This past week, SAR participated in several activities designed to create Member awareness of our diversity and foster an environment of inclusivity. This started with our May Main Meeting, led by President-Elect Samantha Tov, that focused on Asian American History. Everyone in attendance enjoyed AREAA Founding Partner John Wong’s talk about his experience as an Asian American. He is truly an industry inspiration. The wide array of Asian breakfast specialties was both delicious and educational.
Also, last week was the annual California Association of REALTORS® Legislative Day. The week started with the Riding with the Brand REALTOR® Block Party. It was a great event with food trucks, music and camaraderie of REALTORS® from across the state. This was a popular event and I understand that it may become an annual event. The Spring Business Meetings for C.A.R. were informational as always. Our focus for Legislative Day is always to update the Membership on what is happening at C.A.R. and in the state political arena.
We received an update on the plans to sell the existing C.A.R. building in Los Angeles as it is old and needing massive retrofits. The Strategic Planning and Finance Committee is working hard on this, and we should have another update with positive news in the fall. That building with land comes with entitlements to build workforce housing that will make it highly desirable for a builder.
C.A.R. is focusing heavily on the REALTOR® Party and Political Activism as we are in a policy heavy period of the state legislature. You know the old saying “get into politics or get out of the business,” this is where we are at SAR as well. There are so many pieces of legislation on the table that can and will have an impact on our business.
From Electrification, Water Resource Management and a potential repeal of Costa-Hawkins to proposed changes to Capital Gains Taxes, Insurance Issues and Fire Hazards changes were hot topics as well. Good news though, for those having a difficult time getting insurance coverage, the California Fair Plan is available and has expanded coverage from 1.5 million to 3 million to adjust with the increasing cost of housing replacement. There are lots of exciting and somewhat controversial bills on the table for contemplation and all of them affect our prime directive of being defenders of private property rights. This is going to be an interesting legislative session and we need your help by investing in the REALTOR® Action Fund.
For the first time ever, SAR hosted a post Legislative Day session with local elected officials and an educational event at Tipsy Putt. It was a fun and informational event that was sold out! We will be doing that again next year.
All in all, it was a great week full of information, education for our Association, and a good bit of fun to balance it all out. The YPN Mega Mixer was a huge success as well with more than 250 people in attendance.
If you were not able to attend Legislative Day and want a more detailed recap of these meetings, please attend your local Regional Meeting on 5/23 to hear a C.A.R. Report from your local C.A.R. Director. These reports summarize the most important developments from recent C.A.R. Legislative Day meetings and will bring you up to speed.
