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LR Session Scoop: Wrap Up

Louisiana REALTORS • Jun 16, 2021

The 2021 Louisiana Legislative Session ended Thursday, June 10th. We are happy to report that the real estate industry saw great success. We defeated an attempt to implement a state property tax, no attempts were made to place a sales tax on your commission, and your right to remain an independent contractor under state law is still valid. Kim Callaway, Director of Legal & Governmental Affairs, is here to share some highlights with you. Below, you will also find summaries of key legislation that pertain to your real estate practice.


Looking for more information on Session as a whole?

Click here to check out commentary on other items of interest provided by Jim Harris with Harris, Deville, & Associates.

LICENSING

House Bill No. 258 by Representative Kathy Edmonston

What Would Change: This bill would move the renewal date of a real estate license up to September 30th. The change would take place in 2022 for your 2023 license renewal. Rather than a license renewal being “delinquent” after the license expires, the renewal would be delinquent three months prior to the license’s expiration.

What Would Stay the Same: License expiration and errors and omissions insurance expiration would remain December 31st. The deadline for completion of continuing education would remain December 31st. All renewal and delinquency fees would remain the same.

Status: Sent to the Governor

Position: Support

Why:  Passage of this bill would help ensure that all REALTORS® were properly licensed and insured as of January 1st.


Currently, licensees have the first quarter of the following year to delinquently renew their licenses leaving those who do not renew before December 31st technically unlicensed as of January 1st.  This leaves them without E&O insurance for that time and makes them ineligible to receive commissions during the time they are not licensed.

LEASE

House Bill No. 374 by Representative Royce Duplessis

What: This would require landlords to give written notice to prospective tenants that they are allowed to submit statements regarding financial hardships experienced following a declared disaster. The legislation also requires that the language on the notice reference COVID-19 and hurricanes.

Status: Sent to the Governor

Position: Monitor

Why: Louisiana REALTORS® worked with the author and the Apartment Association to come to a consensus on this bill as the original version was unworkable. 

House Bill No. 375, Act No. 1, by Representative Aimee Freeman

What: This legislation will allow a lessee who is a victim of sexual assault to receive an early termination on a lease agreement within 30 days (on a mutually agreed-upon date) with provision of certain documentation and adherence to strict minimum requirements.

Status: Signed by the Governor

Position: Monitor

Why: The Apartment Association worked very closely with the author and in consultation with Louisiana REALTORS® to ensure that this legislation accomplished the author’s and proponent’s goals without imposing undue burdens on property rights.

PARTITIONS

House Bill No. 400, Act No. 27 by Representative Jean-Paul Coussan

What: If a co-owner is absent or has not consented to a private sale, the court now will have to prioritize a private sale to co-owners over licitation or private sales to third parties. Also, in these instances the sales price cannot be less than the appraised value rather than the previous law requirement of 2/3rds of the appraised value.

Status: Signed by the Governor; Act No. 27

Position: Monitor

Why:  This act makes improvements to our partition laws that have previously have not prioritized the rights of co-owners not wishing to sell inherited property.

House Bill No. 201 by Representative Greg Miller

What: Directs the Louisiana Law Institute to study the partition of property owned in indivision and how partition impacts heirs' property to make recommendations to the Legislature regarding the rights and duties required by owners in indivision of property.

Status: Enrolled; Governor not required to sign

Position: Support

Why:  For the past 100 years, middle- to low-income families have lost inherited family property and the chance to build generational wealth because Louisiana laws on court-ordered sales of co-owned property only allowed courts to divide the property up or sell it in a process that is essentially an auction.


REALTOR® Champions Representatives Alan Seabaugh and Jean Paul Coussan authored legislation in 2020 and 2021 that have vastly improved these laws, but there is still work to be done.


For example, almost 20 states adopted the Uniform Partition of Heir’s Property Act which mandates court-ordered sales of property in partition actions to be accomplished by using the services of a licensed real estate agent.


