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DS News October 2022

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85 85 INVESTMENT GOVERNMENT PROPERTY PRESERVATION primary way people are finding rental units. Between 2019 and 2021, 21 million households moved into rental units and 14 million households moved into owned units. e internet was more widely used to find a unit to rent—or 43%—in 2021 than in 2019 at 37%. Meanwhile, some 45% only searched in a single neighborhood. Among households that moved, most did not move to a better neighborhood; the quality of homes was better for owners that moved but mixed for renters. Just 40% of recent mover households reported moving to a better neighborhood than their previous neighborhood. e majority of owners who moved reported moving to a better home at 62%, but only 46% of renters improved their housing quality. Lower-income households that moved had lower rates of moving to higher- quality neighborhoods and housing units. Among all households in 2021, relatively few reported crime as a problem in their neighborhoods; but only a minority of households report having good public transit access. About 17% of households believe that their neighborhood has petty crime and about 6% believe that their neighborhood has a lot of serious crime. Around 42% of households believe that their neighborhood has good bus, subway, or commuter bus service. Pet ownership rose modestly from 2017 to 2021; having a cell phone in the home is nearly universal. Approximately 63.8 million households in the U.S. owned at least one pet in 2021, a 7% increase from 2017. Pet ownership among homeowners is about 20% higher than among renters. Nearly all homes—93%—have one or more household member with a cell phone in 2021, up from 91% in 2019. A large majority of homes in Wildland- Urban Interface (WUI) zones are not well distanced from wildland vegetation; a majority depend on text messaging for wildfire emergencies. e last decade has seen an increase in large wildfires that have led to the destruction of many housing units. e 2021 data show that approximately 37 million homes are in Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) zones. Of these, approximately 77% were in or near wildland vegetation, and 55% reported that they had vegetation less than 5 feet away from their home. Over 52% of households in WUI zones reported that they would expect to be alerted first through their cell phone (emergency alert, text, or call) during a wildfire emergency. CFPB ACCUSED OF EXCEEDING STATUTORY AUTHORITY A coalition of seven banks and trade groups have filed a lawsuit against the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and CFPB Director Rohit Chopra citing abuse of statutory authority. e lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. e American Bankers Association (ABA), U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Longview Chamber of Commerce, Texas Bankers Association, Independent Bankers Association of Texas, Texas Association of Business, and the Consumer Bankers Association (CBA) as co-plaintiffs are challenging the CFPB's recent update to the Unfair, Deceptive, or Abusive Acts or Practices (UDAAP) Section of the CFPB's exam manual, citing that it exceeds its statutory authority and violates the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) in three ways: » e CFPB is exceeding its statutory authority outlined in the Dodd-Frank Act; » e updated manual is "arbitrary" and "capricious;" and » e updated UDAAP section violates the APA's procedural requirements because it constitutes a legislative rule that failed to go through notice and comment. e suit further challenges the CFPB by calling into question the Bureau's funding structure. "e Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is operating beyond its statutory authority and in the process creating legal uncertainty that will result in fewer financial products available to consumers," said U.S. Chamber EVP and Chief Policy Officer Neil Bradley. "e CFPB is pursuing an ideological agenda that goes well beyond what is authorized by law and the Chamber will not hesitate to hold them accountable." In their filing, the plaintiffs make clear that the groups and their respective members fully support the fair enforcement of the nation's nondiscrimination laws, yet "they cannot stand by while a federal agency exceeds its statutory authority, creates regulatory uncertainty, and imposes costly burdens on the business community. Especially when the CFPB did not even give the public an opportunity to raise concerns through the APA's notice-and- comment process. is Court's intervention is needed to ensure that the CFPB is accountable to legal constraints, the rule of law, and the public as it pursues an aggressive agenda with far-reaching implications for the American economy, Plaintiffs, and their members." According to the CBA in a release, "the CFPB revised its examination manual to reflect a new belief that the 'unfairness' prong of the UDAAP definition can be applied to conduct the CFPB deems discriminatory. roughout the course of many decades, Congress never used the statutory concepts of 'unfairness' and 'discrimination' interchangeably. Rather, they are distinct, and each has a well-established meaning and scope of application." e plaintiffs are urging the court to intervene to ensure the CFPB is held accountable to the rule of law and consumers. "e CFPB's decision to dramatically expand its regulatory reach without any input from the public was not authorized by statute and has significant implications for consumers, banks, and the broader financial markets," said ABA President and CEO Rob Nichols. "is is a step we did not want to take, but it was a necessary step given the extraordinary actions of the CFPB." In a statement, the Texas Bankers Association commented: "… we ask the court for injunctions: setting aside the CFPB's March 2022 update to the manual; preventing the CFPB from pursuing any exams or enforcement actions based on the March 2022 interpretation of its UDAAP authority; and ordering the CFPB to cease accepting funds in violation of the Appropriations Clause." "e CFPB is one of the most transparent regulatory agencies, and voluntarily publishes exam manuals laying out how it will assess banks' compliance with the federal laws Congress charged the Bureau with enforcing," said the CFPB in a statement to DS News from a Bureau spokesperson. "e CFPB's exam manuals allow banks to ensure they are following the law, and help make certain that consumers are receiving the fair and equitable treatment they deserve."

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