Following the construction defects drama from the 2017 Colorado Legislative Session, the 2018 Legislative Session for HOAs was expected to be relatively quiet and early on the session is proceeding according to script. While there have been some landlord/tenant bills, financing for affordable housing and other procedural bills introduced that only lawyers would be interested in, from a substantive perspective for HOAs here are two bills of interest:
House Bill 1126: Following the complaint of a constituent who was unable to find an HOA that would let her keep her 2 german shepherd dogs, Representative Paul Rosenthal introduced HB 1126 which would stop HOAs from enforcing provisions in their declarations that prohibit dogs based solely upon their breed, weight or size. However, the bill would permit HOAs to enforce provisions in their declaration or rules which regulate things like the number of dogs permitted per household, prohibiting nuisance barking, picking up poop, keeping dogs on leashes while in the association and the like.
HB 1126 has been assigned to the House Local Government Committee and is currently scheduled for a hearing on February 14th at 1:30 pm. Given the fact that HB 1126 is inconsistent with many municipal ordinances prohibiting breeds of dogs which have been classified as vicious, I suspect HB 1126 faces an uphill battle for passage in its current form. There will also likely be testimony from folks living in stacked condominiums with hard surface flooring, who will be concerned about the noise generated by larger dogs on wood and tile floors. Stay tuned for an update on HB 1126 following the hearing on Valentine’s Day.
Senate Bill 62: Senator Dominick Moreno has introduced SB 62 which would make void provisions in contracts between HOAs and snow removal companies requiring the HOA or snow removal company to indemnify, hold harmless or provide a legal defense to the other party for legal actions and damages resulting from snow removal in the community. In other words, HOAs and snow removal companies cannot hold each other responsible in a contract for slip and falls relating to snow removal.
SB 62 has been assigned to the Senate Judiciary Committee and is also scheduled for a hearing on February 14th at 1:30 pm. Since Senator Moreno is a Democrat and the Republican controlled Senate is typically not interested in interfering with the contract rights of parties, it will be interesting to see what happens to SB 62 in Committee.
Be sure to stay tuned to this blog for information on substantive HOA bills as they are introduced and proceed through the legislative process.