| THE GADFLY | |||||||||||||||
| August 2015 | |||||||||||||||
| The NAR Government Affairs Directors Newsletter | |||||||||||||||
| The GADFly is produced by the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® to provide Government Affairs Directors (GADs) at state and local REALTOR® associations with tools, news and information to help you serve your members. To add one of your staff members to the distribution list, or to be removed, contact Kyle Lambert London at klambertlondon@realtors.org/202-383-1203. | |||||||||||||||
| In This Issue... | |||||||||||||||
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| Mark Your Calendars | |||||||||||||||
 See you Next Year for the 2016 GAD Institute?Please mark your calendars and plan your budgets for July 13 – 16, 2016 at the Lowe’s Vanderbilt Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee. Room rates are $199 and the registration fee for the Institute is $500 (early registration)/$550 (late registration). |
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| Community Outreach Grants and News | |||||||||||||||
| Community Outreach Grant Deadline is August 15 Visit Realtor Action Center to learn more about application deadlines, funding levels, and changes to grant regulations. |
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| Diversity Grants – Mobilize your diverse membership to lead your association in to the future. Apply for a grant of up to $5,000 | |||||||||||||||
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| Smart Growth Grants – Shape your community into the most attractive, livable, sustainable place it can be. Apply for a grant of up to $15,000. | |||||||||||||||
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| Housing Opportunity Grants – Launch innovative activities to make affordable housing more readily available in your community. Apply for a grant of up to $15,000. | |||||||||||||||
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| Help Meet the Placemaking Grant in Every State Goal The goal is ambitious but reachable with your help – a placemaking project, funded via an NAR Placemaking Micro-grant, underway in each state by the end of 2015. Projects have been built or are underway in 37 states; thirteen more to go. Which category is your state in? If the latter, let’s change that. |
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From NAR’s Spaces to Places Blog
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| 3,000 in 50 Largest Metros Respond to Poll on Generations and Walkable Communities The National Association of REALTORS®' Smart Growth Program and researchers from Portland State University conducted a poll of 3,000 adults in the 50 largest metro areas in the United States. The bulk of the questions had to do with biking, walking, and transit use, as well as a respondent's willingness to trade off housing size to live in a more walkable community. Many good crosstabs provide insight into the preferences of the various generations. Click here to get the full analysis: http://www.realtor.org/reports/nar-2015-community-preference-survey |
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| 3,000 in 50 Largest Metros Respond to Poll on Generations and Walkable Communities The National Association of REALTORS®' Smart Growth Program and researchers from Portland State University conducted a poll of 3,000 adults in the 50 largest metro areas in the United States. The bulk of the questions had to do with biking, walking, and transit use, as well as a respondent's willingness to trade off housing size to live in a more walkable community. Many good crosstabs provide insight into the preferences of the various generations. Click here to get the full analysis: http://www.realtor.org/reports/nar-2015-community-preference-survey |
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| GAD Institute 2015 Follow Up | |||||||||||||||
| Still Time to Complete the GAD Evaluation Form First off, a big thank you goes out to those who were able to attend the GAD Institute last month! We had a record 201 pre-registrants and 199 were able to join us on site in Salt Lake City. If you have not yet filled out the GAD evaluation (even if you did NOT attend), please take some time to give us your feedback. The goal is to continue to improve the professional development offered to GADs (and those interested in advocacy outreach) by NAR. If you provide your name/email, you will be entered to receive a $50 gift card. Deadline for providing your feedback is Thursday, August 13 – one week from today. So hurry and fill out the evaluation form! |
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| Interested in Serving? The GAD Advisory Group is looking for a few volunteers to serve. The GAD Advisory Group provides input, advice and service for development of GAD education programs throughout the year, including the GAD Institute. This group also analyses potential sites for the GAD Institute. If you are interested in serving on this group, please contact Chair, Jenny Reese (jenny@carraranv.com); Vice Chair, Mark Quarry (MQuarry@cabr.org) or Kyle Lambert London. |
