For the next month or maybe more, you’ll have to wade through news reports of the doings of our state’s legislature.
But, the reports will be in two areas:
a. The budget battle, and
b. Goofy things, mainly causes of little interest pushed by insignificant people who won’t shut up about it.
Reporters like conflict over big bucks and odd stuff, and that’s what they’ll report.
You won’t get enough of the real things that matter. Reporters like sexy things, and workers compensation laws and real estate trust funds are ... well, they certainly aren’t sexy and, to make things more unappealing to a reporter, it takes a lot of work to figure out how to even explain the situations.
They matter. They matter a lot.
For the builders, worker’s comp is a huge problem and there’s a massive effort on the other side to contend with (poor trial lawyers; aren’t they the demons for all ills these days?)
For the real estate industry, there’s the matter of the state trying to get the trust fund into the general fund. The Florida Association of REALTORS has been the state’s most successful association because it’s always battled to keep control of its turf, and this is indeed a turf battle.
Who really cares? Probably 2 percent of you.
If you’re one of the 98 percent whose interest in laws only goes as far as what changes are required in contracts, you’re going to let the legislature work its way through these issues and then see what comes out the other end.
If you’re one of the 2 percent, you’ll at least try and influence the process.
So, the 2 percent can quit reading now. The rest of this goes to the 98 percent.
Listen up:
1. Your associations employ legislative liaisons. We’re lucky around here; people like Daniel Davis (NEFAR) and Nancy Garcia (NEFAR) know what they’re doing. Let them know you’re available to help.
2. Attend your association’s “day” in Tallahassee. It’s just one day off work, and you probably need a break. You’ll do some good, you’ll meet some important people and you’ll attend a good party or two.
3. Find out the names of your legislators. You have one representative in the Senate, one in the House. If you don’t know your people, call your county’s Supervisor of Elections and tell them where you live, and they’ll tell you the names. Then, mail each legislator and tell him (almost all are ‘him” around here, but we do have a “her” in Audrey Gibson) that you expect support for construction and real estate agendas.
How do you know the email addresses? They follow the same pattern and here’s mine:
For the Senate:
For the House:
Fill in your own legislatures names and hit “Send.”
Will they listen? How do you think they got there, by not listening to voters?
Do us all a favor; be part of the solution (the 2 percent) rather than the confusion (the 98 percent.)
Doesn’t sound too difficult, does it?
— Fred Seely is editor of Realty/Builder
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