Regulatory updates

The House of Representatives passed two NAREIT-backed cybersecurity bills last week.

NAREIT joined a coalition of industry groups on April 21 in requesting an extension of the comment period for a proposed rule from the Department of Labor to impose a fiduciary duty on all retirement savings advisers.

NAREIT joined a coalition of real estate industry groups April 16 calling on the Senate to bring S. 754, the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act of 2015 (CISA), up for consideration.

NAREIT and a number of other real estate industry groups wrote to Congress on April 15 to request the development of legislation to curtail patent troll abuses.

The Department of Labor on has released a proposed rule to impose a fiduciary duty on all retirement savings advisers. The proposal would apply to all advisers providing advice that is individualized or specifically directed to a particular plan sponsor, plan participant or IRA owner with regard to any retirement savings decision.

NAREIT and a group of industry organizations wrote to the leaders of the House of Representatives and the House Energy and Commerce Committee last week in support of the Energy Efficiency Improvement Act of 2015 (S. 535). In a letter to Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH), House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), and House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) and Ranking Member Frank Pallone (D-NJ), the groups noted that if Congress doesn’t act by April 16, the Department of Energy will prevent the manufacturing of large volume, grid-enabled electric resistance water heaters.

NAREIT submitted testimony last week to the Hawaii House of Representatives Committee on Finance opposing a proposal directing two state agencies to prepare a study of REIT activities in the state (S.B. 118, S.D. 1, H.D. 1).