The current legislative session isn’t expected to have a big impact on the Louisiana real estate industry, as senators and representatives spend much of their time dealing with the state’s budget problems. “There are normally about 3,000 bills filed by now, and this year there are only about 1,500,” says Michael McDuff, executive director of the Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors. This year, legislators are more concerned about cost cutting, saving money and holding on to appropriations that are important to their districts, rather than implementing new laws, McDuff says.
Norman Morris, senior vice president of governmental affairs for the Louisiana Realtors, says for the most part, the session will be “fairly quiet.” Morris says he’s working on a couple of issues; the main one would forbid individuals who hold real estate and home inspection licenses from doing both duties on the same transaction. “We don’t think that’s a good business practice,” he says. “There needs to be some separation.” Several years ago a similar measure was passed that affected mortgage loan originators with real estate licenses. For the rest of Real Estate Weekly, click here. —Timothy Boone
