Week seven is in the books at the General Assembly as the process moves forward to the scheduled conclusion on March 12^th.  Here’s what’s on top of mind this week.

Ensuring Business Continuity

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the necessity for real estate brokers, particularly those in small or single-person firms, to prepare a business continuity plan. To that end, the Virginia REALTORS^® worked with Senator David Suetterlein, a REALTOR^® from the Roanoke Valley, to introduce legislation addressing what happens in the event of the death or disability of a broker.

Senate Bill 510 would require a real estate broker who is engaged in a sole proprietorship or is the only licensed broker in a business entity to designate, at the time of the application for broker licensure and at the time of the application for renewal of his license, another licensed broker to carry on the business for 180 days to close out the business.

If the designated broker is unable to perform the duties, the legislation gives more flexibility to the Real Estate Board to appoint an appropriate person to wind-down the business without first petitioning the court, which can delay the process.

Senate Bill 510 passed the Senate 40-0 and advanced in through the committee process in the House this week.

Budget Watch

This week, the Republican-led House and Democratic-led Senate passed competing biennial budgets, which will direct how Virginia will spend nearly $160 billion in funds over the next two years. There is still much negotiation between the two chambers to finalize the plan in the next couple of weeks.  Virginia RELATORS^® will monitor the situation to see how the outcome impacts you and your business on items such as broadband deployment, business taxes, and the Housing Trust Fund.

Welcome to My House

On Wednesday, REALTORS^® from the Dulles Area Association visited Richmond and dodged rain drops while advocating for our industry. DAAR members spoke with legislators about how policy decisions in Richmond directly impact them and their clients. To date, we’ve had nine local associations bring more than 120 REALTORS^® to the capitol for lobby days.

You can find our 2022 Legislative Agenda on our website. If you have questions or feedback about the Virginia REALTORS^® Government Relations legislative, feel free to email us at advocacy@virginiarealtors.org or reach out to one of our team members directly.