The Legislative Season is off to its usual fast and furious start. Vermont Realtors® hosted its annual Legislative Reception on January 21st at Capitol Plaza. This annual event gives our members direct access to legislators and an opportunity to discuss issues of concern for Realtors® and home owners. Below are some of the items your association is following:
H. 616 Dam notification
H.616 would require the owner of property on which a dam is located to notify a prospective buyer of the presence of the dam. Last year, another version of this bill (H. 37) was stalled in the Senate Finance Committee. The bill contained a request for engineered inspections and registration fees of all bodies of impounded water. This new version uses real estate transactions as a way to identify dams and bodies of water on property. There are no fees mentioned in the bill. The goal of this bill is to identify bodies of impounded water and to report these waters to the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation. This is an issue that became acute following the destruction of Tropical Storm Irene. Vermont Realtors® is monitoring this bill and its potential impact on real estate transactions.
H. 603 Modification of statutory definitions of a licensed lender and mortgage loan originator
H.603 states that any individual who offers or negotiates the terms of a residential mortgage loan secured by a dwelling that served as the individual’s residence, including a vacation home, or inherited property that served as the deceased’s dwelling, be allowed to provide the buyer financing and not require a mortgage loan originator license.
Employee vs. Independent Contractor Update
The Vermont Department of Labor is interested in clarifying the definitions of employee and independent contractor. There are four House bills currently under consideration. Real estate salespersons currently considered independent contractors under Vermont law.
Act 46
Act 46 was enacted into law last year and aims to curb education costs, thereby reducing property taxes. The law also calls for the restructuring of public schools to create larger and more efficient districts. Neither the cost containment nor the restructuring components of the law have been a success. The law calls for penalties on districts that exceed spending thresholds by placing a $1 tax on every dollar spent in excess. However, lawmakers failed to consider factors such as the rising cost of health insurance, and the mandate they themselves recently passed forcing school districts to pay for expensive universal pre-K programs. This has made it difficult for many school districts to conform to the new budget limitations. Local communities and school boards are seeking clarity on this issue as they work to create new school budgets. The House and Senate are not in agreement on how to resolve this issue. VR continues to be concerned about the solutions being discussed surrounding this bill. The amendments currently under consideration would place additional financial burdens on property tax payers.