Community Associations Institute's Virginia Legislative Action Committee (VALAC) needs your support to fulfill our mission and continue our success. VALAC is funded solely by Community Associations Institute (CAI) members' advocacy support fees and additional voluntary contributions of community associations, management companies and businesses that provide products and services to community associations. The investment you have made in your home and community is one of your greatest investments and the efforts of VALAC to protect that investment is one of the greatest benefits of CAI membership.

What does VALAC do?

• VALAC monitors legislation and proposes changes to pending and existing legislation that affects community associations and businesses that provide services to those communities.  In 2011, legislators considered almost 50 bills that would have directly affected community associations. Only nine of those bills ultimately passed and became law. As in prior sessions, members and representatives of VALAC were immersed in the process, following bills and advocating on behalf of the Virginia community association industry.
• VALAC works year round, gathering information, networking with legislators and monitoring trends in the common interest community industry.  Even after the session concludes, the work of VALAC continues. Time is spent in conversation with legislators and other interest groups. VALAC lobbyists work to educate lawmakers on the issues unique to community association and work to vet proposed legislation. Committees and work groups carry on in the interim between sessions to consider possible legislation. VALAC members follow those committees and work groups and often serve on them.
• VALAC is comprised of volunteer members from across the Commonwealth who are involved in all facets of the common interest community industry.  VALAC operates with the support of a network of volunteers and compensated lobbyists.  Volunteers dedicate hundreds of hours to monthly meetings, legislation review and study, position development and research as well as travel to Richmond to testify before Committees of the General Assembly. The 15 volunteer members of VALAC are representative of CAI's diverse membership and include attorneys, accountants, managers and homeowners from throughout Virginia. Since its formation in 1990, VALAC has been successful in both proposing and actively supporting positive legislation on behalf of the community association industry. VALAC also works to oppose flawed legislation that would have been detrimental to the industry.
• VALAC hires lobbyists to meet with legislators and persuade them on the legislation that protects and enhances our community associations.  As the work has grown, VALAC found it necessary to engage compensated lobbyists to support the important work in Richmond. The role of the lobbyists has increased exponentially - as the number, breadth and scope of bills has similarly increased. The lobbyists and their efforts are the key to VALAC's effectiveness in monitoring and protecting the interests of community associations across Virginia.
• VALAC has enjoyed many triumphs in effectuating change and clarity in our common interest community laws.  Examples of VALAC legislative successes in recent years:
   
• Preserving restrictive covenants by negotiating the language of bills addressing solar panels and clotheslines.
• Protecting individual members of a board of directors from monetary penalties.
• Preserving association rulemaking authority.
• Providing efficient enforcement for associations by supporting the expansion of the jurisdiction of the General District Court to abate violations.
• Advocating limitations on liability for injuries in storm water facilities.
• Saving associations money by promoting the use of new technologies for notice, voting and governing document amendments.
• Increasing the knowledge and professionalism of associations by supporting education and licensing of common interest community managers.
• Maintaining the value of communities by preserving the assessment authority of property owners associations.
• Educating potential buyers about the community by working to ensure full disclosure upon resale of properties in community associations.

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