Two New laws that affect residents of Communities of Owners that will come into force in January 2020.

SB323 – NEW LEGISLATION AFFECTING BOARD OF DIRECTORS ELECTIONS AT HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATIONS

SB323 (Wieckowski) is new legislation that affects the election of the board of directors in homeowners associations. This legislation limits the right of the members of an association to establish the requirements for candidates for the board of directors. In particular, the association may not specify that board members must have a certain level of education, experience, or knowledge to be board members. The legislation also prevents non-owners from serving on the board of directors.

Only owners can be part of the board of directors. Owners may be disqualified as candidates for the board if (a) the owner has been an owner for less than one year, (b) a co-owner is on the board or is a candidate for the board, (c) the owner has a conviction for a past felony, or (d) the landlord is delinquent in payment of what is owed. The legislation prohibits an association from suspending an owner’s right to vote. The legislation requires that the election inspector be an entity or natural person without a prior contractual relationship with the association.

This disqualifies managers, lawyers, and accountants who are currently employed by the association. The legislation requires the association to publish the requirements to run for the board at least thirty days before the nomination deadline. Specifically, the association must post the list of candidates, the deadline for returning ballots, and the time and place of the annual meeting at least thirty days before the ballots are mailed. The legislation allows property owners to review the signatures of all other property owners on ballot mailing envelopes and to copy voter lists, including the mailing addresses of voters in an election. The legislation requires that the rules relating to the election be adopted at least ninety days before an election. Legislation allows emails to be included in membership lists.

SB754 – NEW LEGISLATION ALLOWS LARGE HOMEOWNERS’ ASSOCIATIONS (5,000 OR MORE MEMBERS) TO HOLD ELECTIONS BY ACCLAMATION IN AN UNCONTESTED ELECTION

SB754 (Moorlach) allows homeowners associations with 5,000 or more members to be elected by acclamation, meaning without counting ballots, if the number of candidates does not exceed the number of open seats when nominations close. The legislation is designed to avoid the added expense of counting ballots.