It was a hectic and productive week in Springfield as the IAR lobby day, business meetings and a critical deadline in the House-the deadline for final consideration of House bills- all occurred. The Senate adjourned early Thursday afternoon and the House adjourned late in the afternoon on Friday.

• Nearly 500 REALTORS convened in Springfield on Tuesday this week for the 34th annual IAR Capitol Conference. Our lobby day offers members an opportunity to become part of the legislative process and to become informed about the top issues from this spring session. REALTORS from throughout the state were briefed on key issues by IAR lobbyists and then had the opportunity to meet and discuss these issues with their legislators at the Capitol complex. A reception at the Springfield Hilton followed the day’s events. You can view and download materials from the lobby day at the IAR Action Center. THANKS TO ALL WHO TOOK THE TIME TO COME TO SPRINGFIELD AND MAKE THE DAY SUCH A HUGE SUCCESS!
   
• One of the key issues lobbied by members this week was House Bill 5409, a title insurance initiative of the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR). As we indicated in our briefing papers, the IAR is generally supportive of the consumer protections in the legislation but we object to the state mandating a specific fee be charged consumers. An amendment was adopted to the bill this week to remove the mandated fee language and the amended bill was unanimously approved by the House on Friday. The IAR appreciates the efforts of the chief sponsor, Representative Andre Thapedi and the IDFPR to address our concern. The bill has been sent to the Senate where it is expected additional negotiations on the issue will occur.

   

• House Bill 5677 was approved by the House this week with the understanding that work would continue in the Senate with all interested parties- including the IAR. House Bill 5677, sponsored by Representative Careen Gordon, is intended to make revisions to the “good funds” law within the Title Insurance Act that was recently enacted.

   

• House Bill 6038, sponsored by Deputy Majority Leader Art Turner, was overwhelmingly approved this week in the House on a roll call vote of 98-9-1. The bill extends the Illinois income tax credit for certain donations for affordable housing purposes until 2016. Without this legislation, this credit would expire at the end of 2011. This program has been used with great success by the Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA), local governments and non-profit housing groups. The IAR SUPPORTS this legislation which has been sent to the Senate for their consideration.

   

• House Bill 5523 was approved on a roll call vote of 103-0-0 this week in the House after negotiations among various interested parties, including the IAR. The bill provides for an affirmative defense in an eviction proceeding for a tenant who is a victim of domestic or sexual violence. The IAR was initially concerned that the original legislation would have created a loophole in the eviction statute but IAR lobbyists and legal counsel worked hard with the sponsor and proponents to ensure that the legislation is well crafted and balanced. All of IAR’s concerns were addressed in the legislation which has been sent to the Senate.

   

• Legislation OPPOSED by the IAR was approved in the House this week and sent to the Senate after the sponsor made it clear that additional work was needed to resolve our concerns. House Bill 5224 was amended from its introduced version to remove some objectionable language however, we remain opposed. House Bill 5224 enacts the Tenants Radon Protection Act to impose a duty upon landlords to provide information regarding radon hazards to tenants in dwelling units on or below the third floor of residential rental property. The impetus of this bill seems to be extending the disclosures of the existing Radon Awareness Act for residential sales transactions to rental situations. The IAR believes that a rental transaction and occupancy is different in fundamental ways and shifting the concept over has resulted in this being a rather confusing statute. This bill is sponsored by Representative Dan Reitz.

   

• As you are aware, with the implementation of the Home Valuation Code of Conduct by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), Appraisal Management Companies (AMCs) are playing an increased role in the appraisal process. The IAR SUPPORTS the regulation of AMCs under the Illinois Real Estate Appraiser Licensing Act and this week there was committee and floor action on this issue in the House of Representatives. On Thursday, the House Business and Occupational Licenses Committee approved two amendments to House Bill 5868 to provide greater clarity as to lawful organization, operation, regulation, and oversight of this fairly new type of entity. The amendments also make changes with regard to standards of appraisal practice as well as measures aimed at preventing AMCs from unlawfully influencing the independence of appraisers. On Friday, the measure was approved in the House with the caveat from the sponsor, Representative Skip Saviano and that further negotiations would continue in the Senate. The Senate sponsor is Senator Terry Link.

