As we wrap up week three of the 2022 Virginia General Assembly session, here’s what driving the week for Virginia REALTORS^®.

Health Insurance

First things first: Senate Bill 335 passed the full Senate on a 39-0 vote on Friday, and House Bill 768 reported favorably from the House Commerce & Energy Committee Thursday with a 21-1 tally. The legislation will allow the Virginia REALTORS^® to engage with insurance providers to see if we can offer health insurance plans to our members. We are prohibited from doing this under current law. Senate Bill 335 and House Bill 768 require any insurance product we pursue to comply with the federal Affordable Care Act and cover all the Essential Health Benefits under Virginia law.

Closing the deal: While we are off to a promising start, we do not take anything for granted. Our Call for Action on health insurance will stay live as the legislation works its way through process. Just a few moments of your time can help us reach our legislative goals. If you haven’t, take action now: www.virginiarealtors.org/take-action

Bipartisan Rockstars: We appreciate Senator George Barker (D – Alexandria) and Delegate Keith Hodges (R – Urbana) for being the lead sponsor of our bills. They have been tireless champions for our members.

Legislative Agenda Round Up

Escrow Protection: Senate Bill 533 from Senator Lynwood Lewis passed the full Senate 40-0 on January 25th. The bill will now go to the House for consideration. Working with the Virginia Real Estate Board, this legislation would clarify that a broker deliver an earnest money deposit to the escrow agent named in the contract by the end of the fifth business banking day following receipt, unless otherwise agreed to in writing by the principals to the transaction. This safeguards a consumer’s earnest money deposit and protects brokers from violations when a third party is delivering and/or holding escrow monies.

POAs & COAs: House Bill 470 from Delegate David Bulova and Senate Bill 197 from Senator Monty Mason each reported out of committee unanimously this week and will move to the House and Senate for floor votes next week. These bills will amend the Property Owners and Condo Owners associations acts to:

· Require that POAs and COAs recognize a real estate licensee’s right to represent a client for certain association matters with written consent.

· Clarify that a third-party vendor delivering sale packets for an association are under the same 14-day packet delivery laws as the association itself.

Welcome to My House

We enjoyed having REALTORS^® from the Fredericksburg Area Association (1/19) and Northern Virginia Association (1/26) visit the Capitol for meetings with legislators. Our impact as an association is built on the strength and voice of our members. The Government Relations team also got the chance to check in virtually with Hampton Roads REALTORS^® Association’s RPAC Fundraising Committee on Thursday to update them on what’s happening in Richmond.

If you would like a member of our team to join your association or firm meeting virtually during Session, email us at advocacy@virginiarealtors.org or reach out to one of our team members directly.