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| Looking for the Power Points Shown at the GAD Institute? Please check the website for speaker names, presentations, handouts and other information regarding the 2015 GAD Institute. |
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| Real Estate Policy Issues | |||||||||||||||
| Nevada Bans Eminent Domain for Loan Seizures REALTORS® in Nevada joined Alabama, Maryland, and Louisiana in amending their state constitution to ban the use of eminent domain to seize underwater mortgages. The Nevada association's success at the state level will prevent this infringement on property rights at the local level throughout the state. Learn more about how a state association can proactively attack this threat. |
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| Hot Topic Alert The average American household has an annual property tax bill of $2,089. Can you guess where the highest property taxes apply? Hint, the governor of the state is running for President in 2016. Learn more in the State and Local Tax Deduction Alert. |
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| Land Use Initiative During the first half of 2015, NAR approved 32 requests for the Land Use Initiative program. Most of the requests for review of proposals came from local governments; however, we had two requests for review of state legislative proposals. Minnesota lawmakers proposed a change that would allow counties to review transfers of property and conformity with land use regulations. In Massachusetts, a piece of legislation proposed small-scale housing development and changes to zoning ordinances within the state. |
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| Deadline for Public Comment on Salary Threshold for Overtime Pay - September 4 The Department of Labor is accepting public comments on its proposal to increase the salary threshold that triggers required overtime pay from $23, 000 to $50,000. The public comment period is scheduled to run until September 4, 2015, but could be extended by several weeks. NAR is looking at the impacts on state and local associations and brokerages. For further information: http://www.realtor.org/articles/department-of-labor-proposes-new-overtime-rules. Also you can review the proposed overtime rules at: http://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=WHD-2015-0001-0001. |
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| NAR Files Comments with US Copyright Office Regarding Photo Scraping On July 23, NAR filed comments with the U.S. Copyright Office in its Notice of Inquiry regarding visual works. NAR suggested a number of changes to the copyright registration and enforcement system that would help the real estate industry combat the problem of photo scraping. These include:
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| Issues Tracker Quiz | |||||||||||||||
State Issues Tracker Trivia, Chance to Win $25 Gift Card
Submit answers to amurawski@realtors.org by August 15th for a chance to win a $25 gift card! |
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| Are You Promoting NAR’s CFA on Patent Trolls? | |||||||||||||||
| Are You Promoting NAR’s CFA on Patent Trolls? It’s Easy As 1-2-3! This all-member Call for Action is an excellent opportunity to meet Core Standards advocacy requirements. Here are 3 ways you can help promote the CFA to Stop Patent Trolls: 1. Insert the CFA Link in your emails and newsletters using the REALTOR Party Hub (Convio/Blackbaud). Watch our 10 Minute Training: www2.realtoractioncenter.com/PromotingaNARCFA 2. Promote the CFA on Social Media and link towww2.realtoractioncenter.com/StopPatentTrolls. Suggested posts:
Please act TODAY to support important legislation protecting the real estate industry. REALTORS®, Brokerages and Multiple Listing Services have received demand letters and been subject to frivolous lawsuits from so-called patent trolls, demanding fees to use common business tools such as website drop down menus and search functions and the copier scanner functions. H.R. 9, The Innovation Act, will help defend our industry against these predatory entities.*Since U.S. Representatives will be back in district this month for August Recess, NAR is keeping this CFA open all month, so don’t forget to click! |
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| Time to Ramp Up Your Association’s Voter Registration | |||||||||||||||
| NAR’s Voter Registration Initiative It’s getting to be that time of year again…the holiday season? Oh, no. It’s time to gear for election season, and voter registration is a crucial part of that process. Campaign service can help with the tools you need to get your members registered to vote and meet your core standards at the same time. Just message our campaign services representative, Mitchell Norton, and he will get you set up with a list of your members and their registration statuses. For more information, visit our website. |
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| RPAC News | |||||||||||||||
