More than 120 Community Associations Institute advocates from 25 states and Washington D.C., gathered yesterday in the nation’s Capital in person for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic to advocate on behalf of the community association housing model with their members of Congress.
The 2023 Advocacy Summit, sponsored by Enterprise Bank and Reserve Advisors, saw record-breaking in-person attendance. CAI members participated in more than 110 meetings with 67 representatives and 46 senators.
The summit began on Capitol Hill with a breakfast briefing of priority issues and congressional meeting best practices by CAI’s government and public affairs staff and Cornerstone’s Senior Consultant John Buscher. Advocates were asked to share information about the following federal legislative priorities during meetings with members of Congress:
- HR. 3777, the Disaster Assistance Fairness Act
- Summary: The bill creates access to individual household Federal Emergency Management Agency funds for repair or replacement of essential major common area elements and facilities such as boiler rooms, elevators, and roofs. The bill creates access to FEMA resources (via the local municipality) for debris removal from privately owned roads within homeowners associations to ensure access in and out of the community for public safety. The bill would provide equal access to disaster recovery services for all homeowners paying local, state, and federal taxes.
- CAI’s ask of congressional offices: To either co-sponsor H.R. 3777 or introduce a Senate companion bill.
- HR. 4465, the Making Condos Safer and More Affordable Act
- Summary: This bill will provide access to low-interest, government-backed loan products, which lead to safer and more affordable condominiums. It also expands access to public and private loans for structural and safety repairs, providing bipartisan preventive assistance for millions of residents grappling with the building integrity realities exposed following the tragic condominium collapse in Surfside, Fla., that took 98 lives.
- CAI’s ask of congressional offices: To either co-sponsor H.R. 4465 or introduce a Senate companion bill.
- HR. 4035/S. 2623, Protecting Small Business Information Act of 2023 (Corporate Transparency Act fixes)
- Summary: The Anti-Money Laundering/Corporate Transparency Act that passed in 2021 and related business ownership information reporting requirements unintentionally apply to more than 350,000 local, volunteer-driven, homeownership nonprofit organizations in the U.S. Community associations, also known as homeowners associations, condominium associations, and housing cooperatives, are usually organized as state nonprofit corporations and are swept into the reporting requirements of the act.
- CAI’s ask of congressional offices: To exempt community associations from the act and the subsequent beneficial ownership information reporting requirements; to support H.R. 4035/S. 2623 and delay implementation of the reporting requirements; and to require the Department of the Treasury to maintain confidentiality of the individual corporate filings of the reporting requirements.
- HR. 1477/S. 722, the Freedom to Invest in Tomorrow’s Workforce Act
- Summary: These bills are bipartisan and bicameral legislation that expand eligible uses of tax-favorable 529 savings plans to cover costs associated with workforce training and credentialing programs such as CAI’s education and credential opportunities. They will provide valuable tax-advantaged resources for workers who pursue alternative career pathways, mid-career changes, or career growth.
- CAI’s ask of congressional offices: To co-sponsor H.R. 1477/S. 722.
>>Read more about each of CAI’s federal priority issues.
2023 Hero of Associations (HOA) honoree. During the summit, Rep. David Rouzer (R-N.C.) was honored with CAI’s 2023 Hero of Associations (HOA) Award for his leadership and support for the millions of residents living in community associations. Rouzer has worked to provide residents in homeowners associations with access to federal funds in the wake of a presidentially declared natural disaster.
He has witnessed firsthand the inequity of the Federal Emergency Management Agency allocation of federal funds in the wake of recent natural disasters in North Carolina. As a result, he reintroduced the Disaster Assistance Fairness Act (H.R. 3777) to help homeowners associations qualify for funding for disaster recovery. If it becomes law, this legislation will help community associations in all states impacted by any presidentially declared natural disaster, including hurricanes, floods, wildfires, mudslides, and other calamities.
Summit attendees and CAI staff ended the successful event in Washington, D.C., with a celebratory rooftop reception at CAI’s federal consulting firm, Cornerstone Government Affairs.
If you couldn’t attend the summit, you can still make a difference. Help amplify the voices of advocates in their meetings by submitting a statement of support to the offices of the members of Congress that advocates met with here.
CAI thanks each of our advocates for their hard work and commitment to our organization and its priorities. Keep the momentum going by visiting www.caionline.org/advocacy/takeaction.
If you have any questions about the 2023 summit, please contact CAI’s government and public affairs team at government@caionline.org.
