Volunteers serving on CAI’s state Legislative Action Committees (LACs) regularly navigate changes in the legislative and regulatory landscape affecting community associations. While these shifts can feel overwhelming or difficult to manage, it’s important to remember that many LACs across the country are facing similar challenges. To help CAI members and LAC volunteers stay informed, connected, and prepared, CAI offers a suite of legislative resources to support effective advocacy throughout 2026.
2026 CAI Legislative and Public Policy Trends
Each year, CAI’s Government and Public Affairs team conducts a comprehensive survey of CAI LAC members to identify trends and challenges from the previous year. The results help guide CAI’s legislative strategy and equip its 36 state LACs to engage in informed, credible conversations with legislators and other stakeholders.
These discussions address key issues such as community governance, assessment collection and covenant enforcement, condominium safety, and other areas impacting the community association housing model. As 2026 begins, CAI has analyzed historical trends, monitored the evolving political climate, and engaged with lawmakers and industry leaders to help shape the 2026 state legislative priorities.
Key Advocacy Tool Kits – Fundraising and Advocacy Day Planning
To further support LAC success, CAI developed dedicated tool kits focused on fundraising and state advocacy day planning. These resources are designed to help LACs build sustainable fundraising programs and execute well-organized, impactful advocacy days.
The Fundraising Tool Kit is designed to support LACs in fulfilling one of their core responsibilities of fundraising. Effective advocacy requires financial resources. Expenses such as contracted lobbyist services, printed materials and one-pagers, and administrative support all play a critical role in advancing state advocacy objectives. While LACs are prohibited from using funds to support candidates for office, they can strategically deploy resources in impactful ways to educate policymakers, elevate CAI’s legislative priorities, and strengthen CAI’s presence at state capitols.
The tool kit provides examples of fundraising tactics and events, shares successful campaigns by state LACs, links a QR code to your state’s digital postcard as well as highlights fundraising tips from CAI.
The State Advocacy Day Planning Tool Kit offers step-by-step guidance for planning and executing advocacy days at state capitols. Resources include planning process and timelines, preparation overview, examples of past state advocacy day summaries, and social media posts. These tools help ensure advocacy days are impactful and aligned with CAI’s legislative priorities.
Legislative Tracking Reports
CAI continually tracks state legislation impacting community associations and publishes comprehensive up-to-date reports. You can access these reports on your state’s legislative action committee page under “Current Legislative Tracking” in the related links section. Please bookmark this URL for quick reference. Within each report, click the bill title to view the current legislative text, and click on the status to view the complete history of the bill.
Public Policies
CAI develops relevant public policies to guide members and homeowner leaders in responding to common legislative and regulatory issues. As a membership organization, CAI encourages engagement. Any current CAI member can propose a public policy for consideration by the Government & Public Affairs Committee and Board of Trustees.
As a CAI LAC member, one of your responsibilities is to promote and follow CAI’s public policies at the state level. You can find a list of public policies here.
Legislative Action Committee Exchange Group
The CAI LAC Exchange Group is an online platform designed to connect CAI LAC members nationwide. It allows members to ask questions, share insights, and exchange expertise on legislative and public policy topics. All LAC members are enrolled in the group and can access it here.
Resources for Legislators
Meeting with legislators can feel daunting, which is why CAI’s Government and Public Affairs team developed a library of advocacy resources to support these conversations. Available materials include advocacy guides, industry statistics, “Constituents in Your Communities” information, CAI’s updated legislative priorities and more.
CAI also sends a quarterly newsletter to all state legislators highlighting key resources and updates. LACs are encouraged to share these materials in communications with elected officials.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact CAI’s Government & Public Affairs team at government@caionline.org.
