On January 28, 2020, D.C. Policy Center Executive Director Dr. Yesim Sayin Taylor was quoted by the Washington Business Journal:
Local real estate attorneys previously dubbed such a change “an administrative nightmare,” and it drew opposition from the D.C. Building Industry Association. Developers frequently rely on LLCs in acquiring and managing properties. Some worried that the transparency measures would scare off nervous executives.
“It’s something that goes to the competitiveness of the city,” said Yesim Taylor, executive director of the nonpartisan, business-backed D.C. Policy Center. “It’s not just about taxes, but how welcome businesses feel. This is going to make criminals out of businesses that fail to report things.”
Taylor also worries that if DCRA isn’t predicting any budgetary impact, “it won’t be effective at all,” considering that the agency might simply collect ownership information from LLCs but fail to connect that data to resident complaints and home inspection reports. DCRA officials previously pledged to do so when Silverman first proposed her bill, but a new director has since taken over the agency.
Related: The impact of occupational licensing requirements in D.C. | D.C. Policy Center