With this instrument, experts will study how Louisiana can retain its civil law traditions and adopt provisions of this uniform act in the hopes that a path forward can be found to adopt key provisions of the uniform act that require open and transparent sales methods that maximize dollars received by those who are ordered by a court to sell their property.

INSURANCE

House Bill No. 577 by Representative Scott McKnight

What: This legislation promotes the writing of private flood insurance in Louisiana.

Status: Signed by the Governor, Act No. 77

Position: Monitor

Why:  The Louisiana Department of Insurance reports that House Bill No. 577 would expand flood insurance choices for consumers beyond the National Flood Insurance Program and make it easier for private carriers to write flood insurance in Louisiana.

House Bill No. 451, Act No. 30 by Representative Paula Davis

What: Beginning in July of 2022, insurers will be permitted to give discounts and insurance rate reductions, if actuarially justified, for residential and commercial building insurance policies if the structure is certified as in conformance with the fortified home or commercial standards after inspection and certification by an Institute for Business and Home Safety certified inspector.

Status: Signed by the Governor; Act No. 30

Position: Support

Why:  Retrofitting one’s property to these standards is costly but may help reduce repair costs following wind events. Insurance companies should recognize the costs incurred by property owners in taking these steps to protect their insured property and provide discounts and credits for doing so.

MISCELLANEOUS

House Bill No. 437 by Representative Foy Gadberry

What: This legislation would require a properly registered certified building inspector to conduct and be on site of inspections of any commercial or residential structure. In short, this would prohibit certified building inspectors to conduct inspections on applications such as Zoom or FaceTime.

Status: Sent to the Governor

Position: Support

Why:  The Louisiana Uniform Construction Code was put in place to ensure that structures are built and remodeled in a safe and structurally sound manner. To ensure this continues, it is imperative that code inspectors be able to physically inspect a structure. Virtual inspections do not provide for the same level of scrutiny as physical inspections do. 

House Bill No. 348 by Representative Mary DuBuisson

What: This bill would require that the reading aloud of the description of a piece of property at a sheriff’s sale be done so in such sufficiency to reasonably provide notice to the public of the property being offered.

Status: Sent to the Governor

Position: Support

Why:  The average property owner or purchaser does not know the lot number, lot lines, filing number, etc. of property, but they do know the address and neighborhood where the property is located. If adopted, this would assist property owners and purchasers to know with greater certainty what property is being sold at a sheriff’s sale.

House Bill No. 648 by Daryl Deshotel

What: The bill would establish the "Granting Unserved Municipalities Broadband Opportunities" grant program for areas with low internet connectivity to be able to access dollars to improve connectivity.   

Status: Passed the Senate

Position: Support

Why:  Louisiana REALTORS® now more than ever rely on streaming video and virtual tours to assist clients in buying and selling property. REALTORS® need high-speed internet to do this and their clients need high-speed internet to telework, access virtual classrooms, and access telemedicine. REALTORS® know that affordable high-speed broadband is almost as necessary as water and electricity because their clients are demanding it. This is why Louisiana REALTORS® supports efforts to improve internet service in Louisiana.

