This morning, an amended version of House Bill 12-1237 (“HB 1237”), sponsored by Representative Angela Williams and supported by CAI’s Colorado Legislative Action Committee, was passed by the Colorado House on second reading. The bill will soon be heard on 3rd reading by the full House and is expected to be passed and sent to the Senate for consideration. Senator Ted Harvey, a Republican from Highlands Ranch, has kindly agreed to sponsor the bill in the Senate. 

 

HB 1237 was highlighted and received positive press yesterday in the Denver Post. The bill addresses the retention and production of HOA records. The bill is intended to clarify: (1) what exactly are records of the association; (2) what records must be retained by associations: (3) what records must be produced to owners upon request; and (4) what records are exempted from production.  In addition to these clarifying provisions, HB 1237 disposes of the requirement that owners provide a “proper purpose” prior to being permitted to inspect and obtain copies of records. 

 

Representative Bradford (R – Mesa County), Chair of the House Local Government Committee, spoke in support of HB 1237. She noted that Representative Williams worked hard to create a good bill and the Committee heard a lot of good testimony on the legislation. 

Representative Balmer (R – Arapahoe County) spoke in support of the bill and stated at the outset of his remarks that HB 1237 is “an outstanding bill.” In Representative Balmer’s opinion, this bill is really about the importance of HOAs providing copies of financial records to owners. Representative Balmer stated that he receives many constituent complaints relating to HOAs not being forthcoming with financial records. Representative Balmer believes the money that associations have is not the HOA’s money and instead belongs to the neighborhood and every homeowner in the neighborhood. He stated that “The homeowners should have access to the financial records and the HOAs should not be able to stonewall the homeowners.” Representative  Balmer concluded his remarks by thanking Representative Williams for standing up for the homeowners of Colorado.

We will provide you with important updates on HB 1237 as it proceeds through the legislative process.