House Bill 1195 made its way through the Florida legislature and was presented to our Governor on June 13. It appears that our Governor will sign the bill–although nothing is certain nowadays–and the provisions contained in HB 1195 that amend various sections of Chapters 718, 719, and 720 of the Florida Statutes will become effective
Board member responsibilities
An Italian Art Lesson for ROC members
My wife and I just returned from a very hectic but enjoyable trip to Italy. One of the towns we visited was Siena, in the country’s Tuscany region.
Siena is drenched in history and is known for its Piazza del Campo, an incredible "town square" that dates from the 13th century. The Piazza…
“Emergency” Board Meetings Require Real Emergencies
Those of you that have attended our seminars for resident owned communities know that I stress the importance of all board meetings being properly noticed and open to all association members.
I’m asked at least several times every year whether a ROC board can meet in "emergency" session and thus dispense with the requirements to…
Status Quo for CAMs and ROCs–For Now, At Least
Last week I posted an entry about attempts by some members of Florida’s legislature to eliminate the regulation of Community Association Managers as well as the Division of Florida Condominiums, Timeshares and Mobile Homes and (for good measure) end mandatory non-binding arbitration for certain disputes between owners and the associations governing their communities.
Proposed Committee…
ROC Alert: Proposed Committee Bill 11-01
I’ve spent part of the past few days in email correspondence and telephone and person to person discussions about Proposed Committee Bill (PCB) BCAS 11-01 with fellow community association attorneys, ROC managers, and concerned board members.
As you may already know, earlier this week, the Business and Consumer Affairs Subcommittee of the Florida House of…
Ballots, Proxies, and the Annual Meeting
I’ve been spending a good deal of time recently attending the annual membership meetings of a number of the ROCs we represent and helping many of our communities prepare for these meetings.
I thought I’d list a few reminders for board members and managers of condominium and cooperative associations preparing for annual meetings:
- The annual
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“Meet the Candidates” Events: A Bad Idea for ROCs
I cringe every time a member of a resident owned condominium or cooperative association mentions that an event has been scheduled to "meet the candidates" running for the board of directors of that community.
It’s clear from the Florida Statutes governing the election of directors in condominium associations and cooperative associations that there is a…
A Plea for Civility
I’m surely not alone in trying to understand the tragedy that occurred just over a week ago in Tucson. Regardless of one’s political views, it’s certainly worth considering the clear lack of civility and common courtesy that seems to be the rule rather than the exception throughout our country today.
Several days after the shootings…
A Few Tidbits to Welcome in the New Year
What better way to start 2011 than with an "op-ed" piece in the January 3 issue of The New York Times that undermines the idea that pets are beneficial to our health and happiness?
"Fido’s No Doctor. Neither is Whiskers." was written by Hal Herzog, a professor of psychology at Western Carolina University, and…
ROC Board Meetings: Coming to a TV Screen Near You?
I was contacted by a board member of a resident owned cooperative earlier this month with a rather interesting situation. One of the unit owners was videotaping the board meetings and now wanted to broadcast those videotapes on the "in house" channel that served the community. Was the association’s board required to allow the unit…