Session Scoop: April 26, 2024

By Louisiana REALTORS® • 29 Apr, 2024
Bill Tracking Report as of 4/26/2024

NAR President Kevin Sears: A New Road for NAR

By Louisiana REALTORS® • 26 Apr, 2024
From REALTOR® Magazine by Stacey Moncrieff Don’t talk about business as usual to this group: NAR’s culture transformation commissioners and new leadership are helping to usher in big changes for the nation’s largest real estate organization. When the National Association of REALTORS® named its Culture Transformation Commission—a group of more than 70 members; state and local association staff; and NAR staff selected through a collaborative process—the aim was to identify and break down impediments to being an inclusive, welcoming and respectful organization for all. NAR’s Leadership Team announced the Commission in October 2023 as an essential step in putting the organization on a new path forward. NAR continued down that path the following month with the appointment of Interim CEO Nykia Wright and again in December with the appointment of Chief Marketing & Communications Officer Suzanne Bouhia. In February, Wright engaged Karyn Detje to lead NAR’s human resources transformation. Along with the staff changes have come shifts in NAR leadership. Kevin Sears, a broker from Springfield, Mass., stepped into the presidency in January, making a commitment to help return the organization to stable ground, get back to the business of helping members succeed, and eliminate distractions from the job. Shortly after taking office, Sears announced that two former NAR presidents, Vince Malta and Sharon Millett, would fill vacancies in the 2024 NAR Leadership Team. Malta is a broker from San Francisco and was NAR’s 2020 president. Millett, a broker from Auburn, Maine, was NAR’s 1999 president. “The real story [of NAR] is progress,” Wright said in a letter to members in February, calling out the CTC’s role. The group’s recommendations, she said, will shape the association’s progress into the future. “We’ve reached out directly, and the overwhelming majority of our members have told us they trust in what we are doing to transform the organization,” Wright says. “We are not taking their trust lightly but are working every day to earn their continued confidence.” Under the new staff and member leadership, NAR is communicating more deliberately, sharpening its focus on the core mission of serving its members, and moving toward becoming a nimble organization. Four Areas of Focus Part of that comes with the delivery of the CTC’s recommendations, some of which are expected in the fall, according to Ryan Davis, NAR’s vice president of diversity, equity and inclusion. “This is a ripe opportunity for change,” says Davis, who serves as co-lead on the project. “While some of the work will likely spill over into 2025, we expect to see formal recommendations in November [at NAR NXT(link is external), Nov. 8–10, Boston].” Under the leadership of its tri-chairs, the CTC has completed two of four phases of its work—information and data gathering and aligning on priorities. In the information-gathering phase, commissioners heard from thousands of association members and staff via interviews, focus groups, open forums and informal conversations. In the second phase, they aligned the findings into four common themes and identified opportunities for culture transformation within each theme. Theme 1: Mission and Values Opportunities: Clearly define our real estate–driven mission; appreciate and understand the work that NAR staffers, members, and state and local association staff perform; set expectations around how members and staff treat one another; and embed change throughout NAR. Theme 2: Leadership Opportunities: Set clear expectations and standards for those who lead across NAR—members, state and local association staff, and NAR staff. Review the entire leadership process—from the selection, training and evaluation of senior staff to the election, appointment and training and expectations of member leaders. Theme 3: Governance Opportunities: Rethink the association’s governance structure, its focus, and how it operates to enable members and staff to do their best work. Theme 4: Compliance Opportunities: Provide a safe space for all and promote accountability. To guide the next two phases of the work—developing implementation plans and final review, adoption and implementation—the group recently engaged McKinley Advisors, a firm with deep roots and expertise in association management and transformation. Working in parallel with the CTC, a Policies and Procedures Task Force is creating recommendations to improve NAR’s policies, procedures, trainings and systems to prevent inappropriate member behavior, encourage reporting of alleged misconduct, and promote an environment of transparency and accountability. “Culture change takes time,” says Detje, who has led staff transformations within large organizations and is co-leading the project with Davis, “but I see an incredible commitment among the members and staff to make it happen. One thing I’ve found really remarkable is that, despite having been through an incredibly challenging 18 months, people are passionate about this organization and the work they do.” The commission continues to welcome feedback from members and association staff. Want to share your ideas on transforming the culture of NAR and the REALTOR® organization? Email culture@nar.realtor .

NAR President Kevin Sears’ Update from the Road at Broker Summit

By Louisiana REALTORS® • 23 Apr, 2024
Last week, NAR President Kevin Sears checked in from the NAR Broker Summit, where he learned new tools to strengthen his business alongside several hundred fellow brokers. Next stop, Washington, DC for the REALTORS® Legislative Meetings, where we’ll show Congress our grassroots strength in action. We encourage you to watch Kevin’s video here to learn more about what NAR is advocating for this year at RLM. As always, the overarching theme is increasing access to homeownership. This video is also in the video section of our website. Stay tuned for Kevin’s next update.
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