By Carole Hawkins, Staff Writer
At the close of Florida’s 2014 legislative session, issues near and dear to Realtors saw mixed results.
The Sadowski Trust Fund scored. Private flood insurance for Florida homeowners advanced. But, a tax cut for commercial leases — the Realtors’ number one issue — was effectively a rainout.
John Sebree, Florida Realtors vice president of public policy, explained the details to Realtors at NEFAR’s annual Legislative Luncheon in May.
The issue: A portion of the documentary stamp tax, which is charged on real estate transactions, goes into the Sadowski Trust Fund, a pool of money used for low income housing programs. But in recent years, the Legislature has swept most of the money into general revenue, where it funds programs unrelated to housing. Realtors wanted the Sadowski money used for its intended purpose.
The result: Lawmakers this year appropriated $167.7 million from the Sadowski Trust Fund to affordable housing programs — the largest amount in seven years. That’s out of an estimated $231 million the trust fund will collect in the upcoming year.
The state budget also provided $4 million for homeless programs. “Everyone (from our Sadowski coalition) agreed this year we had to put more focus on homelessness,” Sebree said. “The average age of homeless in Pinellas County is seven.”
The issue: A federal law, the 2012 Biggert-Waters Act, phases out subsidies for flood insurance policies near the coast written though the National Flood Insurance Program. Last year, high premiums for homes when they transferred ownership sparked a new federal law that reduced the speed of those rate hikes. As a backup though, Realtors sought incentives for private companies to provide insurance in Florida.
The result: Lawmakers passed SB 542 which defines four types of acceptable flood insurance policies and allows private companies to get fast-tracked rate reviews with the state.
“Our focus this year was on creating a framework in Florida and giving the Office of Insurance Regulation the ability to certify these new flood insurance policies for companies that want to write,” Sebree said.
The issue: Florida is the only state that still charges a sales tax on commercial leases. The 6 percent tax puts Florida businesses at a competitive disadvantage with neighboring states. Realtors sought to lower the tax by 1 percent, and to eventually phase it out.
The result: Bills to cut the tax, HB 11 and SB 176, by $100 million next year gained no traction, despite being included in Gov. Rick Scott’s budget proposal. The $500 million budget surplus instead was spent on lowering the car tag fees and establishing three broad-based sales tax holidays. However, the House speaker promised a comprehensive study on the benefits of the commercial lease tax cut, which Sebree said would provide a roadmap for the Legislature to reduce the tax next year.
“Of course it’s disappointing when it’s one of our top talking points and it doesn’t get done,” Sebree said. “But it’s a big thing, and these things don’t happen overnight.”