Do You Know Which Candidates on Your Ballot Champion Real Estate?
As we enter October and welcome fall, we also edge closer and closer to Election Day. The following resources from Texas REALTORS® have been compiled to ensure you are fully equipped to hit the polls on November 8th.
The Highlights
• Register to vote by Oct. 11.
• See TREPAC-supported candidates at texasrealtorssupport.com.
• Watch the “What’s Next in Texas Politics and Policy?” forum via Facebook Live recording. You can also watch the association’s public policy forum, “The Investor Next Door,” here.
Who’s on my ballot?
Texas REALTORS® Political Action Committee has made it easy to answer that question with the launch of texasrealtorssupport.com. There, you can see the complete roster of TREPAC-supported candidates running in the upcoming general election.
With political boundaries redrawn during redistricting last year, it’s more important now than ever for REALTORS® to study their ballots before showing up to polls on Nov. 8.
Texasrealtorssupport.com is designed to help identify the candidates who will champion the real estate industry. The candidates listed on the support site have received campaign support from TREPAC because of their commitment to private property rights and their ability to serve as effective REALTOR® advocates. On the website’s landing page, users can input their home address to access a customized voter guide of the TREPAC-supported candidates who will appear on their ballots. Users can view the full slate of TREPAC-supported candidates under the “All Candidates” tab. The website also hosts a customized voter guide and “Hot List” of elections to watch.
We’re now in the thick of election season, so please share this website with other REALTORS®, remind them to register to vote by Oct. 11, and encourage everyone you know to cast their ballots!
We’ve got our priorities straight
During the Texas REALTORS® Shaping Texas Conference, the Public Policy Oversight Committee approved the association’s policy priorities for the upcoming 88th Legislature. The final policy platform will be published in December 2022, before the Legislature convenes in Austin on January 10. Extend a big thanks to members of the association’s four Public Policy Issues Committees, who spent more than 1,500 volunteer hours drafting these positions. And thank you to all members who provided their feedback on the association’s proposed 2023 policy priorities – especially Bobi Anderson of San Antonio Board of REALTORS®, who was picked at random from more than 2,000 survey respondents to win an Amazon gift card for participating.
Getting a head start
The 88th Legislature may not begin for another few months, but REALTORS® are already showing up at the Texas Capitol to make their voices heard.
Texas REALTORS® Chair of the Board Russell Berry and Public Policy Oversight Committee Liaison Christy Gessler testified before legislative committees reviewing the effects of legislation from previous sessions. Berry spoke before the Texas House Ways & Means Committee on a law from 2019 that increased the transparency of property taxes in Texas. He also voiced the REALTORS® position that further relief, reform, and education are necessary. Gessler provided similar testimony to the Senate Local Government Committee, which also is reviewing previously enacted property tax legislation and seeking further solutions. Gessler also appeared before the House Committee on Business and Industry to talk about HOA reform laws that went into effect in September 2021. She testified that the new law was a great start, but more HOA oversight is needed.
Source: Texas REALTORS®