 APRO: The Official Voice of the Rent to Own Industry
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 RTO Legislative Activity
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RTO Legislative Activity - Rent-to-Own Legislative HistoryFederal: Below is a summary of the major federal initiatives aimed at passage of a Consumer Rental-Purchase Agreement Act:
2009-2010 | 111th Congress: H.R. 1744 by Representative William Lacy Clay (D-MO) generated 126 co-sponsors and S. 738 by Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) generated 20 co-sponsors.
2007-2008 | 110th Congress: H.R. 1767 by Representative William Lacy Clay (D-MO) generated 99 co-sponsors. S. 1012 by Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA) generated 21 co-sponsors.
2005-2006 | 109th Congress: H.R. 1651 by Representative Walter Jones (R-NC) generated 40 co-sponsors. S. 603 by Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA) generated 19 co-sponsors. The Senate Banking Committee considered bill inclusion into the Regulatory Relief Act and heard testimony regarding S. 603 on June 21, 2005.
2003-2004 | 108th Congress: H.R. 996 by Representative Walter Jones (R-NC) generated 95 co-sponsors. S. 884 by Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA) generated 27 co-sponsors. The Senate Banking Committee heard testimony regarding S. 884 on June 22, 2004 as a part of a “Consideration of Regulatory Reform Proposals” hearing. Senator Landrieu testified. 2001-2002 | 107th Congress: H.R. 1701 by Representative Walters Jones (R-NC) generated 83 co-sponsors. S. 2947 by Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA) generated eight co-sponsors. H.R. 1701 passed the House of Representatives (215 to 201) on September 18, 2002; passed the House Judiciary Committee (14 to 12); pased the House Financial Services Committee (29 to 9); and passed the House Financial Services Subcommittee (24 to 4).
1999-2000 | 106th Congress: H.R. 1634 by Representative Walter Jones (R-NC) generated 51 co-sponsors.
1997-1998 | 105th Congress: H.R. 2019 by Representative Walter Jones (R-NC) generated 27 co-sponsors. The Taxpayers Relief Act of 1997 passed into law. The law included the three-year MACRs (Modified Accelerated Cost Recovery Schedule) as the depreciation method for rent-to-own agreements. The rent-to-own three-year MACRs amendment also codified the rent-to-own transaction as a lease in the Internal Revenue Service statutes.
1995-1996 | 104th Congress: H.R. 2820 by Representative J.C. Watts (R-OK) generated 36 co-sponsors. The Internal Revenue Service issued its Revenue Procedure ruling declaring the rent-to-own transaction as a lease in the IRS code.
1993-1994 | 103rd Congress: H.R. 2803 by Representative Larry LaRocco (D-ID) generated 53 co-sponsors; S. 1956 by Senator Richard Shelby (D-AL) generated five co-sponsors.
For more information on APRO’s federal legislative effort, please contact APRO Public Affairs Director Richard May by e-mail or phone at 512/225-1051.
State Rent-to-own Legislative History: There are 47 state rent-to-own laws representing ninety-five percent of the U.S. population balancing consumer protections while defining the rent-to-own transaction as a lease. Listed below are the states with rent-to-own laws and the years in which they were enacted:
APRO: The Association of Progressive Rental Organizations— the official voice of the rent-to-own industry Founded in 1980, APRO is the national, non-profit trade association advocating and representing the rent-to-own industry before the U.S. Congress, state legislatures, courts, media, Wall Street and the public.
For more information on rent-to-own state laws, please contact APRO Public Affairs Director Richard May by e-mail or phone at 512/225-1051. |
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2012 APRO Convention and Trade Show July 24-26, Memphis, TN
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RTOHQ: The Magazine
RTOHQ: The Magazine is the Association of Progressive Rental Organizations' award-winning rent-to-own industry magazine, and it's available here. | |||
 CLICK HERE FOR OUR DIGITAL RTOHQ: THE MAGAZINE
RTOHQ: The Magazine’s upgraded digital format APRO's new, mobile-ready magazine is now available in addition to our print edition. The digital format provides the same informative content as our printed magazine, but also offers tools to make the reading experience more enriching. Access the table of contents page with one click or tap. Get additional information from advertisers by clicking on the links in their ads. The interface is easy to navigate and requires no special app—read our magazine on your computer, digital table or smartphone. Click here to access the digital version of RTOHQ: The Magazine March-April 2012.
A New Rent-to-Own Experience by Neil Ferguson Here’s the lowdown on APRO’s 2012 Convention and Trade Show, July 24-26 in Memphis. The RTO industry’s big event will offer many valuable experiences, including insights on how to turn your stores into “experiences”–the good kind for consumers
Who Is Your Competition? by Bill Keese In order to expand your customer base, you can learn a lot by observing your competitors. But first, you need to figure out just who they are. If you think your only competition is the rent-to-own store down the street, you’re not considering the bigger picture. APRO’s executive director offers a big-picture perspective.
A Review of Online Customer Complaints by Ed Winn III While rent-to-own companies have not cornered the market on negative reviews posted on consumer complaint websites, it’s no surprise that there are cyberspace beefs against RTO. APRO’s general counsel reviews some of them in search of a pattern and he considers appropriate response to online complaints.
Rent-to-Own Families, Part VIII by Kristen Card Our series of family-run rent-to-own businesses continues with profiles of the Homeiers in Kansas and two Texas-based sets of kindred colleagues, the Spangles and the Weisblatts.
Future issues of APRO's magazine will be available in this same new format. Click here to access past issues that are not yet archived in the new interface.
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Association of Progressive Rental Organizations 1504 Robin Hood Trail Austin, Texas 78703 800/204-2776, ext. 103 Fax 512/794-0097 |