Own your present. Empower your future.

If you ever have any questions or comments on MAR’s advocacy efforts or just want to chat about a recent or upcoming meeting with your legislator, contact MAR Staff Attorney Jonny Schreiber, jschreiber@marealtor.com (781) 839-5520. November Highlights: Leading the Discussion on Short-Term Rentals 11/1 & 11/4 – Leading the Discussion on Short-Term Rentals – MAR Staff Attorney, Jonny Schreiber, spoke at two events on the new MA short-term rental law, one hosted by CCIAOR and the other hosted by the Vacation Rental Management Association (VRMA). MAR testified at the Board of Building Regulations and Standards (BBRS) hearing 11/5 – Building Code – MAR testified at the Board of Building Regulations and Standards (BBRS) hearing in favor of taking a measured approach to increasing building code requirements. Specifically, MAR urged the BBRS to consider practical implications and the impact on home prices of moving too quickly to a net-zero stretch energy code. 11/20 – End of Formal Session – This was the last day of the formal…

Thank you all for making the Week of Advocacy such a success. We received a lot of great intel and feedback from Legislators and that doesn’t happen without a lot of hard work from everyone involved. We’re entering a particularly unique and interesting time, with the end of this two-year session approaching and the state still reeling from the impacts of COVID-19 on public health and the economy. However, we’re also slowly seeing some daylight for discussion of policy issues other than pandemic responses for the first time since the state of emergency was declared in March. If you ever have any questions or comments on our advocacy efforts or just want to chat about a recent or upcoming meeting with your legislator, contact MAR Legislative and Regulatory Counsel Jonny Schreiber, jschreiber@marealtor.com or (781) 839-5520. May/June Highlights We took a break from our regularly scheduled programming with our Week of Advocacy. As a result,…

The second month of the current COVID-19 state of emergency brought several significant advocacy victories. We are proud of the role we played in the following (see below for more details): Many Realtors® are eligible for unemployment benefits. The new COVID-19 housing law includes significant protections for homeowners including mortgage forbearance and a foreclosure moratorium. The Legislature passed the remote notarization bill to help protect Realtors® and their clients. There’s always more to be done. Keep checking marcovid19.com for all the latest information and stay tuned for future announcements on a remote Realtor® Day on Beacon Hill. April Highlights 4/3 – Applications for Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Begin – initially, the program opens only to small businesses and sole proprietors, but independent contractors are able to apply starting 4/10. Read more about the PPP here. 4/8 – Short-Term Rental Addendum – following the state mandated closure of STRs through May 4th, MAR releases this addendum that may be attached to lease agreements to…

What a difference a month makes. Following successful and fun Realtor Party Training in the first week of the month, things quickly started shutting down to address COVID-19, with a state of emergency declared in the state on March 10. Since then, it has been a whirlwind as the MAR Legal Team kicked into high gear advocating on your behalf with state leaders and generating the legal guidance and forms needed to make sure our members stay compliant and safe during this unique time. We’re doing our best to adjust to daily changes and get you everything you need and need to know in a timely manner. Stay tuned for all the latest updates. If you ever have any questions or comments on our advocacy efforts or just want to chat about a recent or upcoming meeting with your legislator,…

After a frenzied January, February took a slower pace at least in terms of state legislative issues, just before what we anticipate will be a blistering Spring. In the meantime, the MAR Legal Team worked on short-term rental forms and assisting several local associations to address issues including local short-term rental by-law proposals, local zoning proposals, and the General Electric settlement related to chemical contamination in the Berkshires. Read on to see all that happened, but first, check out our 2019 Year in Review video and report. If you ever have any questions or comments on our advocacy efforts or just want to chat about a recent or upcoming meeting with your legislator, contact MAR Legislative and Regulatory Counsel Jonny Schreiber, jschreiber@marealtor.com or (781) 839-5520. February Highlights Local Issues – As municipalities ramp up for their spring town meetings, we urge you to keep an…

