Monday, May 2nd, 2011
Government relations is one area in which it would be very hard for you to do for yourself what your REALTOR® association does for you. Just the amount of time and expertise involved can be overwhelming.
Volunteers and state and federal lobbyists work all the time to protect your ability to do business, by looking out for private property rights and private property values. It’s not an exaggeration to say that our industry is under attack every day.
The work the association does here is so vital, and you may never hear anything about it. A problem may start when a regulator has what seems like a good idea, but does not understand the ramifications. This is where our two SAR advocates do such important work.
Caylyn Brown and Eric Rasmusson follow issues at the County and the cities of Sacramento, West Sacramento, Elk Grove, Rancho Cordova, Folsom, Citrus Heights, Orangevale and Carmichael, as well as other government agencies such as water, sewer and air quality. By developing and maintaining critical relationships with local officials, Caylyn and Eric are often able to deal with issues when they are still ideas, long before they are proposed as ordinances or regulations.
A good example of the behind-thescenes work they do occurred when Caylyn was reviewing the agenda of an upcoming council meeting of one of our suburban cities. She noticed a proposed regulation of “Open House” signs. One effect of the regulation would have been to limit open houses to Sunday afternoons only, which would have had a direct and detrimental impact on our Members’ ability to do business in that city. The city staff person didn’t realize that that’s what the regulation would have done. Diligent SAR staff and volunteer efforts took care of the issue before it went any further.
Continue reading: Working to Protect Your Ability to Do Business
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