As our ongoing commitment to keeping timeshare owners up to date on legislation and news affecting the timeshare vacation industry, following you will find a copy of the 6th edition of ARDA and ARDA-ROC’s digital publication – Government Affairs Insider.
Advantage Vacation looks forward to the passage of timeshare consumer protection legislation in all States for owners of a timeshare interest and the enactment of laws designed to deter and/or eliminate timeshare scams and fraud in the timeshare industry.
Arizona
HB 2195 unanimously passed the Senate on March 22. HB 2195 is sponsored by Rep. Jim Weiers and would permit timeshare developers to use an expedited filing process for amendments to their Arizona registrations. On March 26, the Arizona House transmitted the bill to Governor Jan Brewer for her signature.
Colorado
HB 1116—resale and transfer company legislation sought by ARDA and ARDA-ROC—has been postponed indefinitely by its Senate sponsor, Senator Nicholson. Three Judiciary Committee members protested the action, as did ARDA-ROC, who thought the bill should be heard or carried over to the next Committee meeting, pending discussion of possible amendments. The Senator failed to describe in any clear terms what she objected to, telling ROC lobbyists only that the bill “did not provide adequate consumer protection.” ROC lobbyists believed there would have been time to amend the bill had Senator Nicholson been responsive to requests to delay her action. ARDA-ROC and ARDA members in Colorado have analyzed other potential opportunities to enact all or a portion of the bill’s contents, but there are no reasonable alternatives this session. Thus, due to the Senator’s decision, consumers in the state of Colorado will have to forego any enhanced consumer protection in the area of resale and transfer company scams for at least another year.
South Carolina
Recently, South Carolina’s House of Representatives introduced a series of tax bills aimed at achieving tax reform in South Carolina. The House Republicans focused on eliminating many of the current sales tax exemptions that exist in the law today. Fortunately for the timeshare industry, the existing sales tax exemptions for the sale and exchange of timeshare interests were left untouched.
Missouri
HB 1818, intended to address recurring property tax issues (particularly in Taney County), was heard in the House General Laws Committee on March 22, and a vote is expected next week. The bill clarifies that timeshare properties are primarily residential and limits an assessor’s discretion in determining rental use.
Hawaii
SB 2632 will skip a hearing in the Water, Land, and Ocean Committee and will move directly to its final House Committee, Finance. The bill expedites the process of moving all timeshare interests into public records by automatically deregistering those that currently reside in Land Court. The bill was introduced into the Hawaii legislature by Senator Baker and is supported by ARDA-Hawaii and ARDA-ROC.
SB 2284 a bill not supported by ARDA and ARDA-ROC, will not move forward in the 2012 legislature. SB 2284 was introduced to make changes to the way condominium owners’ access association related information, to provide timeshare owners with the ability to obtain a copy of the owner list as maintained by the plan manager.
Advantage Vacation is a member of the American Resort Development Association (ARDA) and offers the best buys on the timeshare re sales market today. We never charge an upfront fee for clients who want to sell a timeshare and only receive a commission, paid from escrow, when the transaction is closed.
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We hope you will follow us and our blog, Timeshare Blogging by Advantage Vacation for the latest news and reviews. If our site does not answer your question or questions, please email us your question and we will answer it and add it to our library. Make your voice heard – what questions do you have?
At Advantage Vacation you can be assured you are working with professionals who believe that honesty and integrity are the most important aspects of the business they are in – timeshare re sales. Our business has been built on relationships and we pride ourselves on providing excellent service to our clients.
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