Apartment PAC Austin

What is Apartment PAC Austin?

​Apartment PAC Austin is the Austin Apartment Association’s Political Action Committee —providing an opportunity for members interested in the welfare and future of the free enterprise rental housing market to support candidates for local and state offices who believe and have demonstrated their beliefs in our pro-housing point of view.

Contributed funds are directed to candidates who have been vetted by the Apartment PAC Austin Board of Trustees. PAC funds also may be used to support bond elections, ballot initiatives, and similar efforts that can help improve housing opportunities and the overall quality of life for Austin area residents.

For industry associations like the Austin Apartment Association, successful advocacy is a combination of presenting credible facts and information, building relationships with policymakers, and having a Political Action Committee (PAC) to fully participate in the legislative process; without all three working together our advocacy efforts will falter.

Invest in Apartment PAC Austin

Contributing to Apartment PAC Austin for the first time? Renewing your support?

Apartment PAC Austin Investment Levels
Contributions of $99 or more are invited to attend the annual Investors Reception.

  • Capitol View Penthouse $400+
  • Lady Bird Lake View $300-$350
  • Austin City View $150-$250
  • Downtown Studio $99
  • PAC Partner <$99

INVEST IN APARTMENT PAC AUSTIN

All contributions to Apartment PAC Austin are voluntary and all levels of contribution are welcome. Your PAC contribution can be divided into installments and paid out over several months.

Special Notes on PAC Donations
Texas law allows only personal donations and prohibits corporate contributions to PACs. PAC donations cannot be paid with corporate checks or corporate credit cards. Your AAA account cannot be billed. Personal, sole proprietor or partnership checks should be made payable to “AAA PAC,” or you may use your personal, sole proprietor, or partnership credit card for PAC contributions. No corporate cards can be accepted. Texas law also requires political action committees to report the name, mailing address, occupation, and name of employer for each individual contribution. Contributions to AAA PAC are for political purposes and will be used as political contributions for candidates favorable to the rental housing industry. All contributions are voluntary. You may refuse to contribute without reprisal. Guidelines are merely suggestions; you may contribute more or less than the suggested amounts.
Have donation questions? Contact Emily Blair, CAE at emily@austinaptassoc.com or (512) 323-0990.

Apartment PAC Austin Makes A Difference

Helping elect candidates to office that understands the dynamics of housing and the real-life impacts that their policy decisions have is important to all members of the apartment industry:

  • The City of Austin routinely considers enacting a RENTAL REGISTRATION ORDINANCE with per unit annual fees and mandatory annual inspections. Due to our efforts, this has not yet come to pass, but if it were ever to pass it is estimated to cost the property owners in Austin over a $1,000,000 in fees annually! Many cities in Texas already have this type of ordinance in place and the fees are increased every year in the City’s budgets- Dallas now has a $10 per unit annual fee but it started at $2 per unit!

  • The City of Austin TENANT RELOCATION ORDINANCE originally proposed to make property owners pay moving expenses and stipends to tenant affected by all type of property development and re-developmemt. This dangerous ordinance was narrowed but only after Apartment PAC Austin supported policy makers took the time to listen and understand our viewpoints. Had this ordinance gone forward the cost of property ownership would have soared affecting annual budgets and long-range property improvement plans.

  • Multifamily property owners can now take advantage of the property accessed clean energy district (PACE) financing that allow owners to install a myriad of energy and water efficiency improvements and pay for them through a monthly tax assessment. Because a PACE loan is considered a tax and not due upon sale, this innovative finance mechanism offers distinct advantages and provides instant monthly energy and water bill savings without a lengthy ROI period. This opportunity only came about because business-minded elected officials were elected that held a clear understanding of the rental housing industry and the economic impact such a program like PACE could have on multifamily property owners and service providers alike.

  • At the state level, legislation is often considered to require apartment leasing professionals to be LICENSED which carries annual fees and additional classroom hours for keeping the license current. Only our political involvement with legislators in all areas of Texas keeps licensing and registration for onsite personnel from being enacted.
Apartment PAC Austin FAQs

Apartment PAC Austin is the Austin Apartment Association’s Political Action Committee —providing an opportunity for members interested in the welfare and future of the free enterprise rental housing market to support candidates for local and state offices who believe and have demonstrated their beliefs in our pro-housing point of view.

A political action committee is the name given to a group organized to combine the contributions of many individuals and make contributions to support candidates for public office as well as to support bond elections, ballot initiatives and similar efforts that can help improve the quality of life for Austin area residents. Apartment PAC Austin is registered with the Texas Ethic Commission and follows their strict document filing and reporting rules as well as all rules established by local government entities.

Apartment PAC Austin accepts contributions from those involved in the rental housing industry and makes contributions to individuals running local and state office. Contributions are also used to support Texas statewide races such as those for governor, lieutenant governor and comptroller. PAC funds may also be used to support bond elections, ballot initiatives and similar efforts that can help improve housing opportunities and the overall the quality of life for Austin area residents.

