On March 20, 2024, the National Apartment Association (NAA) hosted the latest installment of its Advocacy and Legal Webinar (ALW) series. Some key takeaways include:
- Legal Update: Mark Russell, Jr., NAA’s Staff Attorney, highlighted the latest legal news from across the country including two New York cases and a recently passed Hawaii law concerning resident screening fees. He also gave updates on three briefs from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regarding algorithmic price fixing, data privacy and government and business impersonations.
- Federal Legislative Update: Jason Lynn, NAA’s Federal Legislator Director, gave an update on the federal appropriations process and the impact that budgets may have on the rental housing industry. He also offered a progress report on the “big three” bills that reflect NAA’s federal priorities and were the main focus of NAA’s Lobby Day at Advocate. Lastly, he touched on legislative activity of interest, including SB-3686 Preventing Algorithmic Collusion Act and a hearing held by the Senate Banking Committee.
- Advocate Conference Recap: Seth Turner, NAA’s Senior Manager of Grassroots Advocacy & Stakeholder Engagement, gave a recap of the NAA's 2024 Advocate. With a record number of attendees, rental housing professionals successfully advocate for the industry’s priorities before Congress.
- Federal Regulatory Roundup: Nicole Upano, NAA’s AVP of Housing Policy & Regulatory Affairs, discussed the President’s State of the Union Address and highlighted its implications for the rental housing industry. She also provided perspective on the retirement of former U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Marcia Fudge and the new Acting Secretary Adrianne Todman. Nicole gave insight into the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s update at Advocate and mentioned regulatory issues of concern from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), including the proposed rule to ban bulk billing for broadband service.
- State and Local Update: Ben Harrold, NAA’s Manager, Public Policy, gave an overview of bills to watch including New York HB24-9473, which “prohibits the use of an algorithmic device by a landlord for the purpose of determining the amount of rent to charge a residential tenant; declares that such use is an unfair or deceptive trade practice.” This is legislation that notably lifted language directly from Colorado legislation (CO HB 24-1057) which has already passed one house of the Colorado General Assembly and heads to the state senate for consideration. He also gave updates on rent control, resident screening, fee regulation and other notable industry issues arising at the state and local levels.
Check out the whole March ALW by watching the recording here and don’t miss the next installment of NAA’s ALW on April 17, 2024. Register here.
About ALW
Hosted by NAA staff, exclusively for the Association’s members and affiliate partners, the ALW series digests:
- The latest news from Washington, DC, including a progress report on our federal advocacy priorities as well as legislative and regulatory activities of interest to the rental housing industry and what emerging issues are on the horizon;
- Important housing policy changes to state and local laws and the NAA affiliate network’s advocacy efforts and
- Legal news that could affect industry operations.