Outer Banks Association of REALTORS

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Legislative Issues

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Congress (2012):

Republican 3rd District Rep. Walter Jones will face Frank Palombo of New Bern in the May 8 GOP primary.

Erik Anderson, a Democrat from Winterville, is unopposed.

In the First Congressional District, Dan Whittacre of Henderson filed Tuesday to face incumbent Rep. G.K. Butterfield in the Democratic primary.

Pete DiLauro, a Republican from Weldon, filed Wednesday to run for the District 1 seat. Also filing Tuesday from the Libertarian Party was Darryl Holloman from Goldsboro.

State Senate:

Sen. Stan White is unchallenged for the Democratic nomination to the District 1 seat representing Beaufort, Camden, Currituck, Dare, Gates, Hyde, Pasquotank and Perquimans counties.

Republicans Jerry Evans of Washington and Bill Cook of Chocowinity will meet in May with the winners squaring off against Senator White, who was appointed to succeed Marc Basnight after his retirement.

In Senate District 3, made up of Bertie, Chowan, Edgecombe, Hertford, Martin, Northampton, Tyrrell and Washington counties, only incumbent Sen. Clark Jenkins, a Democrat from Tarboro, filed to run.

State House:

In the state House of Representatives races, Bill Luton from Elizabeth City is the only Democrat to file for the District seat 1.

Republicans Bob Steinburg of Edenton and Owen Etheridge of Currituck will face off in a primary. 

District 1 includes Camden, Chowan, Currituck, all of southern and two precincts in northern Pasquotank, Perquimans and Tyrrell counties.

In District 6, three Republicans are running: Mattie Lawson of Kill Devil Hills, Arthur Williams of Washington and Jeremy Adams of Nags Head.

Paul Tine from Kitty Hawk is the lone Democrat to file for the seat representing northern Beaufort, Dare, Hyde and Washington counties.

District 5 incumbent state Rep. Annie Mobley will be opposed by fellow Democrat and Ahoskie resident Linda Blackburn. No Republicans filed to run in the district made up of Bertie, Gates, Hertford and most of northern Pasquotank counties. 

Dare County Board of Commissioners

Several candidates are vying for seats on the Dare County Board of Commissioners.

In District 1, which is made up of Roanoke Island and the mainland, incumbent Republican Richard Johnson will face former Manteo police chief Francis D’Ambra in the primary.

Voters will find Alfred Lee Jackson and John Lee Booth Jr. on the ballot for the District 1 Democratic primary.

Former Nags Head Commissioner Wayne Gray filed, then withdrew, leaving Kill Devil Hills Commissioner Bob Woodard alone on the Republic primary ballot in District 2. He will face Democrat Bob Muller, the former mayor of Nags Head, in the general election to represent Nags Head, Kill Devil Hills and Colington.

Chairman Warren Judge is running unopposed in District 3 representing the county’s northern towns as is Allen Burrus in District 4, representing Hatteras Island.

Dare County voters will cast ballots for candidates in all districts regardless of where they live. 

Currituck County Board of Commissioners

David Palmer, a Democrat from Barco, filed Wednesday to run for At-Large commissioner and will not be opposed in the May primary.

District 2 Commissioner John Rorer has decided that instead of seeking another term for that seat, he will oppose At-Large Commissioner Paul O’Neal in a Republican primary.

With Rorer pulling out, that leaves David Griggs, a Republican, and Jerry Wright, a Democrat, in the District 2 race.

Toni Tabb, who issued the challenge to Rorer’s residency, became the third Republican to file to run for the District 4 seat, joining Paul Beaumont and Kevin McCord. Incumbent Owen Etheridge filed Monday as a candidate for the state House of Representatives.

Also filing Tuesday in District 4 was John Flora III, the only Democrat to sign up from the district.

District 1 Commissioner Vance Aydlett will run unopposed in the general election.

 

Election Results (2011):  

Election results as of Tuesday, November 8, 2011.  

