted areas across New York. While this legislation passed the Senate by a vote of 61-1, the bill was not taken up by the Assembly.

First-time Homebuyer Savings Accounts (A. 3833; S.735 Robach)
Status: Not Enacted
NYSAR sought passage of legislation that would allow individuals and couples to make pre-tax contributions to a savings account that would be dedicated to the purchase of a first home.

Transparency and Disclosure in Co-operative Housing (A.2383 Destito/S.2264 Kruger; A.2163 Lavine)
Status: Not Enacted
NYSAR supported legislation that would bring greater transparency to the process of considering the sale of shares in a co-operative housing corporation.

Vested Rights for Property Owners (A.347 Paulin/S.4554 Ball)
Status: Not Enacted
NYSAR supported legislation to create a six year pilot program in the counties of Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Rockland and Westchester relating to municipalities’ ability to alter local codes, laws, ordinances, rules and regulations during the course local development projects. This legislation would have required municipalities to maintain a consistent set of rules throughout a construction project, except in certain reasonable instances.

Definition of Resident for Income Tax (A.6266-A Thiele/S.3998-A LaValle)
Status: Not Enacted
NYSAR supported legislation to clarify the definition of “permanent place of abode” for personal income tax purposes. Under this bill, the usage or ownership of a vacation home would not be sufficient to establish residency for personal income tax proposes so long as the taxpayer spends less than 90 days year at the vacation home and the home is located more than 50 miles from the taxpayer's primary place of employment in New York.


NYSAR OPPOSED ENACTMENT OF THE FOLLOWING LEGISLATION

Rent Control (A.8518 Lopez, V./S.5856 Skelos)
Status: Enacted
NYSAR opposes all legislation that artificially sets the pricing of rents. Under the new luxury decontrol laws provided in this legislation, vacant apartments can be deregulated when the rent reaches $2,500 per month. Occupied units can be deregulated when the rent reaches $2,500 per month and the tenants have an income of $200,000 or more for two consecutive years. These new rent control laws were contained in the same bill as the property tax cap. As such it passed the Senate and the Assembly and has been signed by Governor Cuomo.

Payment of Independent Contractors (A.6698 Silver/S.4129 Golden)
Status: Defeated
NYSAR strongly opposed legislation relating to the payment of independent contractors. The requirements outlined in this bill were unworkable and impractical as they related to the real estate industry and the relationship between brokers and the independent contractors they employ. NYSAR was successful in amending the Senate version of this bill to exempt real estate professionals from the bill language however the bill was not taken up by the Senate this session.

Well Water Education Act (A.7866-A Jaffee/S.4755-A Saland)
Status: Defeated
NYSAR opposed legislation to require home inspectors, licensed real estate brokers and salespersons to provide well water education materials to prospective buyers regarding the potential hazards of well water. This bill had very serious technical flaws that would cause a tremendous amount of confusion and uncertainty in real estate transactions across New York.

Expanded Agriculture Disclosure Notice (A.5825 Gunther/ S.4958 Ball)
Status: Defeated
NYSAR opposed a measure to expand current law by requiring sellers of property partially or wholly within five-hundred feet of an agricultural district to provide the agriculture disclosure form to prospective buyers. Most sellers do not have the ability to accurately determine where five-hundred feet beyond their entire property line extends and whether that additional 500 feet runs into an agricultural district. This legislation failed to provide a mechanism for sellers to definitively obtain this information.

Private Well Testing Act (A.667 Jaffee/S.2709 Grisanti; A.4557 Jaffee)
Status: Defeated
NYSAR opposed legislation to require a water quality test as a condition of the transfer of any real property served by a well. This legislation would delay real estate closings and it is unnecessary, duplicative and essentially an unfunded mandate on New York State homeowners.

On-bill Financing for Green Jobs/Green New York (A.8510 Cahill/S.5844 Maziarz)
Status: Enacted
NYSAR initially opposed the Green Jobs/Green New York legislation and recommended several amendments. NYSAR was successful in getting the Governor and the Legislature to include our recommended amendments in the final bill including requiring the Green Jobs/Green New York loan to be recorded as a mortgage, making the Green Jobs/Green New York loan subordinate to other mortgages provided by lenders on the property, prohibiting the Green Jobs/Green New York loan from having any right to enforce payment or foreclosure upon the property, and requiring written notice by seller of the existence of the loan pursuant to §242 of the Real Property Law.

Doubling of Statewide Mortgage Recording Tax (A.3307 Magnarelli)
Status: Defeated
NYSAR strongly opposed legislation that would have doubled the “Additional” mortgage recording tax in every county in New York State that is not part of the Metropolitan Commuter Transportation District. New York has the highest closing costs in the country already. This bill would significantly increase the cost of purchasing a home and/or commercial property, and refinancing a current mortgage.

Statewide Transfer Tax Authorization (S.1447 Breslin)
Status: Defeated
NYSAR again opposed all legislation that would allow greater municipal oversight and responsibility for the approval of transfer tax increases, regardless of the intent of the dedicated monies.
 
Wetlands Oversight (A.3374 Sweeney/S.4617 Avella)
Status: Defeated
NYSAR opposed this unnecessary legislation which would have increased the state Department of Environmental Conservation’s oversight of wetlands. If enacted, this proposal could stop or delay construction and development projects throughout New York State and discourage future business investments.

Source of Income Discrimination (A.1121-B Bing/ S.83 Squadron)
Status: Defeated
NYSAR opposed this legislation that added “source of income” as a protected class in New York State Human Rights Law as it relates to housing. The sweeping language of this bill constituted a serious intrusion on the rights of property owners to conduct their own business with prospective purchasers and renters.

Prohibition on Broker Prepared Legal Documents (A.45 Latimer/S.3473 Oppenheimer)
Status: Defeated
NYSAR opposed legislation which would prohibit real estate brokers from providing legal advice or preparing legal documents in real estate matters unless such person is also a licensed attorney in New York State.

Prohibition of Brokerage Agreements in New York City (S.2287 Kruger)
Status: Defeated
NYSAR opposed legislation to prohibit “exclusive” brokerage agreements between brokers and sellers of non-multiple, residential dwellings within New York City. This bill stated all sales contracts between sellers and brokers “shall be deemed to be void as against public policy and wholly unenforceable.”

Restrictions on Property Owners Use of Apartments (A.3033 Lopez/S.81 Squadron)
Status: Defeated
NYSAR opposed bills which would impose additional restrictions on property owners’ ability to reside in their own property. These bills sought to prohibit property owners subject to rent regulation from recovering more than one apartment for their personal use. Current rent control laws already require that a property owner establish a good faith reason for seeking a tenant’s apartment for their own use and an immediate and compelling necessity for doing so.

Citizen Suits (A.4801Kavanagh)
Status: Defeated
NYSAR strongly opposed legislation that would grant private citizens the ability to commence a civil action seeking to remedy certain violations to the Environmental Conservation Law (ECL). Providing private citizens with the ability to seek judicial enforcement of the ECL carries the unintended consequence of further crippling New York State’s building and development industries. Additionally, this legislation is unnecessary as current vehicles to remedy any violations of the ECL already exist.

Voter Registration (A.5909 Kavanagh/S.1560 Addabbo)
Status: Defeated
NYSAR opposed legislation which requires every landlord that rents residential real property in New York State to provide tenants with voter registration forms at the time of lease execution. While NYSAR strongly supports efforts to increase voter registration in New York, we do not believe the rental transaction is the appropriate mechanism to facilitate or fulfill the intent of this legislation.