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Part 1 - IntroductionView manual & handbook content:In Part 1: The Importance of Government Affairs to the Commercial Investment Real Estate Industry"No man's life, liberty, or property are safe while the legislature is in session. " -- Tucker (N. Y., Surr. 1866)The institute focuses its governmental relation efforts primarily on legislation and regulations enacted at the federal and state level. Staff monitors legislative activities on Capitol Hill and regulatory actions of the federal bureaucracy. Governmental relation activities are conducted to ensure CCIM members' voices are heard at the federal level on important commercial investment real estate industry issues. During the past several years, a significant amount of government power has begun to shift from Washington, D.C. back to the states -- a trend that has implications. Positions taken and legislation passed by state and local governments are more and more frequently forming the basis of national public policy. As the federal government has been willing to return more legislative and regulatory power to the states, so too have the states been eager to retrieve their lost territory. State legislators and their staffs are more sophisticated and better trained than their predecessors and more and more legislatures are meeting for longer periods to deal with complex issues. In all but a few states, the demise of the citizen legislator -- who works in the legislature for three months out of the year and holds a private sector job the rest of the time -- is clearly a fact of life. The impact on the business industry is twofold: While the part-time legislator may understand the need for a reasoned approach to state public policy, since he or she must live and work under the statutes enacted, the full-time legislator may have a better grasp of an issue's technical aspects. In short, never in our recent history have the states taken more literally Thomas Jefferson's words, "If we wait for Washington to tell us when to reap and when to sow, we will starve." Interest groups that ignore damaging developments at the state and local level risk two major catastrophes. One is that the issue will transcend the borders of the state and become a legitimate national issue that spreads like wildfire through various other states. Secondly, the federal government may view these experiments in the states as a successful example of a particular approach to problem solving and adopt that approach at the federal level. One thing is clear. Any national association, even if represented at the regional or local level by chapters or through a federated structure, must continuously monitor the pulse of state and local government. Relegating state government affairs to a secondary tier of interest could create problems that cannot be undone at the federal level. Efforts to preempt state action over the years have generally fallen on deaf ears. We faces a new era in public policy. While the institute continues to maintain a strong presence in Washington, D.C., local chapters must make their voices heard in state legislatures and city halls all across the country. The CCIM Institute's chapter structure provides an excellent opportunity to affect policy and regulatory decisions at the state and local level. What is Government Affairs?Government affairs is the conducting of activities aimed at influencing public officials, especially members of a legislative body, on a specific piece of legislation. Lobbying is action taken in an attempt to persuade a legislator to vote for or against a specific piece of legislation. From our earliest civics lesson in school, we have been told that, like voting, this practice is a fundamental right and expressing your interest in the conduct of government is the civic duty of every responsible American citizen.This definition is in sharp contrast to the light in which many lobbyists are viewed today. Recent political scandals involving unethical lobbyists and the publicity surrounding these incidents have portrayed lobbyists as evil and a scourge to our democratic way of life. Perennial lobbying reform measures at the federal, state and local level attest to the negative image some lobbyists and government affairs’ professionals have obtained. For the vast majority of individuals involved in this profession, these negative images are inaccurate. Most persons attempting to petition their government, whether professionally or at the grass-roots level, carry out their business in a respectful, ethical, and legal manner. What it Means to Become Involved in the Legislative ProcessAs mentioned earlier, states have been forced to pick up the slack and enact legislation dealing with issues previously under the jurisdiction of the federal government. For that reason alone, it is important to become involved in legislative activities at the state and local level.Becoming involved in the legislative process means that you are concerned about legislation affecting your profession and that you care enough to attempt to influence it. As a professional in commercial investment real estate, you are in a unique position to offer advice to lawmakers about specific legislation affecting your industry. Becoming involved in the legislative process early and often can ensure that the commercial investment real estate practitioner's point of view has been considered. Why Get Involved in Government AffairsCCIMs should not discount the effect that state legislative activity has on their particular industry. The U.S. Congress certainly handles legislative matters that affect commercial investment real estate, but legislation passed by state legislatures will usually have a more noticeable and immediate impact on the industry. Also consider that since 1968, the number of bills that were introduced in the U.S. Congress has decreased by sixty-percent while, during that same period, the number of bills introduced in state legislatures has increased by more than that percentage. Furthermore, of all bills that were introduced, state legislatures were three times more likely than Congress to enact a bill (make it a law).Knowing that legislative activity in the states and municipalities has dramatically increased over the last several decades, consider how business, especially real estate and commercial investment real estate, has changed at the same time. As institutional and corporate ownership of real estate assets has increased, the property owner has become removed from the local community. At the same time, in many instances, the property owner is no longer an individual or constituent that needs to be satisfied by local lawmakers. In fact, out-of-town owners can be easy targets and scapegoats for local problem. State and local legislation and regulation affect your everyday business life. Licensing requirements, state and local taxes, environmental legislation and other issues affect virtually every form of investment property. Your business is affected by laws and regulations addressing worker protection, family and medical leave, workers' compensation and other insurance requirements, and various accounting procedures. Every aspect of your business or real estate portfolio is affected by some law or regulation every waking and sleeping moment of your day! Elements of an Effective Government Affairs Program
CCIM Institute as a Legislative ClearinghouseCCIM chapters are confronted with complicated bills, ordinances, and proposed regulations that are difficult to comprehend. One of the most commonly asked questions by local chapters of the CCIM Legislative Affairs staff is, "What are other states or localities doing about X?" Providing chapters with timely, concise legislative information from other states is one of the most valuable services the CCIM Legislative Affairs staff can deliver. Such information can be of tremendous assistance to a chapter with little knowledge about the subject or the ramifications of the proposed action. CCIM is in the process of creating a file for each state that contains copies of legislation and regulations introduced and passed at the state and local level. Local chapters should contribute to the file by forwarding copies of bills, ordinances, regulations, policy positions and other relevant documents to the institute. This will allow staff to provide chapters with the most up-to-date, comprehensive information regarding a particular issue. It will also ensure that local chapters' policy positions are consistent with those of the institute.The CCIM Institute can often assist local chapters by helping to analyze a proposed bill for its impact on the commercial investment real estate industry. Why reinvent the wheel? Copies of similar bills proposed or passed in other states and effective supporting anecdotes or documentation can be provided which have a proven track record of success. For legislative and regulatory issues commonly visited by state and local governments, model legislative language, issue briefs, supporting data, sample testimony, and techniques for rebutting anticipated arguments can be provided which will prove to be invaluable. Such assistance will allow local chapters to provide input on the most complicated state and local legislation and regulations. Briefing papers that comprehensively examine the following issues are available from the institute:
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