Special Announcement(s)
Mid-Year Meetings
If you have not done so already, please register for the Mid-Year meetings so that you can attend the GAD General Business Meeting on May 11th from 10:00 to 12:00 Central.
Breakout Sessions will be hosted for 90 minutes from 12:00 – 1:30 Central
Links to Breakout Session registration: You MUST be registered to participate in the breakout sessions.
Click on a link below to register for the breakout session of your jurisdiction. You will be sent a link to join the meeting after registering.
Beyond Fair Housing Month
Friday, April 23, 2021 11:00 AM CST/12:00 Noon EST
Join your peers and NAR staff for this AEI Year-Round Session as they discuss the importance of having a year-round fair housing strategy. Panelists take the conversation to the next level by discussing how they developed a fair housing strategy, sharing ways for member buy-in, and highlighting their successful fair housing initiatives. NAR staff discuss Fair Housing grants to enhance the important role that fair housing plays in communities. Learn how you can make an impact and also meet your Core Standards requirements while you do it! Register here.
Deadline for Declaring Intent to Run for 2022 Vice Chair of the NAR GAD Advisory Group is April 30th.The 2022 Vice Chair Rotation is for a LOCAL GAD.
Per the guidance in the Advisory Group by-laws – all candidates meeting this requirement will have their names placed on the printed ballot: The Statement of Interest should include
- The candidate’s reasons for seeking the position;
- An indication of support from their association executive, and;
- An affirmation of interest in fulfilling the responsibilities of the position.
The names of candidates who have complied with this requirement will be made known during the GAD meeting at the NAR Midyear Legislative Meetings. All candidates meeting these requirements will have their names placed on the ballot.
For more information on the responsibilities and expectations of the Vice Chair, CLICK HERE
For declarations of interest, email CGaravaglia@NAR.REALTOR.
RPAC
2021 President’s Circle Deadline
The deadline for President’s Circle members to invest their first $500 is May 31, 2021. For more information regarding President’s Circle, contact rpac@nar.realtor.
Consumer Outreach
Consumer Calls for Action
Over 30 GADs responded to our short survey that asked what policy issues they are working on, and more importantly, if they want to involve consumers in their efforts. Issues included affordable housing and housing supply, property taxes, first time homebuyer, and rent restrictions. We will reach out and work with each of you on how to best message consumers on these issues. Want to tell us what you’re working on? Fill out this survey, https://bit.ly/3r1CJhL, or contact Erin Murphy (202-383-1079 / emurphy@nar.realtor).
Community Outreach
Focus on Fair Housing Year-Round
Make plans to leverage Fair Housing Grants to support fair housing education and partnerships with local organizations that further the mission of fair housing beyond fair housing month – plus satisfy the 2021 Core Standards fair housing requirement. Need ideas and inspiration? Access resources, activity ideas and register forAEI Year-Round: Beyond Fair Housing Month on 4/23, 12PM ET. Contact Wendy Penn .
Community Outreach Idea Exchange: Placemaking – Now More Than Ever, Wednesday, 4/28th, 2PM ET COVID has demonstrated that Placemaking, which creates outdoor public spaces for a community to gather, is needed now more than ever. Join us for a discussion on how several associations used NAR’s Placemaking grant in their communities. Reserve your spot online today. Contact Holly Moskerintz.
Tune-In: Urban Roundtable – Rise of the 15-Minute Neighborhood Tuesday, May 11th, 11AM ET
Can a 15-minute neighborhood give residents everything they need within a few minutes of their front doors while helping to restore economies and protect lives? Asa Fleming, REALTOR® Party Community Engagement Liaison, will lead a panel discussion featuring key planning and government experts Calvin Gladney, President and CEO, Smart Growth America, Danielle Arigoni, Director, Livable Communities Initiative AARP and David Goldberg, Seattle Planning Commission, Co-Chair, Land Use & Transportation Committee. More info. Contact Hugh Morris.
Transforming Neighborhoods Program webinar series
Policy, Practice, Process: Transforming Neighborhoods through Equitable Revitalization, continues on May 18th, 2PM ET with Engaging the Community to Develop Equitable Solutions. Learn how developing an equitable, effective, and efficient plan to address VAD properties requires knowing the true impact these properties have on communities, and most importantly, the people that call them home. Register online for the series and listen to webinar recordings. Contact Wendy Penn.
Land Use Initiative Quarterly Report Demonstrates Associations’ Advocacy Efforts
The Land Use Initiative (LUI) program analyzes and provides talking points of proposed state and local measures that affect land use. Review measures submitted by associations during Q1 2021 and search by key word to read all analyses ranging from affordable housing, comprehensive plans, impact fees/exaction, infrastructure finance, point of sale, moratoria, rental regulations, sign regulations, transfer taxes and vacant properties to name a few. Are you dealing with a proposal that may harm real estate and requires expert analysis? Submit the request online (NAR Member ID and password required). Contact Holly Moskerintz.
