ANOTHER VICTORY FOR BUILDING CODE BILL
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The HBAA scored another victory for its Building Code bill
(SB 315) when it passed out of the Senate on Tuesday by a 32-0 vote. Senator
Marc Keahey (D-Grove Hill) sponsored the bill, which was the second bill on
Tuesday's special order calendar and the last bill passed before the Senate
shut down for the day.
Before convening Tuesday's session, HBAA members visited
with their Senators to urge them to support Senator Keahey's bill. With over 200 members sitting in the
gallery, the Senate made clear the need for this legislation and complimented
the HBAA and its members for taking up this important issue and doing so in a
bipartisan manner. On behalf of
all the members present and those unable to attend, the HBAA takes this
opportunity to thank the entire Senate for their leadership in keeping homes
safe and affordable.
From here, the bill moves to the House, while the companion
bill, HB 264, moves to the Senate. The House bill will be amended to mirror the
Senate bill, and whichever bill passes first will be the one that will be sent
to the Governor for signing into law.
The HBAA again thanks all of the members who
came to the State House on Tuesday and helped influence the vote. As we've said
before, the fight is not over yet. We will continue to call on members to
contact their legislators as the bills go through both houses of the
legislature.
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SENATE PASSES HOUSING FINANCE AUTHORITY BILL TODAY
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Those members present at
Tuesday's Senate meeting will remember that the HBAA-backed Housing Finance
Authority bill which expands the types of loans the Authority is permitted to
service was "filibustered" to close out the day. That bill (SB 147 by Senator Bedford) passed the Senate
today on a vote of 28 - 0. The
bill now moves to the House for consideration.
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HBAA INTRODUCES LANGUAGE TO CORRECT LAND PURCHASE RULING
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A recent Supreme Court ruling has negatively affected the
way that developers contract for the sale of lots prior to subdividing the
land. The court basically has said
that land could not be sold by metes and bounds within property due to be
subdivided unless the subdivision had been platted with the local governing
entity. This ruling will interfere
with developers' ability to obtain subdivision financing by prohibiting contracts between
parties to "take-down" lots until the plat is approved by the local government.
The HBAA has been working closely with the Alabama Law
Institute to determine how to best proceed to correct the problem caused by the
court's decision. Using suggested
language by the Law institute, the HBAA has introduced HB 556 (England,
Tuscaloosa) and SB 412 (Ross, Montgomery).
The HBAA hopes to get these bills moving as soon as possible
in an effort to avoid any disruption in the land development financing
arena.
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