Page 50 - Letter to NAR LT

NAEGROTTO
SSOCIATES,
&
LEWIE G. “SKIP” NEGROTTO IV skip@negrottolaw.com
Ronald D. Farris, Esq. Farris Law Group
P.O. Box 1458
Madison, MS 39130-1458
220 E. SCENIC DRIVE, SUITE 200 PASS CHRISTIAN, MISSISSIPPI 39571
TELEPHONE: 228-222-4777 FACSIMILE: 866-526-0715
PLLC
March 1, 2021
Re: Ken Austin – your February 25, 2021 Memorandum Dear Ron:
Hope this finds you well. I am writing with regard to the February 25, 2021 Memorandum (“Memo”) you sent to the Mississippi REALTORS’ President, Dorothy S. Thompson, and its Board of Directors regarding your opinion on SB 2624.
It is my understanding that you have not spoken directly to Mr. Austin regarding his conversation with Clarke Wise. So, your information regarding Mr. Wise’s conversation with Mr. Austin must be coming from Mr. Wise or someone else. I think you have been misinformed regarding that conversation and ask that you either amend you comments regarding that conversation in accordance with this letter or supplement anything you submit to Ms. Thompson and the REALTORS Board of Directors with a copy of this letter.
Mr. Austin initiated a conversation with Mr. Wise on January 28, 2021 in his
capacity as a member of the REALTORS Association, not as “President of MREC” as
referenced in your Memo. As you are aware, Mr. Austin cannot speak on behalf of the
MREC without its specific authorization, which was not given here, nor did Mr. Austin
imply he was speaking on behalf of the MREC. Additionally, Mr. Austin’s comments to
Mr. Wise were related to Mr. Wise’s verbal interpretation of SB2625 he expressed to Mr.
Austin, not SB2624. There was no mention of SB2624 by Mr. Wise during that
conversation. Mr. Austin, as a Realtor, relayed to Mr. Wise his opinion of SB2625
based solely on Mr. Wise’s explanation to Mr. Austin of the contents of that bill. Mr.
Austin explained to Mr. Wise that “in theory” he did not see a big issue with SB2625 as
explained to him by Mr. Wise. However, Mr. Austin specifically asked Mr. Wise for a
copy of SB2625 to review. This was confirmed by Mr. Austin’s February 6, 2021 email
to Mr. Wise. Again, there was never a mention of SB2624 during that conversation and
Mr. Wise never provided Mr. Austin with a copy of SB2625. Additionally, Mr. Austin
clearly stated his position on SB2624 at the most recent meeting of the Legislative and
Regulatory Affairs Committee on February 15, 2021, wherein he objected to the process