RPAC What is RPAC? What does it do for you? How to Contribute State & Federal Legislative Issues State & Federal Legislation Contact your Legislators REALTOR® Government Day

Current State & Federal Legislation STATE ISSUES: Revamping School Financing Nearly 10 years ago, the average property tax bill was increasing at double-digit annual rates. The main cause: escalating school costs. The public outcry created sufficient "critical mass" politically that the state legislature-Democrats and Republicans- adopted the current system of school financing. This system dramatically increased the state share of school costs to two-thirds of all costs and thus limited the local property tax share to just one-third. The plan also placed revenue caps and limited teacher salaries and benefits. For more information visit www.wra.org How High Are Wisconsin Taxes? Last fall, nearly every candidate-from governor to the state legislators-ran on a no tax increase pledge. It's clear taxpayers/ voters in Wisconsin liked that message and now expect their elected officials to stick to that campaign promise. But is it realistic to assume Wisconsin can fix a $2 billion budget hole, without cutting essential services and programs and without tax increases? The answer is probably not. The cuts will have to be deep or taxes will have to be raised. For more information visit www.wra.org Multi-jurisdictional Planning Efforts Make Sense For Many Communities As the 2010 deadline (the year in which all local land-use regulations must be consistent with a local comprehensive plan) draws nearer, more communities are joining with neighboring communities to take part in multi-jurisdictional ("MJ") planning efforts. Part of this growing interest is due to the state incentives for MJ planning, but communities are also finding that such efforts are resulting in many other unanticipated benefits. This article will provide an overview of MJ planning and its growing popularity in Wisconsin and discuss some options on how a MJ plan can be tailored to meet the needs of individual communities. For more information visit www.wra.org Bush Administration Issues New Wetland Guidance The Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have issued new joint guidelines regarding the limit of federal jurisdiction over wetlands. The new guidelines are in response to the U.S. Supreme Court's 2001 decision in Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (SWANCC), which prohibited federal authority under the Clean Water Act to regulate isolated wetlands. The new guidelines are intended to address the uncertainties that have resulted from the court's decision. For more information visit www.wra.org CALL TO ACTION!! Wisconsin Counties Association Proposes Repealing Sales Tax Exemption On Real Estate Sales Commissions! Contact Your Legislator And Tell Them That Repealing Sales Tax Exemptions Is Still A Tax Increase, Is Bad For REALTORSâ and Is Bad For Wisconsin! (03/04/02). For more information, please go to: http://www.wra.org/Government/sales_tax_CallToAction.htm Why We Support McCallum’s No Tax Increase Budget As you know, Governor McCallum has received a great deal of credit and criticism since he announced his plan to erase the state’s $1.1 billion budget deficit. The WRA supports the governor’s plan because it doesn’t raise state or local taxes, doesn’t cut education, protects programs for those most needy, and proposes major structural reforms. (02/27/02). For more information about our position, please go to: http://www.wra.org/online_pubs/wr0302/wr0302_public.htm#ppf1 NATIONAL ISSUES: Q & A on 30% Bonus Depreciation - Leasehold Improvements Property Casualty Insurance REAL ESTATE SETTLEMENT PROCEDURES ACT (RESPA) Why Banks Should Not Be In Real Estate Business