13
March | April | 2015 CCIM.com
Legislative Af airs Subcommittee discusses
issues that need attention on our many
conference calls during the year and at our
biannual meetings. We then ask staf to take
the appropriate action, which varies from
simply monitoring proposed rules and regu-
lations to revising a statement of policy on
a particular issue, to asking NAR to take up
a matter in Washington, which could mean
introducing legislation or trying to modify
or defeat existing legislation.
In addition, we work to raise member
awareness through grass-roots lobbying,
responding to NAR calls to action, and get-
ting other practitioners involved. We also
encourage contact with NAR federal politi-
cal coordinators, who are Realtors assigned
to each senator or representative in every
state, as well as participation in state Realtor
organizations.
CIRE: CCIM's annual Capitol Hill Visit
connects members with legislators.
What's changed about this year's
annual visit?
Nimkof : In past years CCIM has worked
with the Institute of Real Estate Manage-
ment, which has a very ef ective Capitol
Hill Day each April discussing commer-
cial issues. Starting this year, CCIM will
join NAR's Realtors Legislative Meetings &
Trade Expo in May, when several thousand
Realtors go to Washington, D.C., to meet
with legislators. CCIM members will be
there to provide knowledge of the commer-
cial issues. When meeting with legislators,
nothing is more important than to share a
f rsthand experience about a problem that
legislation can address. T e Institute has
increased the maximum reimbursement to
$850 for chapters that send a representative
to the NAR meetings.
CIRE: What's the one thing CCIMs
can do to bring about legislative
change?
Nimkoff: Give to the Realtors Political
Action Committee. Even CCIMs who aren't
political junkies know the potential damage
of not being represented. RPAC is the 180-
pound gorilla in Washington. In addition
to being one of the biggest fundraisers, it
is backed by more than 1 million Realtors,
many who vote or are active in the commu-
nity where they live.
Being part of the NAR family, our CCIM
members get the benef t of RPAC and most
don't even know it. If even half of our mem-
bers gave $99 per year to RPAC that would
earn us a better seat at the table when NAR
is deciding what issues its members should
take to Capitol Hill each year and what
staf should be working on every day in our
Washington of ce.
To contribute to RPAC, go to www.
realtoractioncenter.com/rpac.
Sara Drummond is executive editor of Com-
mercial Investment Real Estate.
To learn more about this course, visit CCIM.com/ward or call (800) 621-7027, option 2.
Gene Trowbridge, CCIM, senior partner at Trowbridge Taylor Sidoti LLP, will show you how
to attract and pool private money to finance your commercial real estate deals and increase
buying power. This 2-day workshop covers how to:
CHICAGO: May 7 - 8 and NEW YORK: July 20 - 21
s3TRUCTUREYOURDEALSINCLUDINGWHATLEGALENTITIESTOUSE
s2AISEMONEYWHILEFOLLOWINGAPPLICABLESECURITIESLAWS
s&INANCEDEALSTOMEETINVESTORSEXPECTATIONS;
Ultimate Group Sponsor Workshop