REALTORS® from Boston visited Beacon Hill to Push for Copper Pipe Theft Prevention and Changes to Proposed Land Use Reform Legislation

BOSTON, July 2, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- More than sixty-five REALTOR® -members from Boston recently traveled to the State House to participate in the 29th annual "REALTOR® Day on Beacon Hill" activities conducted by the Massachusetts Association of REALTORS® (MAR) on June 11, 2014.

REALTOR®-members from Boston met with Massachusetts State Senators and Representatives to encourage them to support the proposed legislation: "An Act Regulating Secondary Metals Dealing" (Senate Bill S.1929) and to oppose "An Act promoting the planning and development of sustainable communities" as drafted (House Bill H.1859/H.4065).

Senate Bill S.1929 would help prevent crime and increase safety in neighborhoods by making it more difficult to sell copper piping/wiring and other fixtures frequently stolen from vacant/foreclosed homes. The absence of these materials in these homes, and the subsequent destruction that results from their removal, make these vacant homes unable to qualify for a traditional mortgage loan. As a result, home values in those neighborhoods lose value. This bill seeks to halt and reverse this problem by creating a second-hand metal dealer registry, which would require scrap metal dealers to keep a log of information from all transactions. 

House Bill H.1859/H.4065 would have a significant negative impact on real estate development and affordability. MAR had been involved in the discussion of land use reform for many years, and we recognize that our land use laws need to be updated and streamlined. However, we cannot support this bill as drafted for several reasons. For example, this legislation does nothing to prevent municipalities from continuing the practice of imposing arbitrary and ad hoc mitigation requirements on development—a practice that hinders the development of needed housing and commercial growth.

"You can see by the turnout of REALTORS® from Boston who made the trip to Beacon Hill that home ownership matters, and that we want to protect ownership as an attainable goal," said 2014 MAR President Peter Ruffini, regional vice president at Jack Conway & Co in Norwell.  "By making it more difficult for criminals who steal copper from homes to profit from their criminal activities we can create safer neighborhood and preserve home values."

(To find detailed information on REALTOR® positions, go to www.marealtor.com/content/government_affairs.htm )

REALTORS® also spoke with their legislators about SUPPORTING the following topic:

• House/Senate Bill H.2534/S.1368   "An Act relative to discharge of indebtedness of principal residence from gross income"
• House Bill H.3783 "An Act relative to flood insurance"
• House Bill H.3849 "An Act to regulate real estate appraisal management companies"
• House Bill H.3569 "An Act relative to the licensing and supervision of debt management services in the Commonwealth"

REALTORS® also discussed why they OPPOSE the following topics:

House Bills H.2689 (Provincetown), H.2695 (Wellfleet), H.2752 (Brewster "Local Imposition of Room Occupancy Tax".

About the Massachusetts Association of REALTORS®:
Organized in 1924, the Massachusetts Association of REALTORS® is a professional trade organization with more than 20,000 members.  The term REALTOR® is registered as the exclusive designation of members of the National Association of REALTORS® who subscribe to a strict code of ethics and enjoy continuing education programs.

SOURCE Greater Boston Association of REALTORS(R)

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