The following are paid
advertisers. The Association does not endorse or promote these
companies
Realtors Political Action Committee
RPAC, the Realtors Political Action Committee, was created in 1969 to financially contribute to lawmakers who promote and defend the issues that affect REALTORS.
RPAC is not Republican or Democrat – RPAC represents the REALTOR
Contributions to RPAC are shared at three levels:
Local
State
National
70% of each contribution stay in state
30% of each contribution is sent to NAR
I already pay Association dues, isn't that enough?
Federal law and most state laws prohibit the use of dues money for campaign contributions to candidates so additional funds must be raised for this. RPAC gives you the opportunity to have citywide, statewide, and nationwide impact on the election of officials who shape real estate legislation.
Does RPAC money buy the votes of politicians?
Buy votes? No! RPAC contributes to campaigns of candidates who are knowledgeable, fair-minded, and who understand the importance of private property rights. It helps to ensure that our elected officials understand the business of real estate and the importance of enacting laws that allow REALTORS® to conduct business successfully.
What issues have past RPAC donations helped?
Real Estate licensing and Broker-in-Charge legislation significantly improving professionalism in the real estate industry greatly increasing consumer protection: House Bill 1284 (Improve Real Estate Licensing Law), which was developed by NCAR and the Real Estate Commission,
eliminates the salesperson license and requires persons entering the real estate
industry as of April 1, 2006 to obtain a broker license.
No Statewide Transfer Taxes, Impact Fees or Impact Taxes Enacted: NCAR was instrumental in making sure no statewide real estate taxes or fees were enacted.
Banks in Real Estate: Banks won’t be permitted to enter the real estate business for another year. In 2005, Congress again barred the Treasury Department and Federal Reserve from implementing the proposed rules that would permit banks to enter the real estate brokerage and management business. That prohibition remains in effect until September 30, 2006.
Do-Not-Fax: For more than a year, Congress and the regulators fired back and forth trying to decide on the scope of the Do-Not-Fax rules. The law is now explicit: REALTORS® without written agreements will not incur significant fines and penalties if they send faxes to clients with whom they have had longstanding “established business relationships.” This new statute does not provide REALTORS® (or anyone else) with a blanket exemption to the Do-Not-Fax rules.
Disaster Assistance for Small Businesses: After Hurricane Katrina, NAR pressed hard at the Small Business Administration (SBA) so that real estate licensees could, for the first time, apply for loans from SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan program. Before the storm, only businesses with employees had been eligible for the program following disasters.
Health Insurance: More than 25% of REALTORS® have no health insurance. The House of Representatives has, for more than 10 years, repeatedly (including in 2005) passed legislation that would permit associations like NAR to make health insurance available to their members. These Small Business Health Plans (SBHPs) would be regulated under existing rules that presently govern the health plans of large corporations and unions. The Senate has routinely ignored that legislation. Now, for the first time, Senate leaders are working with each other and with insurance providers and small business organizations to craft an SBHP initiative.
Reforming Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac: Congress generated many ideas, both good and bad, to reform these entities following its review of their financial statement errors and misdeeds. After intensive work with Congress and the Administration, NAR succeeded in corralling those ideas to achieve two important goals: a stronger regulator for financial activities at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and an affirmation of their essential housing missions. In 2005, the House passed legislation that reflects those two goals.
