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December 13, 2024
Public Policy Update
Hello everyone. As we mentioned in our last update, the Senate was in Tallahassee this week for an Interim Committee Week focused on training and education. While it was light on policy discussion, it certainly was not void of it. Even with the holidays fast approaching, we are still seeing bills filed and comments from legislators in the news about what they would like to address in 2025.
With that in mind, we thought this might be a good time to mention that your public policy team has been hard at work constructing our preliminary 2025 legislative agenda. This agenda represents the advocacy work we will do on your behalf throughout 2025 and it is based on the feedback we have received from you through our 2024 governance process.
Of course, we are still several months outside of the beginning of session, which means our agenda is more focused on overarching goals rather than specific bills. But this agenda will form the basis of our 2025 legislative priorities that many of you will be talking with legislators about during Great American Realtor Days March 4 – 6, 2025.
So, what does our preliminary agenda consist of? Well, we will definitely be advocating for more Hometown Heroes Housing Program funding. The $100 million that became available this past July ran out in just a few months so we know the need is great and will speak with lawmakers about continuing to inject funding into it. We are also hearing from the House and Senate that they will be looking to make some additional changes to 2023’s historic Live Local Act. We plan to be involved in those conversations to ensure that the innovative housing strategies in the Act remain intact and to see if there may be some room for new strategies, specifically involving Accessory Dwelling Units.
We are also going to heavily advocate for more My Safe Florida Home (MSFH) and My Safe Florida Condo (MSFC) program funding. These are the programs that providing matching home hardening grants to Floridians so they can harden their homes against storms and potentially lower their insurance premiums. The last round of funding was fully reserved in about two months for MSFH and about a week for MSFC so, similar to Hometown Heroes, the demand for these programs is immense.
Additionally, we are going to keep working on reducing the Business Rent Tax and supporting funding for water quality projects. And we’re also going to continue our conversations with lawmakers about recent property insurance and condominium reforms to make sure they are working as intended. And lastly, we always have our eye on protecting private property rights so that will be a focus in 2025 as well.
Again, this is just a preliminary legislative agenda. As more bills get filed and we get to meet with lawmakers during the committee weeks in January and February, you will start to see more specifics attached to our legislative priorities.
So, stay-tuned!
FinCEN Beneficial Ownership Information Update
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), a bureau within the Treasury Department, recently issued an impact statement regarding the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA), and the Beneficial Ownership Information Reporting (BOIR) in light of a recent nationwide preliminary injunction issued by the Texas federal court on December 3, 2024.
Given the recent injunction, FinCEN issued this statement. The below are two excerpts from the statement we wanted to highlight.
"In light of a recent federal court order, reporting companies are not currently required to file beneficial ownership information with FinCEN and are not subject to liability if they fail to do so while the order remains in force. However, reporting companies may continue to voluntarily submit beneficial ownership information reports.”
"While this litigation is ongoing, FinCEN will comply with the order issued by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas for as long as it remains in effect. Therefore, reporting companies are not currently required to file their beneficial ownership information with FinCEN and will not be subject to liability if they fail to do so while the preliminary injunction remains in effect. Nevertheless, reporting companies may continue to voluntarily submit beneficial ownership information reports."
Insurance Market Back 'From Brink of Collapse'
We wanted to direct your attention to this news article that highlights how the property insurance reforms that were passed in 2022 and 2023 are helping the state’s insurance market recover. The following are some excerpts from the article.
Changes to Florida laws — including a provision making it harder for policyholders to sue insurance companies — are working as intended to help bring the state’s property-insurance market “back from the brink of collapse,” the head of Citizens Property Insurance Corp. said last week.
Despite three catastrophic hurricanes hitting the state this year, Florida’s property-insurance market “continues to recover,” Citizens President and CEO Tim Cerio told the state-backed insurer’s board of directors last week.
“The reforms passed by the Legislature, it’s not an understatement to say they really brought the insurance market back from the brink of collapse. They are continuing to work, which is great news for all Floridians,” Cerio said.
