Two weeks ago your local leadership team attended the C.A.R. meetings in San Diego. At the voting session, the C.A.R. Board of Directors approved a C.A.R. effort to put an initiative on the November 2018 state wide ballot. If C.A.R. is successful in placing it on the ballot, the initiative which will allow individuals 55 years of age and older to transfer their property tax basis to any home in the state, to purchase any price home, and to transfer their basis as many times as they wish. According to the Legislative Analyst’s Office as many as 43,000 additional transactions will occur annually. To fund this effort, the C.A.R. Directors approved a $100 per member allocation for the Initiative’s Issue Fund. Your leadership wanted to let you know as soon as possible that your 2018 dues billing statement will include the additional $100 to the Issues Action Fund for planning purposes.
Below are the action items approved by the Board of Directors:
Property Tax Basis Portability Task Force
- To approve the Property Tax Basis Portability Task Force recommendation that a ballot initiative for the November 2018 state wide ballot be circulated for signature gathering. The initiative will allow individuals 55 years of age and older to transfer their property tax basis to any home in the state, to purchase any price home, and to transfer their basis as many times as they wish. According to the Legislative Analyst’s Office almost 43,000 additional transactions will occur annually. The cost to circulate the initiative for signature gathering is $3 million, with the cost of the subsequent campaign ranging between $30 million and perhaps upward of $50 million, if the initiative is heavily contested. Funding would come from C.A.R. political action committees, reserves, NAR funds and a C.A.R. member assessment.
- That the Issues Action Fund allocation be increased by $100, contingent upon the adoption of the Property Tax Basis Portability Task Force motion to proceed with a ballot initiative. The entire increase of $100 would be allocated to State IMPAC and dedicated to the initiative campaign. The total IAF would increase by $18,904,000.
Please note that your Directors, and in fact ALL C.A.R. Directors, debated at length over the merits of this effort and the funding mechanism to support it. We will have more information to share with you as it becomes available.