IN SESSION
by Beth Price
STATE LEGISLATIVE FORUM UPDATES Energy
conservation, health care reform and state budget shortfall issues impact real
estate managers in every state
During the 2011 Leadership and Legislative Summit in Washington, D.C., this past April, IREM
Members had the opportunity to discuss energy conservation, health care reform and state
budget shortfall issues at the State Legislative Forum. These issues were selected because
they were determined to impact real estate managers in nearly every state in some way.
Energy Conservation
IREM supports a free market system and believes it is the
most appropriate means of attaining energy conservation and production goals. The nation should strive for
greater energy self-sufficiency through further development of existing sources, decontrol of energy
prices and the development of all new sources
of domestic energy to
reduce our dependence
on foreign energy supplies. Further, IREM
supports the concept of
positive incentives for
conservation activities
such as energy tax credits and an increased
emphasis on energy-efficient technology by
the nation’s building
industry.
IREM supports legislation that encourages voluntary energy-efficient improvements to buildings. These include tax
credits for energy efficient commercial building property expenditures, tax deductions for energy management
devices and tax credits for residential solar energy property expenditures. IREM strongly opposes mandatory
national standards for multifamily and building energy
conservation.
States are showing their support for voluntary energy
conservation projects. At the end of 2010, New Jersey
passed a resolution encouraging Congress to enact a
“Renewable Energy Incentive Act” that would extend
grants existing from the Stimulus Bill through 2012 for
certain renewable energy projects in lieu of tax credits.
In March, 2011, Wyoming formally authorized an energy
improvement program that would provide financing and
procedures for local governments to implement. Colorado
has legislation that would include commercial buildings in
the Colorado new energy improvement district created by
the “New Energy Jobs Creation Act of 2010.”
During the February 2011 “State of the Union” address,
President Obama announced a new potential federal
program called the Better Buildings Initiative. If imple-
mented, this would make commercial building space
in the United States 20 percent more energy efficient
through cost-effective upgrades by 2020. Through these
upgrades, there may be a reduction in business owners’
energy bills by roughly $40 billion. The proposed reform
of taxes and incentives for commercial building retrofits
would allow more financing opportunities for such com-
mercial building projects. Because this is not a standing
piece of legislation, it is important to review a draft of the
bill before taking a stance on it.
Although not many currently exist, IREM encourages
real estate professionals to be aware of state landlord/
tenant codes that address energy efficiency as well as the
ever-changing climate of energy conservation and programs relating to reducing energy consumption.
