Members from NAIOP’s three chapters are in Raleigh today to advance the priorities of the commercial real estate development industry in meetings with state lawmakers. The 2023 Legislative Priorities focus on economic development initiatives, tax measures, and regulatory reforms that meet the current and future growth within the state.

A top priority for NAIOP of North Carolina this year is local permit reform legislation that reduces inefficiencies and brings more accountability, consistency, and transparency to the process. The passage of HB 332/SB 275I will achieve this by establishing a 21-day period for a local entity to review an application. If the local permitting entity is unable to meet this timeframe, the applicant may seek approval from a third-party (engineer) or the Department of Insurance. Other elements of the bill include:

Originally published on April 18, 2023, by Eric Schmutz for NAIOP.

Congress returned this week from its Easter and Passover recess facing what promises to be a heated debate over raising the nation’s borrowing limit. On Monday, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy visited Wall Street to debut the latest House Republican proposal to raise the debt ceiling. In his speech, McCarthy stated that in the coming weeks, the House would approve a one-year increase in the debt limit that will include a reduction in discretionary spending to 2022 levels while limiting future increases to 1% annually over the next 10 years.  

Originally published on April 5, 2023, by Leona Savoie for NAIOP Newsletter.

The Canadian government enacted legislation on Jan. 1, 2023, that disrupted commercial and residential real estate development across the country. The Prohibition on the Purchase of Residential Property by Non-Canadian Act (the “Act”)  was originally intended to be a demand-side solution to make housing more affordable for Canadians by prohibiting residential purchases by non-Canadians over the next two years. However, the regulations under the Act, released only a week before enactment, unintentionally halted commercial investment in current and future residential and mixed-use projects in major metro areas.

Originally published on March 15, 2023, by Aquiles Suarez for NAIOP.

President Joe Biden submitted his proposed fiscal year 2024 federal budget to Congress on March 9. While the term “March Madness” is usually associated with the NCAA’s college basketball tournament, you could be forgiven if you thought it might also apply to this budget proposal. That’s because it contains numerous tax increases that repeatedly failed to clear the House of Representatives and Senate when these chambers were controlled by Democrats. With the House now in the hands of a Republican majority, chances are low that a majority of these recycled provisions will make it into legislation.

Originally published on January 18, 2023 by Aquiles Suarez for NAIOP E-Newsletter.

In less than two weeks – and for the first time since February 2020 and the start of the COVID-19 pandemic – NAIOP members and chapter local executives will be headed to Capitol Hill to meet with their elected representatives, senators and congressional staff. In so doing, they will be taking the opportunity to establish relationships with newly elected members of Congress, renew and deepen existing ties with incumbents, and talk to their elected officials about issues important to the commercial real estate industry.

Originally published on January 4, 2023, by Aquiles Suarez for NAIOP E-Newsletter.

A word that has been repeatedly used to describe the workings of Congress is “chaos.” So why should we expect things to change just because it’s a new year? The spectacle put on by the new Republican majority in the House of Representatives trying to choose a speaker this week clearly shows that nothing will be a sure thing in this Congress.

Originally published on December 14, 2022 by Toby Burke for NAIOP E-Newsletter.

While the primary focus of the national media during the 2022 election may have been on a potential “red wave” for control of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, there were over 6,200 state legislative races in 46 states according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. The outcomes of these state races significantly impact core policy issues of importance for commercial real estate, such as taxes, regulations and economic development. Generally, political pundits may conclude that the status quo was maintained in this election cycle, with Republicans remaining in political control in a majority of state legislatures and Democrats making modest but significant gains in a few.

Originally published by NAIOP E-Newsletter on December 13, 2022. 

Senate budget negotiators were at an impasse last week with a Dec. 16 deadline looming for passing a spending measure that would keep the government funded. Indications are that bipartisan negotiations will continue, however, after Democrats delayed introducing their own partisan omnibus funding legislation. Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT), the lead Senate negotiator, stated that he was holding off the introduction of an omnibus appropriations bill because progress in bipartisan talks had been made over the weekend.

Date: Monday, January 30, 2023 - Wednesday, February 1, 2023