It makes one wonder what our legislators are up to. When the housing market is tenuous as it is in so many areas of California, why would a representative (the one who is supposed to stand up for the little guy) propose legislation that would have a chance to wipe out any recovery the housing industry might make this year? But Fabian Nunez has introduced Assembly Bill 2678 that could do just that.

The question is not if you believe in global warming or not. It’s also not whether people support energy efficiency. They are. And people are making steps to be “green” on their own with solar heating, recycled building materials, energy efficient water heaters, etc.

The question is this; is it the government’s business to force people to do energy audits at the time of purchase including legislating energy “investments” the new owners must make? As is often the case with law makers, they look at their good intentions, not the real consequences of such leislation.

The San Francisco Association of Realtors makes some great points about what could happen to our already crippled housing market:

The California Association of REALTORS® has indicated that while it has no objection to increasing energy efficiency, AB 2678, if passed by the State legislature and signed into law by the governor, will be both dangerous to the real estate market and grossly ineffective. Here’s why the State Association believes AB 2678 is a bad idea:

• AB 2678 will hurt the real estate market. Heaping costly requirements on all sales will slow every residential AND commercial transaction, further weakening the real estate market and the economy.
   
• Point-of-sale approaches take too long. Research shows that only about 22% of the properties most in need of energy efficiency retrofits will actually be sold by 2020. AB 2678 will be grossly ineffective in achieving its results.
   
• AB 2678 will hurt housing affordability. The mandatory audit and retrofit requirements ultimately created could add thousands of dollars to every transaction. And every $1,000 increase in the price of a home disqualifies 26,600 families from owning.
   
• Politicians want to make an end-run around REALTORS®! They know REALTORS® will fiercely oppose point-of-sale mandates. By passing the buck to a State agency, they hope to make AB 2678 more acceptable to their colleagues. But if the bill is passed and the bureaucrats take charge, REALTORS® are not likely to have any voice in determining the State’s energy efficiency requirements.

To develop opposition to AB 2678, the State Association is urging REALTORS® statewide to contact their Assembly members to tell them that the bill, if it becomes law, will be grossly ineffective in achieving its results and further weaken the real estate market and the economy. San Francisco’s Assembly members are Mark Leno and Fiona Ma. Their telephone numbers are shown below.

Mark Leno:	916-319-2013
Fiona Ma:	916-319-2012

Please contact our local legislators today. Your call could make a difference.

As a real estate investor, I am insulted that our state legislators would try and impose these expensive and onerous regulations on an industry already in trouble. I urge you to contact your state representative and tell them you are opposed to Mr. Nunez’s bill.

- Mick Orton