Upcoming All-GAD Calls
The upcoming GAD Call for May has been replaced with the GAD Mid-Year meeting on May 11th at 10:00 Central. See Special Announcements section for links to register.
Recent NAR Press Releases and Comments on Legislative Action – NAR Opposes DOL Independent Contractor Action NAR submitted a comment opposing the Department of Labor’s proposed withdraw of the final rule on independent contractor status under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). This regulation, introduced by the previous Administration, never took effect and had no direct impact on real estate professionals’ classification under the Internal Revenue Code for federal tax purposes. However, NAR encouraged the Department not to withdraw the final rule that provided needed worker classification certainty and also to not erode any of the existing federal or state classification clarifications for real estate professionals in any replacement proposals. NAR will continue to resist any efforts by federal regulators or legislators that threatens real estate professionals’ ability to classify as an independent contractor. See more here on NAR’s advocacy efforts to protect independent contractors. Contact Christie DeSanctis at cdesanctis@nar.realtor or 202-383-1102 for more information.
Event Recap
NAR hosted the first in the Policy Forum Series for 2021 earlier this month that highlighted the use of alternative data in credit scoring to increase opportunities for homeownership, especially among Black and Latino Americans. The forum unveiled new research as part of NAR’s Fair Housing Month that examines how reforms to current credit bureau data and scoring models, which exclude many common household expenditures like rent and utility payments, would provide a more comprehensive view of a household’s credit performance and dramatically increase opportunities for property ownership. View the recording and press release. Contact Christie DeSanctis at cdesanctis@nar.realtor or 202-383-1102 for more information.
Key Dates
GAD Mid-Year Meeting
May 11th – 10:00-12:00 Central (Must be registered for governance meetings in order to attend)
GAD Mid-Year Breakout Sessions
May 11th – 12:00-1:30 Central (Must be registered – separate from the general registration – per your jurisdiction)
GAD Institute
July 20th-22nd in Denver, CO
Stay tuned for registration details.
Kelli Starrett
GAD Chair
New Orleans Metropolitan Association Of REALTORS®
ICYMI: The 2021 GAD Institute in Denver, CO, has been approved as an in-person event!
The GAD Advisory Group is so excited to be planning the kind of top-level conference you have come to expect and love with the added component of in-person networking, brainstorming, and connecting that we have all been craving for so long. We want to express our sincere thanks to everyone who responded to the survey and lent their input to help shape our recommendation to NAR staff on how to conduct the conference. As you surely all understand, we will continue to monitor the COVID-19 situation and will take appropriate measures to ensure that the Institute is conducted safely and responsibly. We all know that circumstances can change drastically and quickly. If the situation changes, we assure you that we will still provide a valuable Institute, just in the virtual format we have come to navigate so well over the last year. Let us all hope and do our parts to ensure all the numbers keep moving in the right directions so that we can SEE YOU IN DENVER! (Note: July 20 – 22; registration info forthcoming)
If you’re getting antsy for Denver like I am, use the upcoming REALTOR® Legislative Meetings as a sort of “pregame” for our summer conference. Kicking off in just under two weeks, this conference is always one of my favorites. It’s the best opportunity we have to highlight advocacy work to our members. I encourage you to take advantage of this conference being both virtual and free and promote it to your Government Affairs Committee, RPAC teams, association leadership, and any other relevant people who could benefit by seeing the advocacy work volunteer leaders are doing at the national level. If you’ve come across any members who have reacted strongly to an advocacy decision at any level and ended up finding comfort in learning there is a process, invite them to peek behind the curtain and really see the process for themselves. There’s no travel obligation, no cost, and they can jump in as their schedules allow. The same is true for any of your up-and-coming leaders who are thinking of getting involved at the national level. Spread that registration info far and wide – the dance floor never gets too crowded at the Advocacy Party.
And don’t forget to save the date for the GAD Meetings during the Legislative Meetings. We’re meeting May 11 at 10:00 AM Central. Invitations for the breakout sessions will be sent separately. Be sure your info is up to date on our GAD Directory so that you don’t miss out. I look forward to seeing your face in a tiny box on a screen, especially since it’s one of only two more virtual GAD meetings until we are in person again!
- May 3 – 14
Virtual REALTORS® Legislative Meetings - 2021 GAD Institute
Date: July 20-22, 2021
Location: Denver, Colo.
Hotel: Hilton Denver City Center Registration/Hotel
Cost: Institute Registration $550/Hotel $229+ Taxes and Fees/night
Stay tuned for registration details
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