DuckWinners
Five Councilmen, serving 2 yr terms.
Donald P. Kingston, Dave Wessel, Chuck Burdick, Monica Thibodeau and Nancy Caviness.  

Kill Devil HillsWinners  
Mayor’s seat and two Commissioners seats, serve 4-yr terms.  Mayor serves a 2-year term.
Sheila Davies - New Mayor
Brandy Rheubottom and Mike Hogan - New Commissioners

Kitty Hawk Winners
Two Council members serve 4-year terms.
Emilie Klutz and Ervin Bateman - Re-elected Councilmen

ManteoWinners
Mayor' seat and three Commissioners, serve 4-yr terms. Mayor serves 2-year term.
Jamie Daniels - Re-elected as Mayor
Darrell Collins, Hannan Fry and Nancy Peele - Commissioners

Nags HeadWinners
Commissioners serve four-year terms.
Renee Cahoon - Re-elected Commissioner and Susie Walters - Commissioner 

Southern ShoresWinners
Three Council seats, members serve four-year terms
David Sanders, Larry Lawhon and Jodi Hess - Commissioners

Real Estate License Law Changes  

House Bill 386 (Real Estate License Law Amendments) http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/Sessions/2011/Bills/House/PDF/H386v4.pdf, sponsored by Reps Julia Howard (R-Davie) and Harold Brubaker (R-Randolph), was also signed into law by the Governor on June 23. This legislation, requested by the NC Real Estate Commission and supported by NCAR, includes several changes aimed at clarifying the exemptions from licensure contained in the statutes with regard to attorney’s trusts and housing authorities. Another change to the exemption provisions would allow unlicensed broker employees (vacation rental reservationists only) to offer or accept price adjustments within limits set by the broker’s landlord client in their management agreement.
 

Senate Bill 382  (Withholding from Non-Residents)

Through NCAR and OBAR's lobbying efforts, the bill was not released from the House Rules Committee prior to the General Assembly recessing this past Saturday; however, the bill is eligible for consideration in the 2012 short session. NCAR and OBAR will be working over the next few months to advocate for a better solution to the problem of collecting taxes due from out-of-state sellers.
 

Senate Bill 683 (Residential Building Inspections), http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/Sessions/2011/Bills/Senate/PDF/S683v5.pdf, sponsored by Senator Neal Hunt (R-Wake), was signed by Gov. Beverly Perdue on June 23.This bill was passed by the legislature on the last day of the legislative session, and is a significant issue for NC REALTORS®.  Increasingly, North Carolina municipalities have substantially broadened local ordinances and programs to require the registration and inspection of rental properties within their jurisdictions. The scope of these ordinances has expanded tremendously, with many programs being tied into required permits and fees as a condition of operating rental property. In fact, some of the programs amount purely to a housing tax with no demonstrable public benefit. As a result, SB 683 will require units of local government to have reasonable cause to believe that unsafe housing conditions exist in order to inspect private housing. It will also require local government inspection programs to be administered in a non-discriminatory way with regard to housing type or ownership. Furthermore, it sets forth a reasonable and responsible fee schedule for the administration of the program.

Homeowners Associations Bill

On June 27, the Governor signed into law House Bill 165 (Planned Community & Condo Act Amends), introduced by Reps. Jennifer Weiss (D-Wake), Bill McGee (R-Forsyth), Julia Howard (R-Iredell) Beverly Earle (D-Mecklenburg), http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/Sessions/2011/Bills/House/PDF/H165v3.pdf  which would require that any lien on a home by an association be in place for 90 days before the HOA can begin foreclosure proceedings. The provisions were part of a list of recommendations from a House study committee that had met on the issue.As more and more people purchase homes in planned communities with restrictive covenants, complaints have increased. In some cases, a few hundred dollars in late association dues leads to foreclosure proceedings or thousands of dollars in late fees and fines. The NC Association of REALTORS® government affairs staff worked with the bill sponsors to reduce the disclosure burdens on sellers to only those that are required by NCAR’s contracts.