Wow, what a start to the year! January was a whirlwind, with formal session resuming and moving at a rapid pace.  Read on to see all that happened, but first, check out our 2019 Year in Review video and report. If you ever have any questions or comments on our advocacy efforts or just want to chat about a recent or upcoming meeting with your legislator, contact MAR Staff Attorney Jonny Schreiber, jschreiber@marealtor.com or (781) 839-5520. January Highlights Opposing Transfer Taxes – MAR ran a call for action opposing transfer taxes from 1/5-1/29.  2,795 members (11.2%) participated by contacting their legislators. In addition, on 1/14, MAR distributed letters to the entire Legislature opposing transfer taxes. Our State Political Coordinators provided targeted feedback to their Legislators between 1/13-1/27. In response to this advocacy, the sponsor of H.1769 sent his own letter to all Legislators erroneously stating several facts related to our position. On 1/28, we submitted testimony opposing a transfer…

Welcome to the October-November 2019 edition of The REALTOR® Advocate. For some helpful background information, check out our 3rd quarter update podcast, featuring MAR Government Affairs Chair, Amy Wallick.  If you ever have any questions or comments on our advocacy efforts or just want to chat about a recent or upcoming meeting with your legislator, contact MAR Staff Attorney Jonny Schreiber, jschreiber@marealtor.com (781) 839-5520. October Highlights 10/1 – Broker Summit and Housing Choices – Mike Kennealy, Secretary of the Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development participated in MAR’s Broker Summit, discussing the Housing Choices bill and opportunity zones with attendees.  Check out our Q3 review for details on Housing Choices. 10/7 – Short-Term Rental Advocacy – MAR submitted written comments to the Joint Committee on Tourism, Arts, and Cultural Development in opposition to H.2936, a bill that would impose up to an additional three percent tax on short-term rentals located in tourism districts. …

Welcome to the first edition of The REALTOR® Advocate!  We’re excited to provide you with this new monthly resource containing updates on MAR advocacy. Before reading further, we hope you’ll check out our First and Second Quarter Updates for a primer on our 2019 advocacy efforts thus far. Now that you’re up to speed, here are some highlights from July: July 8 Greg Vasil, GBREB CEO, and Jonathan Schreiber testified on the GreenWorks bill before the House Committee on Bonding, Capital Expenditures, and State Assets. Click here to read our full talking points on the bill.  This was the second time Vasil and Schreiber testified on this bill (see their quote in the State House News Service). The House unanimously passed GreenWorks on July 24 and it is now under consideration by the Senate. July 18 The MAR Government Affairs Committee voted to oppose…

For much of September, the Legislature focused on education funding reform, leaving us to wait-and-see what will happen on our issues in the coming months.  We continue to predict that the Senate will put forth their climate resiliency proposal this fall, especially in the wake of climate protests in late September.  We continue to support GreenWorks, a climate resiliency bill that passed the House unanimously. September Highlights 9/5 – CCIAOR’s Vacation Rental Council meeting – members provided great insight on the effects of the new short-term rental law, helping our continued advocacy efforts on this issue. 9/6 – Supporting Housing Choices – MAR participated in a discussion with several housing advocacy groups on the Housing Choices bill.  We support the bill, which would promote much-needed housing development by changing the local voting threshold from 2/3 to a simple majority for approving certain zoning ordinances, by-laws, or amendments.  MAR met…

August is a relatively quiet month with the Legislature out of formal session, but there’s still plenty to talk about. August Highlights 8/ 6 – Blake Decker, CEO of Pretty Picky Properties, Ryan Castle, CEO of CCIAOR, and Jonny Schreiber testified before the Department of Revenue (DOR) on draft short-term rental regulations. The testimony focused on requesting more clarity in the regulations and a level playing field for Realtors®. “It was empowering to take part in this process,” said Decker. “Our testimony will help DOR better understand our unique role in the short-term rental industry. I am proud that MAR with CCIAOR is standing up for our interests.” 8/9 – The Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development released draft regulations on the short-term rental registry.  We discussed the issue with their legal team on August 26 and will be submitting written comments in early September. 8/9 – Realtors Property Resource announced that it will include data on…