Elected officials affect the way you do business every day because local ordinances and state laws affecting nearly every facet of the rental housing industry are routinely discussed and debated at the local and state level. These laws involve your taxes, your contracts, your insurance protection, the roads you travel, the regulatory fees you pay and other related issues. In order to have a say in these issues, you have to be involved and your association must have the ability to make contributions to candidates who will listen to our viewpoint and understand the economics of rental housing.

Apartment PAC Austin operates separately from the AAA Board of Directors and any other AAA committee. The Apartment PAC Austin is governed by a Board of Trustees consisting of the current AAA President, a PAC Chair appointed by the current President, AAA Past-Presidents in good standing, the Chair of the Products and Services Council, and AAA’s current President-Elect.

It is the task of the Trustees to monitor, analyze, and review potential candidates, bond elections and related elections to determine their favorability towards the rental housing industry and potential benefits to the members of the AAA. Factors considered include a candidate’s position on rental housing issues, existing support among members, and the candidate’s ability to win. The Trustees are also tasked with urging AAA members to contribute to the PAC; to recommend ways of raising PAC funds and show support for and encourage participation in the Association-sponsored PAC fundraisers; to encourage all members to actively participate in the Texas Apartment Association PAC and the National Apartment Association PAC.

Apartment PAC Austin is registered with the Texas Ethic Commission and follows their strict document filing and reporting rules as well as all rules established by local government entities. Apartment PAC Austin represents our pro-housing interests at the state, county and local level, but is prohibited by law from donating to federal election campaigns.

Apartment PAC Austin is able to pool the resources of the rental housing industry to have a greater impact than a single individual. Individual contributions are important, and AAA members are encouraged to continue making individual contributions, but the combined dollars of the PAC can have greater impact on more races. Plus, industry resources that are pooled can be directed to statewide candidates to maximize the prospects of having pro-rental housing candidates at all levels.

Please continue contributing to candidates of your choosing, but also please remember to contribute to Apartment PAC Austin because it gives industry members the opportunity to have an impact on the election of wide number of candidates who will shape the legislation that affects the multifamily rental housing industry.

All contributors can make recommendations to the Board of Trustees on which candidates the contributor supports or opposes. Input from members is one of the criteria used to make decisions to support or oppose.

There are no limits to how much an individual can contribute to the PAC. The only limitation is that corporate funds cannot be used as contributions to candidates for the Legislature and statewide offices in Texas. It is against the law for a political action committee to contribute corporate contributions to candidate.

Apartment PAC Austin must keep a record of the amount of each contribution received and the value and nature of any in-kind contribution, as well as the name and address of the individual or political committee making the contribution, and the date of the contribution.

Apartment PAC Austin investors that make a contribution of $99 or more will receive an invitation to the Apartment PAC Austin Investors Reception.

Under federal law, the use of member dues to help elect candidates to federal office is strictly prohibited. Those who contribute, contribute voluntarily. Additionally, Apartment PAC Austin can only accept personal contributions and dues are often paid with corporate funds.

No. It is against federal law for a political action committee to contribute corporate contributions to candidates. Corporate contributions can be given to the AAA’s Better Government Fund (BGF).

The BGF is your industry’s “war chest” and is is used to support the legal, lobbying and media firepower needed to fight anti-business/anti-rental housing initiatives that often surface when apartment construction or related land-use changes are debated in the public forum.

The legislative process is not like a going to Las Vegas where if you don’t gamble you don't risk losing. If you sit out of the political process, you are guaranteed to lose. The legislative process is a full contact activity, and the ideas and perspectives of those who compete in the process are reflected in the laws that are enacted.

Operations cutbacks are an inevitable when owners are faced with the ever increasing costs of municipal fees, utility rates, onerous taxes and increasing regulations and inspections. Our PAC helps fight these increases. Through Apartment PAC Austin campaign contributions we broaden our reach and relationships with elected officials, and increase the opportunities to communicate our ideas and perspectives on the many issues that affect our industry debated and discuss in the political arena.

Apartment PAC Austin is nonpartisan in who it supports so long as they share our pro-housing point of view. The record, ideas, perspective and quality of each candidate determine who gets Apartment PAC Austin support and not party.

Please call the Apartment PAC Austin Manager staff at (512) 323-0990 or email raul@austinaptassoc.com.

Special Notes on PAC Donations
Texas law allows only personal donations and prohibits corporate contributions to PACs. PAC donations cannot be paid with corporate checks or corporate credit cards. Your AAA account cannot be billed. Personal, sole proprietor or partnership checks should be made payable to “AAA PAC,” or you may use your personal, sole proprietor, or partnership credit card for PAC contributions. No corporate cards can be accepted. Texas law also requires political action committees to report the name, mailing address, occupation, and name of employer for each individual contribution. Contributions to AAA PAC are for political purposes and will be used as political contributions for candidates favorable to the rental housing industry. All contributions are voluntary. You may refuse to contribute without reprisal. Guidelines are merely suggestions; you may contribute more or less than the suggested amounts.