This morning, the first regular session of the 70th Colorado General Assembly will formally convene and is currently slated to adjourn on May 6th. Unlike last year when the Democrats controlled the House and Senate, this year the Republicans will control the Senate by 1 seat and the Democrats will control the House by 3 seats. These are very slim margins indeed for both chambers! 

The conventional wisdom of some is that split chambers are positive for the citizens of Colorado, because it forces both parties to cross the aisle to work together for the common good of Coloradoans. While some may argue that this is painfully naive, for now I’m signing onto this perspective. While I am hoping that I am not wrong, I will call myself out on this blog if extreme partisanship ultimately rules the 70th General Assembly!

 

Will this be a big legislative session for HOAs? As always, only time will tell. However, there’s no question that we will see a variety of bills addressing construction defects and the creation of more affordable housing stock. Since many of these bills are still on the drawing board, I cannot report on any specifics until they are formally introduced. In addition, I suspect we will see one or more bills intended to “clean-up” the community association manager licensure law and will report on the specifics of those bills when introduced. 

 

The Colorado HOA Forum continues their crusade against management companies being able to recover the costs of services they provide relative to the sale of homes in HOAs. If they are successful in finding a sponsor for a transfer fee bill, given the fact that the management company transparency law just went into effect on January 1st, I suspect this issue will not have legs. 

In every legislative session, there are always unexpected bills introduced pertaining to HOAs. Stay tuned to this blog for the latest news on HOA bills as they are introduced and work their way through the legislative process!