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ISSUE NO. 2 / MARCH 13, 2015

Home Owners Association Bill Introduced

For the past several months, the HBAA has been working with Rep. Mac McCutcheon (R-Huntsville) to develop legislation to address the operation of home owners associations. Working with the Alabama Association of Realtors and the Alabama Bankers Association, the HBAA crafted a bill that Rep. McCutcheon has used as the basis for HB 241.  The introduced version of the bill includes additional language that will place undue burdens on the HOA and the developer in the form of requirements to provide a laundry list of financial information and HOA documents within twenty days of a request by a member of the HOA, a potential buyer, or any other consumer. After expressing concern to Rep. McCutcheon, he has assured the HBAA that he will work to sort through the final issues. The HBAA is scheduled to meet with him in his district later today.

 

The bill has been placed on Wednesday's agenda in the House State Government committee.

Plumbers Legislation Takes Shape

The final draft for the 2015 Plumbers Board legislation has been completed. After a couple of some rewrites, the new draft more closely mirrors previous versions with a couple of positive exceptions.    

Plumbers Board executive director David Wilcox phones a board member as Jeff Becraft and Joy Whatley work to complete the 2015 draft.

 

The 2015 draft removes the bond requirement that the board has had in place for years. This was an additional expense for the plumbers, yet the board has never exercised a bond in its history. In the normal course of dispute resolution, the board and the violator come together in a consent agreement that addresses any issues that the bond would have covered. This has eliminated the need for the bond and will help lower costs borne by plumbers.

 

The other major change closes a loophole that has allowed non-licensed "plumbers" to advertise and bid on projects. Once they win the bid, they then proceed to contract with out of state plumbers or others to complete the work. The new change will require that the licensee's legal entity be included in the licensing. This will level the playing field by removing this overly abused loophole.

 

The HBAA expects the bill to be introduced next week. Once introduced, the HBAA will work with the House Boards and Commissions committee to get a favorable report at the earliest opportunity.

 

Williams Introduces HVAC Legislation

Representative Jack Williams (R-Birmingham) introduced the HBAA backed HVAC legislation on Wednesday. The HBAA appreciates Rep. Williams for agreeing to sponsor HB 231 during the 2015 session. The HBAA has reached out to House Boards and Commissions Chairman, Rep. Howard Sanderford (R-Huntsville), to request the bill be placed on an upcoming agenda. He has agreed to place the bill on Wednesday's committee agenda.


Housing Trust Fund Bill To Come Before Financial Services Committee

The House Financial Services Committee has placed HB 141 on its agenda for Wednesday. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Patricia Todd (D- Birmingham), would double the recording fee on real property. Under her proposal, half of the increase would go into the Alabama Housing Trust Fund established back in 2012 to provide funding for low income housing. The remaining portion of the increase would be split among probate judges, counties, and the state treasury.

 

It is estimated that the increase called for in the bill would generate approximately $20 million (annually) for the Housing Trust Fund. The plan does not provide caps on administrative fees, nor does it require any remodeling work on homes to be done by a licensed builder.

 

The HBAA, along with the Alabama Association of Realtors and the Alabama Bankers Association, has expressed its opposition to the plan as written. The HBAA and its business industry partners support programs such as the Housing Initiative run by the Alabama Housing Finance Authority that took $6 million and generated roughly $350 million in economic activity over the course of nine months, providing a huge boost for the housing industry.

 

The HBAA will work with Rep. Todd to modify the legislation to fund programs such as the Housing Initiative that result in meaningful economic returns for the state and support low to moderate income families.   

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