As a membership organization with nearly 10,000 members, issues of public policy and opportunities to comment and suggest reforms routinely present themselves to the Boston Bar Association (BBA). The BBA Council has adopted policy positions on a wide variety of issues. Once a position has been approved, many of our members wonder, “What now?”
The answer usually depends on timing – the timing of Council approval in relation to what the Legislature is focusing on at that particular moment. The salience of an issue often dictates how much traction it will have in the Legislature and other governmental agencies. Unfortunately, forecasting what will capture the attention of government officials is more of an art than a science. So advancing BBA positions demands patience and perseverance.
Just one example. . .When word came to the BBA last Friday that the Attorney General was submitting proposed updates to its Debt Collection Regulations to provide stronger consumer protections, we were thrilled. As noted in Issue Spot last August, the BBA’s Consumer Finance Committee wrote a report proposing updates to the current regulations to reflect the real world today.
Many of the proposed updates submitted by the BBA group are found in the proposal submitted by the Attorney General’s Office. These changes will provide substantial relief for debtors that have been subjected to unfair collection practices not covered by the current regulations.
Before the regulations are updated, there is a comment period and a hearing scheduled on May 18th. Members of the BBA Consumer Finance Committee will present testimony on the Attorney General’s proposal to express the BBA’s support for these important modernizations of debt collection practices. The BBA is proud to work with the Attorney General’s Office and all other agencies where the expertise of our membership can be useful.
-Kathleen Joyce
Government Relations Director
Boston Bar Association
