Throughout the month of March, members of CAI’s Government and Public Affairs team spent time on Capitol Hill meeting with members of Congress to advocate for support of the 2023 Freedom to Invest in Tomorrow’s Workforce Act.(H.R. 1477/S. 722).

This has been a multi-year initiative by CAI and several hundred other trade association groups that has led to the co-sponsorship and overt support of this legislation by 127 representatives and 22 senators. This bipartisan and bicameral legislation expands 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.

These bills provide valuable tax-advantaged resources for workers who pursue alternative career pathways, mid-career changes, or career growth. The legislation aims to shift the 529 paradigm from “college savings plans” to “career savings plans” by increasing access to career-building credentials and training while opening 529 plans’ unique tax advantages to more people.

CAI encourages the national certification of community association managers. In states that propose mandatory regulation of community association managers, CAI supports a regulatory system that incorporates adequate protections for homeowners, mandatory education and testing on fundamental management knowledge, standards of conduct and appropriate insurance requirements. CAI opposes the licensing of community association managers as real estate brokers, agents, or property managers.

CAI provides several professional credentials and designations opportunities for community association professionals, ranging from community manager (Association Management Specialist (AMS), Large-Scale Manager (LSM), Professional Community Association Manager (PCAM), Accredited Association Management Company (AAMC), insurance and risk management (Community Insurance and Risk Management Specialist), reserve analysts (Reserve Specialist). Attorneys practicing community association law may apply to be a fellow in the CAI College of Community Association Lawyers. Community Association Managers International Certification Board (CAMICB) administers the Certified Manager of Community Associations (CMCA^®) certification program, the only internationally accredited certification program in the community association management field.​

These credentials and designations recognize a professional’s achievements in the community association industry. The industry is expanding, and communities need qualified professionals to safeguard and empower the financial well-being, physical maintenance, and social harmony of community associations. Professionals who earn credentials and/or designations receive an average 55% increase in salary, according to CAI.

This act would provide economic flexibility to American workers and their families by providing up to $10,000 a year from 529 plans to help cover:

• Certification program tuition.
• Testing fees, including practice exams.
• Required books and equipment.
• Continuing education and certification renewal.
• Other charges required to obtain and maintain a certification.

The American workforce is comprised mostly of middle-skill jobs that require more than a high school education but not a bachelor’s degree, according to the National Skills Coalition. A differentiator for obtaining jobs in the 21^st century economy is through professional certification—for workers with or without a college degree.

CAI and CAMICB advocates for support of this legislation through both the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) and the Professional Certification Coalition (PCC). CAI and CAMICB are members of ASAE and organizational members of the PCC along with hundreds of other associations that credential professionals within their respective industries.

ASAE is the essential organization for association management, representing both organizations and individual association professionals. The PCC engages in state and federal advocacy, analysis, and thought leadership on legislation affecting nongovernmental certification organizations and those who hold or rely on those credentials including regulators, employers, and the public. The PCC is a nonprofit association based in Washington, D.C., governed by the Institute for Credentialing Excellence and ASAE: The Center for Association Leadership.

URGE YOUR MEMBER OF CONGRESS TO COSPONSOR THIS LEGISLATION. Help CAI, ASAE, and the PCC support this legislation today by contacting your representatives and senators to urge them to cosponsor these bills.
TAKE ACTION NOW.

Click here for more information on CAI’s credentials and designations and here for more information on CAI’s community association manager licensing public policy.

Please contact CAI’s Government & Public Affairs team at government@caionline.org with any questions.