1. VP of Government & State Affairs
2019 NACARA Annual Meeting
Andy Madden
VP of Government & State Affairs
ACA International
© 2019 ACA International.
© 2018 ACA International.

2. ACA International’s Members
Credit grantors
Third-party collection agencies
Asset buyers
Attorneys
Vendors
© 2019 ACA International.

3. State Units
ACA’s affiliated U.S. units are independently incorporated associations covering one or more states.
50 states represented
36 state units
© 2018 ACA International.

4. Member Communications
Industry News
Press Releases
Research
Social Media
© 2019 ACA International.

5. Types of Debt Collected Small Business
A majority of members are small businesses
48% of ACA members less than 9 employees
86% have fewer than 50 employees.
 Provide essential services to other small companies.
44% of ACA members report that 50 – 100% of their clients are small business clients.
Health care – 48.6%
Student Loan – 21.2%
Government 16.4%
Telecom and utility – 8.9%
Financial services – 2.8%
Other – 2.4%
Retail – 1.2%
Mortgage – 0.1%
© 2018 ACA International.

6. How Debt is Collected
© 2019 ACA International.

7. ACA Advocacy Priorities
CFPB Rulemaking
TCPA Reform
FCC/FTC Robocall legislation
Call Blocking and Call Labeling
Privacy legislation
State Legislation
© 2019 ACA International.

8. State Level Activity
ACA is tracking more than 630 ARM related bills introduced in 2019.
Hot issues include: Garnishment, Licensing, Post Judgment Interest, Mass Dispute letters, medical debt/balance billing, privacy.

9. Some Legislative Highlights
Connecticut – HB Would have double exemption to $2,000 in a debtor’s bank from garnishment. Bill failed on Adjournment.
Illinois – HB This bill would have exempt 90% of wages from garnishment, reduce post-judgment interest rate from 9% to 2%, and reduce statute of limitations from 7 to 5 years. Carried Over HB 88 which lowers post judgement interest from 9 – 5% was enacted.
Indiana –Legislation introduced to require appropriate disclosures on credit repair organizations letters.
Idaho – SB A bill to allow collection agencies to collect incidental charges included in a contract. Move licensing onto the NMLS and allows a 60-day reinstatement window for expired licenses. Create an industry advisory board. Supported by ACA and Idaho Collectors Association.
© 2018 ACA International.

10. Some Legislative Highlights
Maine - LD1053 Would shorten the time a judgement decree can be enforced from 20 years to 1 year.
Massachusetts - SB578/HB Bill to shorten statute of limitations and increase garnishment exemptions. - Also working to get clarity on the scope of competing state regulations.
New York – SB4827/AB This bill would have reduced the statute of limitations (SOL) from 6 to 3 years, expunged all debt at the expiration of the SOL, and required credit card accounts to be itemized starting at the date of default rather than the charge-off date.
Nevada - AB477 - The enacted legislation goes into effect October 1st. Caps attorney’s fees in debt collection related cases at 15%.
Virginia – HB 2179 – Worked to amend this overly expansive bill to license debt settlement companies.
Some Legislative Highlights
© 2018 ACA International.

11. ACA Int’l v. FCC The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals
Set aside the FCC’s interpretation of what equipment constitutes an ATDS
Invalidated the FCC’s rule about reassigned numbers
Upheld the FCC’s rule on consent revocation
ACA Int’l v. FCC
© 2019 ACA International.

12. More from the FCC in 2019
TCPA Omnibus ruling addressing the definition of an autodialer and other important questions from ACA’s lawsuit
More information about the reassigned numbers database including cost
SHAKEN/STIR – call authentication
© 2019 ACA International.

13. “Robocall” Crackdown in Congress
ACA is constantly reminded about the illegal robocall epidemic plaguing consumers
No one likes these calls―including ACA members
However, much of the legislation misses the mark in narrowly targeting bad actors
“Robocall” Crackdown in Congress
© 2019 ACA International.

14. “Robocall” Legislation Introduced in the 116th Congress
TRACED Act – PASSED Senate
Bad Robocalls Act – PASSED House
(House and Senate working to reconcile these bills)
© 2019 ACA International.

15. Federal Data Privacy Legislation A top priority in the 116th Congress
Some looking to California’s Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (CCPA) and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
ACA urges lawmakers to avoid duplicative, conflicting, or overly complex standards
ACA argues that any federal law should preempt state requirements in this area, so that all Americans receive the same level of privacy protections
Federal Data Privacy Legislation A top priority in the 116th Congress
© 2019 ACA International.

16. CFPB Releases Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
© 2019 ACA International.

17. The CFPB Must Work Together with the FCC
Both agencies are looking to address the way modern consumers communicate via cellphone and text
TCPA text message requirements will impact the CFPB rules for texting
Call caps are also related to call blocking and labeling
© 2019 ACA International.

18. Some High-Level Thoughts
The limited content message is important to provide clarity for leaving voic s.
Meaningful communication must not be discouraged through arbitrary limitations, which ultimately harm consumers. •
The proposal to limit call frequency to seven per week is not supported by evidence that it helps consumers.
One of the most positive aspects of the proposed rule is that it promotes and leverages modern communication technologies to the benefit of both consumers and industry
The requirement to differentiate between personal and work s is unworkable and could severely limit the ability to use .
The Bureau must urge the FCC to provide clarity on the definition of what is considered an autodialer for text messaging to be a viable option.
Some High-Level Thoughts
© 2018 ACA International.

19. Some Additional Thoughts
A Model Form for a Validation Notice is important for providing clarity, but the proposed form needs work.
Itemization in the Validation Notice will be impossible for many and will increase litigation.
The “complete name” requirement in the modern form will lead to unnecessary technical litigation.
The Bureau has proposed to establish a new regulatory requirement for the accounts receivable management industry to communicate with the consumer about the debt prior to furnishing information to a credit reporting agency about the debt but has not sufficiently defined what that means.
Record retention requirements could be problematic, particularly for smaller accounts receivable management companies.
Some Additional Thoughts
© 2018 ACA International.

20. Questions?
© 2018 ACA International.