FRONT LINES: Washington Report

NAR to Hill: Not all e-mail is spam

As Congress gears up to develop legislation that would control the growth of unsolicited bulk e-mail, NAR wants legislators to know that its members already use e-mail wisely. In fact, “they already comply with many of the requirements in the legislation under consideration in Congress,” say NAR analysts.

The CAN-SPAM Act, S. 877, which passed the Senate 97–0 in late October, targets e-mail communication that uses deception to lure recipients. It prohibits senders from disguising their identity, bans misleading subject lines, and requires messages with pornographic content to be clearly labeled as such, among other things. It also requires marketers to stand behind their opt-out option.

NAR’s concern is over a provision, little discussed and vague, inserted as a last-minute amendment, that would authorize the Federal Trade Commission to create a national do-not-spam registry similar to the do-not-call registry launched earlier this year. The bill would give the FTC considerable leeway in determining how the registry would be structured.

“Our experience with the do-not-call registry makes it clear that, without careful consideration by Congress, a similar registry for spam could create problems for legitimate business e-mailers,” say NAR analysts.

Among other things, the no-call registry made it unclear whether real estate professionals could lawfully communicate with FSBOs and expireds who’ve listed their number with the registry.

In a positive step, the Senate bill aims to protect against the possibility that a spam curb would create an environment encouraging abusive class action lawsuits against e-mailers. The bill, which puts antispam enforcement in the hands of the FTC and state attorneys general, doesn’t include a private right of action that consumers could use to sue e-mailers.

House lawmakers are working on their own spam-control legislation, with action expected in 2004. Once a House bill is passed, a House-Senate conference committee must reconcile any differences between bills before a final bill is sent to both houses for passage.

RPAC smashes record

REALTORS® contributed $930,000 to the REALTORS® Political Action Committee in October, pushing the year-to-date RPAC total to more than $4.1 million, a yearly record with two months to go.

The October contribution, at about twice the amount RPAC receives in a typical month, is itself a record-smashing performance.

“REALTORS® understand how critical RPAC is to sustaining a strong and fair regulatory and legislative environment for real estate,” says Myra Mueller Sload, CRB, GRI, 2003 RPAC chair.

The $4.1 million in contributions puts RPAC ahead of the 2003 fair-share goal of $3.95 million and beats the RPAC trustees’ internal goal of $4 million. RPAC contributions in 2002 totaled $3.25 million, also a record.

Federal Legislation and Regulation Scorecard

Issue:

Brownfields. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is meeting with NAR and other interest groups to write rules implementing the “all appropriate inquiry” standard for federal brownfields reform legislation enacted two years ago. NAR: Backs rules that would support existing protocols for conducting environmental assessments. The use of established procedures would help ensure adequate and legally defensible assessment protocols.

Latest action:

EPA in early 2003 convened negotiated rulemaking to hear input from interest groups. Meetings have been held throughout year.

Projection:

EPA is required by statute to publish a proposed rule on the “all appropriate inquiry” standard by Jan. 11, 2004.

Issue:

GSE regulation. Congressional hearings on government-sponsored secondary market entities Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have spotlighted proposals to transfer oversight of safety and soundness of the two GSEs away from Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight to a new entity within U.S. Treasury Department.
NAR: Supports transfer with two caveats: 1) Treasury entity must be independent of political influence, and 2) decisions regarding GSE housing mission and programs must remain with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Latest action:

NAR in mid-October testimony at a Senate Banking Committee hearing cautioned against changes to GSE oversight that could weaken the housing finance system.

Projection:

GSE oversight reform legislation is unlikely to be written before start of second session of 108th Congress, in early 2004.