Colorado

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Colorado

CREC HEAD TO INVESTIGATE RESPA VIOLATIONS
Colorado's Director of Real Estate, Erin Toll, announced at a conference in Washington, D.C. that she plans to investigate kick-backs and other RESPA violations by real estate agents and appraisers beginning this summer. Toll, who made headlines investigating the title insurance industry as Deputy Commissioner of Insurance, was picked last year to head the Division of Real Estate. Toll, in her remarks, emphasized consumer protection and ensuring a level playing field. Toll's announcement is one more indication of growing interest in RESPA enforcement at the state level.

GOVERNOR SIGNS HOMEOWNER PROTECTION ACT INTO LAW

The controversial “Homeowner’s Protection Act of 2007” (HB 1338) regarding waivers of construction warranty, passed 3rd reading on March 29th. Governor Ritter signed the bill into law on April 13, 2007. The legislation is retroactive to January 1, 2001. CAR has been negotiating with sponsor Jack Pommer (Boulder) and successfully convinced him to revise the language so that Realtors® do not incur additional liability. This prompted the LPC to change CAR’s position from oppose to monitor, a decision that makes some traditional Realtor® allies uncomfortable.

PROPERTY TAX RATE FREEZE IN SCHOOL FINANCE BILL

A proposal to freeze property tax rates in most school districts has been included in this year’s public school finance bill, SB-199. Attaching the provision to the school funding legislation clearly improves its chances of being enacted into law unless it is amended out of the bill. Republican legislators, who are unanimously opposed to the freeze will need to pick up some Democrats to defeat the proposal. Governor Ritter revised his property tax rate freeze last month in an effort to revive the proposal that was not well received. The idea is to freeze the property tax rate to generate additional funding for K-12 education. The previous proposal would have frozen the rate in all school districts. The revised proposal would exempt 33 school districts. The tax rate in districts serving the Boulder area, BVSD and St. Vrain, would be frozen under the new proposal along with 143 others statewide. There are 178 school districts in Colorado. If approved, the rate freeze could generate $55 million in new K-12 funding annually.