CAI-NJ Sept. 2019update

LOOKING AHEAD LARRY THOMAS, PCAM | CAI-NJ CHAPTER EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

W hat a crazy year it’s been for our Legislative Action Committee! Several of the bills that the LAC has been following have either been signed into law or are significantly moving in the commit- tees or houses. I am sure you will find the articles in this month’s issue (as well as George Greatrex’s monthly article) to provide a better understanding of these bills and what they will mean to all of us in the common interest community world. I cannot say enough good things about our LAC and their dedication and desire to have an impact on these import- ant matters. The LAC meets monthly and the meetings often run over due to the complexity and volume of proposed leg- islation. Bills and tasks are assigned to committee members and it’s their job to investigate their assigned bill and report back to the LAC. More than often, several hours are spent between meetings discussing the bill and coming up with a position and game plan. I’m not sure how many of our members can truly appre- ciate the number of hours that were recently dedicated to the recently introduced “Radburn” regulations. It was a group effort, but the majority of the heavy lifting was done by Dave Ramsey, Esq.. Dave spent the bulk of the 4th of July weekend in front of his computer crafting the 22-page response to the DCA outlining our concerns. Before and after Dave preparing the LAC response, several in person (as well as Zoom) meetings were held to openly discuss the impact of each item detailed in the DCA’s proposed regulations. We are “on hold” with the DCA until they review these comments and make a final determination. I can say that the DCA was overwhelmed with the comments submitted to them by our members. I want to thank all of our members who took the time to contact the DCA and express their concerns. So, as important as the DCA regulations are and consid-

ering the short window to prepare a response and solicit action from our members, the LAC didn’t forget the other pressing legislative bills that are equally important to our communities. The several articles contained in this month’s issue represent a small glimpse of the many bills and legis- lative initiatives that our LAC is monitoring. Currently, these are the “priority” issues ranked either by affect (positive or negative) or because they are being pushed by a bill sponsor or committee. Often times, bills are “fast tracked” and go through the committee and house process very quickly and soon find

“The LAC meets monthly and the meetings often run over due to the complexity and volume of proposed legislation.”

themselves on the governor’s desk. The LAC, with the constant direction from Michele Jaker, our lobbyist, has a keen sense of where the bills are, who is pushing them and when and how to react. Michele is in continuous conversations with our elected officials and their staffs to make sure we are kept abreast of any movement with any bills we are tracking. Our LAC and PAC committees are extremely busy keep- ing an eye out for the best interests of all of our common interest communities. It helps with our board members; community managers and industry business managers keep up-to-date with and support the efforts of both of these invaluable groups. n

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