   

• Legislation was also approved this week to regulate debt settlement providers in Illinois. The bill contains a specific exemption for persons licensed under the Real Estate License Act. House Bill 4781, which creates the Debt Settlement Consumer Protection Act, is sponsored by Representative Marlow Colvin and Senator Jacqueline Collins. The IAR is NEUTRAL on this bill.

   

• House Bill 6113, an initiative of the sheriff of Cook County, was narrowly approved in the House this week. The bill creates the Foreclosed Home Receiver License Act and establishes various requirements on the receiver with respect to personal property. Representative Joe Lyons, the chief sponsor indicated that there was still opposition to the bill but that it was his intent to work toward resolving concerns with further amendments in the Senate.

   

• House Bill 6241, sponsored by Representative Bill Black, was approved by the House on Friday on a roll call vote of 87-21-0. HB 6241 creates the Manufactured Home Installation Act. In addition to installation requirements the bill also provides for the classification, assessment and taxation of mobile homes as real property under specified circumstances. Mobile homes and manufactured homes that are located outside of mobile home parks and are taxed under the Mobile Home Local Services Tax Act continue to be taxed under the Mobile Home Local Services Tax Act until the home is sold or transferred or until the home is relocated to a different parcel of land outside of a mobile home park. If a mobile or manufactured home that is located outside of a mobile home park is relocated to a mobile home park, it must be considered chattel and taxed according to the Mobile Home Local Services Tax Act. The bill permits an owner of a mobile or manufactured home that is outside of a mobile home park to file a request with the county that the home be classified, assessed and taxed as real property. House Bill 6241 is the product of work among various parties including county assessors, county treasurers and representatives of the model and manufactured home industry.

   

• On Thursday evening, the House Environment and Energy Committee adopted an amendment to House Bill 6439 and the House approved the bill in its amended form on Friday. As approved, HB 6439 directs the Structural Pest Control Advisory Council (within the Illinois Department of Public Health) to convene a subcommittee to develop a report for the General Assembly with recommendations on the prevention, management and control of bed bug infestations by December 31, 2011. One goal of the report is to increase the knowledge and awareness among tenants, landlords and property managers/owners about preventing bed bug infestations. The IAR is NEUTRAL on this legislation and will monitor the work of the subcommittee.

   

• House Bill 5735, sponsored by Representative Al Riley, amends the Code of Civil Procedure with respect to foreclosures. The bill provides that the court shall set aside a judicial sale, prior to the sale confirmation, if the mortgagor proves that the mortgagor applied for assistance under the federal Making Home Affordable Program and the mortgaged real estate was sold in material violation of the program's judicial sale requirements. The bill specifies that the provisions become inoperative on January 1, 2013 for all actions filed after December 31, 2012, as to which the mortgagor did not apply for assistance under the program by December 31, 2012. The IAR is NEUTRAL.

   

• House Bill 5685 received unanimous support in the Illinois House this week and the bill has been sent to the Senate for their consideration. As approved by the House, this bill requires an insurer to file notice of a claim payment made for mine subsidence with the county recorder so that the information can be accessed in a title search of the property. The IAR is NEUTRAL on this bill sponsored by Representative David Leitch and Senator Dale Risinger.

   

• House Bill 354 was approved by the House this week on a roll call vote of 114-0-1. The bill provides that if the Cook County collector receives a payment of erroneously assessed taxes or overpayment of taxes they must refund those funds within 120 days regardless of whether a claim for refund is filed. If more than one person made the payment or overpayment and it cannot be determined to whom the refund should be made, the county collector is required to send a notice by certified mail within 30 days advising those persons that a refund is due and the procedures to follow to obtain the refund. This bill, sponsored by Representative Harry Osterman and Senator Emil Jones III, is pending in the Senate.

