Advocacy Update

Written by Forrest Wall, CAE, Staff Vice President and Industry Relations

Election 2012 Is Coming … Help AAM-PAC Make A Difference!

When you say “Election 2012” most people’s thoughts turn to the Presidential campaign. Of arguably greater importance for apartment owners, however, are the races in this election for state legislative seats. The policies pursued by our state elected leaders can have a swift and significant impact on your operations and profitability. While Michigan’s Senators do not run in 2012, all 110 seats in the Michigan House of Representatives are up for election.

One great way to have your voice heard in this election is to support AAM-PAC. AAM-PAC is the Apartment Association’s political action committee,

which utilizes contributions from members and aggregates them into one fund. This fund is used to financially support those elected officials who understand the important role of rental housing in Michigan’s economy. In short, we do the legwork for you to find the candidates who will best represent your business, and then support their campaign.

In the era of term limits, AAM’s role in educating our current and future legislators about rental housing issues has never been more important. Some of the issues AAM is working on currently include:

Apartment Inspection Law Reform – AAM legislation seeks to put limits on registration fees as well as inspection fees and extend inspection cycle timeframes

Tax Tribunal Speed – AAM is proposing an increased statutory interest rate on tax appeals to provide an incentive for local governments to resolve appeals and help clear the case backlog at the Tax Tribunal.

Opposition to Proposal for Rent Control

Remember, AAM-PAC contributions must be made via personal, partnership, or LLP check or credit cards. Please contact me at 248-862-1004 to make your contribution today!

“Renovate Right” Pamphlet Revised

All landlords planning to renovate pre-1978 rental housing under the provisions of the Lead RRP Rule are advised that the EPA has a newly revised version of the “Renovate Right” pamphlet. Prior to beginning any renovation work you are required to distribute this brochure to the tenant. The pamphlet was revised in the wake of EPA being forced to back away from the proposed addition of clearance testing to the rule. Instead, the pamphlet was revised to include a post-work section which brings lead-dust testing to the attention of the recipient. To be in compliance with the law, landlords can either use the new pamphlet, or, if you have a supply of the old version you can simply print out and insert page 10, “For Property Owner: After the Work is Done.” To download a copy of the pamphlet, go to http://http://www.epa.gov/lead/pubs/renovaterightbrochure.pdf.

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