Lawmakers in 2022 and 2023 passed a series of measures aimed at stabilizing the state’s insurance market as insurance companies fled the state and policyholders saw premiums skyrocket. Among the changes was a measure that made it more difficult for homeowners to sue insurers over claim disputes, an effort lawmakers said was necessary to curb litigation by bad actors.
According to a report Cerio provided to the board of directors Wednesday, 15 insurance companies have made a total of 22 filings for rate decreases and 29 companies have made 42 filings for a zero percent increase this year. Most companies also paid less for reinsurance this year than they did in 2023.
“After years of consecutive underwriting losses, the insurers saw overall stability with many companies reporting a net profit in 2023,” Cerio’s report said.
New NAR Guides Clarify Agency Roles, Appraisals
The latest Consumer Guides by the National Association of Realtors® clarifies the difference between agency and non-agency relationships between buyers, sellers and real estate professionals and outlines the appraisal process.
The two guides – Agency and Non-Agency Relationships and The Appraisal Process – are the 16th and 17th in NAR’s series to empower customers with the tools they need to make informed choices following the practice changes that began Aug. 17. The series is designed to promote informed decision-making, enhance professional readiness and highlight the benefits of working with a Realtor®.
Like the other Consumer Guides, the newest ones — along with other resources — can be viewed here The Consumer Guides can also be printed as handouts. Most are available in English and Spanish.
This Florida Realtors news article has a handy list with short descriptions of all the available guides.
New NAR Video: Flood Insurance at a Crossroads
NAR recently sat down with FEMA for an interview that explores the implications of reauthorization and reforms to the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).
Participants included:
- Mabel Guzman, Broker & Past Chair, NAR Insurance Committee
- Bill Leininger, Broker, 2024 Chair, NAR Insurance Committee
- Jeff Jackson, FEMA Assistant Administrator & Senior Executive, National Flood Insurance Program
Click here to watch the entire interview.
Florida Posts Highest Visitation Numbers in State History in 2023
VISIT FLORIDA, the state’s tourism marketing agency, recently released a report that summarizes visitation information for 2023. In short, the report showed record-breaking visitation numbers in 2023. Florida tourists were found to have spent a record $131 billion in the state—an increase of 5% over 2022—in addition to $36.9 billion in local, state, and federal tax revenue. Florida remains the premier travel destination of the nation and the world.
Highlights from 2023 data include:
- Florida's tourism industry generated $127.7 billion in economic impact in 2023, a 5% increase over 2022.
- Domestic visitors to Florida spent $116.1 billion, while international visitors contributed $14.9 billion, providing a $131 billion out-of-state spending stimulus to Florida’s economy.
- For every dollar spent by a visitor, the Florida economy retained 97 cents, with 58 cents supporting worker salaries and 13 cents collected as state and local taxes.
- Tourism contributed $36.9 billion in local, state, and federal taxes last year.
- Visitors spent an average of $359 million per day in Florida.
- Tourism was responsible for 9.5% of jobs in Florida, with the industry supporting 2.1 million jobs and providing $76.4 billion in wages and salaries to workers across the state.
- In 2023, tourism supported around one in every seven private sector jobs.
- Tourism activity resulted in $1,910 in tax savings per household in Florida.
NAR Releases New Advocacy Podcast
In the last episode of the season, Shannon and Patrick recap the extensive, yet captivating, list of Advocacy Wins for 2024. The fight for affordability, availability, and accessibility comes in many forms, and they detail the top wins in each of the five advocacy areas: legislative, policy, judicial, state and local, and political. Shannon also shares why she made space in her voicemail ahead of the election - and what her favorite episode was this season.
Click here to listen to the podcast or read a transcript.
Please reach out to us at publicpolicy@floridarealtors.org with any questions you may have.
Sincerely,
Andy Gonzalez
Vice President of Public Policy
Florida Realtors®
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