Originally published on January 15, 2025, by Toby Burke for NAIOP.

State lawmakers have started to return to their respective state capitols to begin the lawmaking process following the 2024 election. While the election resulted in a few political control shifts in some chambers between Republicans and Democrats, the “status quo” was essentially maintained according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. This would imply a more predictable and business-as-usual session within state capitols on the issues with one exception: the return of President-elect Trump to Washington, D.C.

Originally published on December 18, 2024, by Aquiles Suarez for NAIOP.

Congress is expected to close the year this week by agreeing to pass a continuing budget resolution to avoid a government shutdown before Christmas. That will push the funding debate to at least March 2025, when NAIOP will again advocate for its members in the biggest tax reform fight of the last decade. But a strong year for advocacy in 2024 prepares us well for the future.

Originally published on November 20, 2024 by Toby Burke for NAIOP.

The 2024 U.S. election has ended with President-elect Donald Trump returning to the White House and Republicans securing majorities in both legislative chambers on Capitol Hill. The national media may be focused on the consequences for the balance of power in Washington, D.C., but it’s important to look at the down-ballot races for state and local offices and ballot initiatives that impact the commercial real estate industry.

Originally published on November 6,2024 by Eric Schmutz for NAIOP.

Donald Trump’s victory in Tuesday’s presidential election makes him the first candidate in over a century to reclaim the White House after losing a re-election bid, and we expect his second term to have a significant impact on federal tax policy. 

Originally published on October 1, 2024, by the IRS.

The Internal Revenue Service announced today tax relief for individuals and businesses in the entire state of North Carolina that were affected by Hurricane Helene that began on Sept. 25, 2024. These taxpayers now have until May 1, 2025, to file various federal individual and business tax returns and make tax payments.

Originally published on August 13, 2024 by Brielle Scott for NAIOP.

From John Oliver to CNN to the Wall Street Journal, everyone seems to be talking about PFAS. PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are a family of manmade chemicals that have been used in manufacturing everything from apparel to cosmetics to food packaging.

Laura Boorman Truesdale
Mary Katherine H. Stukes
Moore & Van Allen

Originally published on July 17, 2024 by Aquiles Suarez for NAIOP.

Just prior to leaving for this week’s congressional recess, and before the tragic events of this weekend which unfortunately served to highlight our current political polarization, Republicans and Democrats in Congress worked together to introduce bipartisan legislation furthering one of NAIOP’s top legislative priorities. The Revitalizing Downtowns and Main Streets Act (H.R. 9002) was introduced last Thursday with 12 original cosponsors: six Republicans and six Democrats, all members of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee.

Originally published on July 10, 2024, by Aquiles Suarez for NAIOP.

The Supreme Court has certainly garnered its share of attention for several of its rulings this last term, but none is likely to have more of an impact on business, including commercial real estate, than its opinion in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, issued on June 28. In that case, the Court overturned a 40-year legal standard it had first established in 1984 in Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc., which stated that courts would defer to federal agency determinations on policy matters if the relevant statutory language was ambiguous.

A bill that NAIOP and its members spearheaded was introduced today in the U.S. House of Representatives. The “Revitalizing Downtowns and Main Streets Act” establishes a new 20% tax credit to convert many underutilized or vacant commercial properties to residential use.

The bipartisan bill is sponsored by U.S. Representatives Mike Carey (R-OH) and Jimmy Gomez (D-CA).

Originally published on April 17, 2024, by Eric Schmutz for NAIOP.

With national and swing state polls indicating support between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump is fairly even, casual political observers could be forgiven for not realizing that House and Senate races are also tight; there could be a historic switch in the House and Senate majorities this November. 

Originally published on April 3, 2024, by Aquiles Suarez for NAIOP.

On March 11, President Joe Biden submitted his FY 2025 Proposed Budget to Congress. Like the budget he proposed last year around this time, it contains a number of tax policy changes that, if enacted, would have an outsized negative impact on the commercial real estate industry. But unlike last year’s proposal, this is an election-year proposal intended as the administration’s statement on the economic agenda Biden will pursue if re-elected this November.

Originally published on March 26, 2024, by NAIOP.

Six months into the 2024 fiscal year, Congress passed a final $1.2 trillion funding agreement and President Joe Biden signed it into law. The package was approved by the House (286-134) and Senate (74-24) before going to the White House on Saturday. It will keep the federal government operating until Sept. 30, 2024.

Originally published on January 17, 2024, by Eric Schmutz for NAIOP.

Iowa Republicans held their 2024 presidential caucus on Jan. 15, and as expected, former President Donald Trump won with 51% of the votes cast. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis placed second with 21.2% and former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley placed third with 19.1%. Businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, after receiving 7.7% of the votes, suspended his campaign and promptly endorsed Trump. Former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson received less than 200 votes and also suspended his campaign, but has yet to endorse another candidate. 

Originally published on December 20, 2023, by Aquiles Suarez for NAIOP.

As 2023 comes to a close and we look ahead to the challenges facing commercial real estate in 2024, it is clear that persistent advocacy on the public policy front will be more important than ever to ensure that the interests of NAIOP members are protected. This is true of course at the state and local level, but it is at the federal level, where government gridlock has been most on display, that maintaining our strong advocacy will be critical.

Originally published on January 3, 2024, by Toby Burke for NAIOP.

The political battle over the presidency and the control of both chambers on Capitol Hill is expected to garner most of the attention of the national media this year. While the outcome of these campaigns will have significant implications on policy debates at the national level, they should not overshadow or minimize the important political races for control of state legislatures and gubernatorial offices across the country. The outcome of these more grassroots races in comparison to control of state capitols may be more reflective of the policies of importance to the American people.

The list is complete!  Candidates who filed are competing for important seats on the County Commissions, the State Legislature, and the U.S. Congress.  Click the links below to familiarize yourself with the candidates:

• North Carolina Board of Elections - State and Federal Candidate List
• Mecklenburg County Board of Elections - Candidate List
• Iredell County Board of Elections - Candidate List
• Cabarrus Board of Elections - Candidate List
• Gaston County Board of Elections - Candidate List
• Union County Board of Elections - Candidate List

This is big news when it comes to the impact on growth and real estate development strategies.  According to a recent article, featured in Axios Charlotte, North Carolina is receiving a 1.09 billion dollar federal grant, the largest ever received by the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT), toward the S-Line, a passenger rail line from Raleigh to Virginia.  Additional dollars will be allocated to plan and develop rail corridors between other cities, including "high-speed" rail linking Charlotte and Atlanta.  Other corridors to be studied and planned are those between the following cities:

• Charlotte and Kings Mountain
• Fayetteville and Raleigh
• Wilmington and Raleigh
• Winston-Salem and Raleigh
• Salisbury and Asheville

For additional details, read the full article here: 

Your future leaders are coming into view!  Candidate filing for elected office opened at noon on Monday, December 4th and remains so until noon on Friday, December 15th.  Candidates who decide to run will be competing in 2024 contests for positions from County Commissioner, to State Legislator, U.S. Congress, and all the way up to U.S. President.  Click the links below to see who has filed so far and begin to familiarize yourself with the candidates:
 
Mecklenburg County Board of Elections - Candidate List
 
Iredell County Board of Elections - Candidate List
 
Cabarrus Board of Elections - Candidate List

Gaston County Board of Elections - Candidate List

Union County Board of Elections - Candidate List

Originally published on November 20, 2023, by Rob Nanfelt for REBIC.