Harrisburg Capitol Conference May 1 and 2, 2012

WE NEED YOU IN HARRISBURG….. Lawmakers will not bother about our issues unless we bring them the message. Our annual Harrisburg Capitol  Conference is May 1 and 2.   We'll hold our annual Apartment Association of Pennsylvania  meeting on the evening of May 1, 2012, and visit our legislators on May 2nd. It's your chance to tell legislators about your property's story—the homes and jobs you bring to your communities. We are the only ones who can tell them.  Registration flyer  

AAGP Teamwork

 

“You may have the greatest bunch of individual players in the world, but if they don’t play together, the club won’t be worth a dime.”…..  Babe Ruth

Realistically, the Babe probably didn’t say “dime”, but we get the gist.  If individuals don’t work together, it’s just not worth it. That’s true for every enterprise imaginable. Babe could easily have been describing the work of trade associations, and the tremendous value of industry experts working together, especially when it comes to legislative affairs. 

Nobody knows that better than our members, whose commitment to our Government Affairs program keeps us in the big leagues.  

Business people who are not using their collective trade association voice are actually sending a very negative message to legislators:  “We don’t care to be taken seriously.”   Associations engage in lobbying because if they don’t their industry will always come out on the short end of things in any law that affects it.  

Members may have a strong solitary voice as constituents with their own representatives.  But their Association represents the best and brightest of an entire profession. The Association can present the important “big picture” perspective to elected officials. 

So when a Harrisburg lawmaker wants to know how his or her bill will affect ‘landlords”, they don’t go to their constituents. They go to the industry’s envoy. They go to our Apartment Association.  

The strength of our collective voice comes from so many of our members who regularly go to bat for our team.  Together they are keeping the apartment industry in post season play. We routinely step up to hold many harmful bills in abeyance and secure amendments for others.  We are always present to represent the apartment industry point of view. 

The Executive Summary of 201, a report of our legislative accomplishments and activity for the year, will be out shortly. It was yet another winning season, and lawmakers throughout the Commonwealth know when it comes to the issues affecting the hundreds of thousands of quality multifamily rental homes in Pennsylvania, we are at the top of the game.  Many, many thanks to our members who made it happen.

Government Affairs Roundtable

     Now that the budget debate in Harrisburg is over, everyone expects to see a great deal of legislative activity this fall.  It all goes in to high gear in September. The Pennsylvania Senate will resume session days on September 19th. The House has not yet released its fall schedule.    

      In the meantime we are reviewing issues (tell us what's bugging you besides bed bugs) and preparing for our annual trip to the National Government Affairs Roundtable with fellow lobbyists from NAA affiliates around the country. 

     One of the issues we'll be talking about is the great number of inspections ordinances around our fair Commonwealth. We'll be  exploring various approaches such as North Carolina's recently enacted law that allows municipalities the option of periodic inspections if there is reasonable cause to believe unsafe, unsanitary or otherwise hazardous or unlawful conditions may exist.

    So please send your thoughts on whether we should pursue a statewide inspections law. Include your experiences with your own local inspections ordinances.   You can contact Christine at cgertz@aagp.com

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