| New President’s Circle Targets On August 4th five new President’s Circle Targets were launched! Rep. Andy Barr (KY-6), Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (MO-3), Rep. Carolyn Maloney (NY-12), Sen. Tim Scott (SC), and Sen. Joe Donnelly (IN) are the newest REALTOR® Party Champions in the program. To invest in these or another President’s Circle target, please click here. As a reminder, the full $2,000 investment in President’s Circle is due by September 30th in order to count toward your state’s total number of President’s Circle members. |
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| AMP Re-Branding NAR recently partnered with Aristotle International to rebrand our mobile processing app specifically for the REALTOR® Association. Our updated application is called RAMP – REALTORS® Association Mobile Processor. RAMP replaces the existing AMP tool that is currently being used by many states across the country. RAMP offers additional capabilities such as RPAC branding, Source ID (NRDS) Lookup, and is available on Apple and Android platforms. RAMP will continue to help us offer tools that make RPAC fundraising easy and accessible to state and local associations. |
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| New RPAC Fundraising Training Webinar If you missed the RPAC Fundraising Training Webinar on Increasing Participation Using RPAC Grants Webinar, you can watch the recorded webinar here. To receive future invitations to our Fundraising Training Webinar series, please contact Rheana Scarborough. PACtion! Powered by Auction Frogs- Your new online fundraising tool! “PACtion!” powered by our partners at Auction Frogs will bring your RPAC auctions into the 21st century with cutting edge technology and the ease of online bidding. The cost to host each auction is $650, but you can apply for a grant to help with the cost of your auction. Interested? Click here to fill out a brief form and get started today! Please consult your legal counsel before proceeding with an online RPAC fundraising auction. |
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| RPAC Accelerated Recognition Program Do you have members on a payment plan through the end of the fundraising year but want them to be recognized as a Major Investor NOW? RPAC can help with the Accelerated Recognition Program. Just send the initial 30% of the full investment to NAR, enter a pledge in the PAC Management System for the remaining 70% that remains in your state and your new Major Investor will be recognized. To find out more, contact Peter Kelly. |
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| New RPAC Hall of Fame Deadline! The RPAC Fundraising Trustees voted during the 2015 REALTORS® Legislative Meetings & Trade Expo to change the RPAC Hall of Fame eligibility deadline to December 31 each year. Eligible members and staff must meet the $25,000 minimum threshold by the end of the previous fundraising year. The deadline for the nomination form to be submitted to NAR by the state remains January 31 of each year. To access the guidelines and nomination form, please visit RPAC Hall of Fame. Should you have any questions, or to verify your investment history total, please contact Brooke Roth . |
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| From NAR’s Economist Outlook Blog: | |||||||||||||||
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| Jenny Reese GAD Chair Nevada Association of REALTORS® |
It was great to see most of you, and all of the new faces, at the GAD Institute in Salt Lake City. I think we can agree that NAR, the Utah Association and Salt Lake City Board of REALTORS® hosted an exceptional conference which afforded us the opportunity to expand our professional development. I want to personally thank David Stark for his tremendous leadership this past year and during the conference.
The GAD Institute is such an important aspect of the job. It provides exposure to the NAR REALTOR® Party programs and staff, creates the ability to network with colleagues, provides extensive professional development opportunities and allows for the ability to learn about potential issues that may be initiated in your state or local jurisdiction.
The Institute happens after a year of planning and meetings amongst NAR and the GAD Advisory Group. Your colleagues bring the ideas for content. It doesn’t just happen. The Advisory Group is made up of state and local GADs who volunteer to serve.
We know how important it is to have volunteers within the REALTOR® Community. Volunteers are a vital piece in moving the association forward. They act as liaisons between the needs and wants of the association, and the members and paid staff. Your GAD Advisory Group acts in the same capacity.
In order to continue to hold extraordinary Institutes, we need interested GADs to volunteer to serve on the Advisory Group. If you are interested, please email us your intent to serve.
I encourage you to get involved and I look forward to working with you in the coming year!
| Follow the REALTOR® Action Center! |
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GAD Directory |
SAVE THE DATE
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2016 GAD Institute July 13 – 16, 2016 Room Rates: $199/night Registration Fee: $500 early/$550 late registration |
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REALTORS® Conference and Expo November 13, - 16, 2015 San Diego, California |