   

• House Bill 5671, as approved by the House this week, amends Illinois law related to the annexation of territory by a municipality. Currently if a municipality intends to pass an annexation ordinance they must give the township wholly or partially in that territory written notice at least 10 days prior to the passage of the ordinance. HB 5671 will require that same notice be given to the county. HB 5671 is sponsored by Senator Tim Schmitz and Senator Gary Dahl. House Bill 5603, also approved this week in the House, provides that if property is annexed to a municipality the taxpayer may apply to the municipality for a refund of the amount of property taxes (i) paid by the taxpayer, (ii) distributed to the municipality, and (iii) attributable to the annexed property for the portion of the taxable year during which the property was not included in the municipality. The municipality is required to refund those amounts to the taxpayer within 60 days after the application is received. Another issue dealing with municipal annexation was debated in the House this week but defeated in the initial vote. House Bill 1629, sponsored by Representative Chuck Jefferson, sought to modify the Municipal Code to authorize the city of Rockford to forcibly annex territory affecting 2400 residents in the county and to authorize the city to abate a percentage of the taxes for the first three years after the annexation. The sponsor placed the measure on “postponed consideration”, a parliamentary procedure to allow another vote on the issue at a later date.

   

• House Bill 5972, sponsored by Representative Ron Wait and Senator David Koehler, was approved in the House this week and sent to the Senate for consideration. The bill simply permits a county board of any county that establishes a code hearing unit to establish a fine schedule for code violations by passage of an ordinance. The fine schedule must include (i) a determinate fine for each code violation that may be voluntarily paid by a respondent prior to his or her hearing date and (ii) the fine that may otherwise be imposed for each code violation. The House also advanced House Bill 6239 this week to permit Cook and DuPage counties to provide for a system of administrative adjudication of violations of certain county ordinances. The IAR is NEUTRAL on both of these bills.

   

• House Bill 5169 was approved in the House this week to amend the property tax caps law to provide that the definition of "aggregate extension" does not include special purpose extensions made for the purposes of a county funding the care and treatment of its citizens who are mentally retarded or under a developmental disability. The bill specifies that the county clerk shall calculate separate limiting rates for the funds for persons with a developmental disability IF a tax is approved by the voters of the county at referendum. The legislation also authorizes the voters to petition for a referendum for the establishment and maintenance of facilities or services for the benefit residents with a developmental disability and the levy of an annual tax not to exceed 0.1% upon all the taxable property in the county for those purposes. The IAR is NEUTRAL on this bill which has been sent to the Senate for their consideration.

   

• Legislation to authorize the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity to administer a “green manufacturing” grant program was overwhelmingly approved this week in the House. House Bill 6030 would allow grants (up to $250,000) to be made to manufacturers for the cost of capital equipment that will reduce environmental impact and achieve cost savings. Funds would be permitted to be used for improving air quality and reducing emissions and pollution, reducing solid waste disposal in landfills and disposal costs, reducing water use, effluent disposal and associated costs and reusing, recovering and recycling waste materials or removing toxic materials from products. The IAR is NEUTRAL.

   

• This week the Senate approved Senate Bill 3152 on a roll call vote of 54-2-1. This measure monitored by IAR requires any county/municipality that establishes an economic development project area and any municipality that creates a TIF to compile a status report and to hold at least one public hearing on the report. The status report is required to detail (i) the amount of revenue generated within the economic development project area or TIF, (ii) any expenditures made by the county or municipality for the area including expenditures from the special tax allocation fund, (iii) the status of planned activities, goals and objectives set forth in the plan-including details on new or planned construction within the area, (iv) the amount of private and public investment within the area, (v) any other relevant evaluation or performance data. A county and municipality will also be required to detail in their annual budget the amount of revenue generated from an economic development project area or TIF by source and the expenditures made by the county or municipality for the areas. This legislation also adds a requirement that all intergovernmental agreements in effect be included in the information that is compiled and provided to the State Comptroller, all overlapping taxing districts and for the Joint Review Board. The IAR is NEUTRAL on this bill which is sponsored by Senator Terry Link and Representative Paul Froehlich.

   

• Another bill dealing with economic development was also approved this week in the Senate and sent to the House. Senate Bill 3619, sponsored by Senator Dave Syverson and Representative Chuck Jefferson, amends the Industrial Jobs Recovery Law to extend the authority granted to municipalities to establish redevelopment project areas and to adopt tax increment allocation financing to January 1, 2013.
• THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY IS ON SPRING RECESS FOR THE NEXT TWO WEEKS.

• THE NEXT ISSUE OF THE STATE CAPITOL REPORT WILL BE FRIDAY, APRIL 16TH.