February 2012

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. Continue Reading HOA Records Bill Passes the Colorado House on 2nd Reading

The Colorado Senate this morning amended Senate Bill 12-038 (“SB 38”) to exclude HOAs from the definition of “roofing contractor” and to provide HOAs with the protections provided under the bill.

SB 38, which is intended to provide protections from unscrupulous roofing contractors, requires “residential roofing contractors” to sign a written contract with customers that includes among other things: Continue Reading Roofing Contractor Bill Amended to Protect HOAs

This morning the Denver Post published an article about House Bill 1237, the bill intended to clarify records disclosure requirements for homeowners associations.  Suzanne Leff and Molly Foley-Healy have previously discussed the substance of House Bill 1237, and we are pleased to see legislation that will help associations with everyday governance.

Many of the problems

So you’ve been elected to the Board; you’ve reviewed all of the governing documents (at least, those that you’ve been provided); you faithfully review your board packets in preparation for your regular meetings, you’re well on your way to helping your association conduct its business in a businesslike manner. At your board meeting, a curious owner inquires why her monthly assessments are different than her neighbor’s.Continue Reading Misallocations of Assessments: What’s the Board To Do?

The Denver Post recently reported that Colorado will “receive $204.6 million as part of a $25 billion deal that states have reached with the nation’s biggest mortgage lenders over foreclosure abuses that occurred after the housing bubble burst.” 

In addition to the financial settlement, banks will be required to “stop the use of robo-signing, end the process of dual tracking of loans, provide a single point of contact for customers as they move through the loan-modification process and abide by deadlines for loan modifications.” 

 

The Post reports that “Colorado will get: Continue Reading Will Foreclosure Relief Funds Ultimately Benefit HOAs?

Yesterday I attended and testified at a hearing before the House Local Government Committee on House Bill 12-1237 (“HB 1237”) relating to the production of association records to homeowners. While an amended version of HB 1237 was reported out of Committee and seems to be on its way to passage in the Colorado House of Representatives, that is not what really caught my attention. 

What made me sit up and take notice were the comments made by Representative Balmer when he made a motion to refer the bill out of Committee to the full House with an “extremely” favorable recommendation. Representative Balmer is a Republican from Centennial and as a general rule Republicans do not favor regulation. However, when it comes to HOA legislation that has not been the case. Continue Reading Concerns Over HOA Accountability in Colorado Crosses Party Lines