During the COVID-19 pandemic, CAI’s legislative action committees (LACs) volunteered hundreds of hours reviewing bills, drafting testimony, working with lobbyists, meeting with legislators and other decision-makers, and testifying for and against bills.
Here is the sixth and final part of our series focusing on legislative issues impacting the community association housing model.
Kansas
SB 243: Lemonade stands. While Kansas does not have a formal LAC, CAI members closely monitored this bill which would have prohibited a property owners’ association from adopting or enforcing a restrictive covenant that prohibited or required a permit or fee for a resident who is a minor to place a lemonade or other nonalcoholic beverage stand on their property. Status: Failed.
Nevada
SB 4: Relating to Public Health. The Nevada General Assembly held a special session in August to address COVID-19-related public health and safety issues. CAI’s Nevada LAC successfully advocated to have community associations included in legislation limiting the civil liability of certain businesses conducted for profit, government entities, and private nonprofit organizations for personal injury or death resulting from exposure to COVID-19. Status: Passed.
New Mexico
SB 259: Foreclosure. CAI members in New Mexico quickly responded and reacted to legislation that would have made it very challenging to enforce collections for delinquent assessments. The bill would have created significant obstacles for a community association to enforce its lien rights when collecting long overdue assessments. SB 259 failed to pass the legislature due to the impressive efforts of New Mexico community managers, board members, attorneys, and others. Status: Failed.
Utah
The Utah LAC did not advance any legislation for the 2020 session. This was fortunate because the LAC had to deal with some aggressive bills with the potential to adversely impact community associations in the state.
SB 183: Non-Judicial Foreclosure. The bill sought to strip community associations of the ability to collect assessments through non-judicial foreclosure. Status: Failed.
HB 155: Governing Documents. The bill was amended by the LAC’s efforts to reflect best practices and anticipate practical issues that may have created loopholes and challenges related to recording of governing documents. Status: Passed.
HB 233: Statute of Repose. The bill was related to decreasing the statute of repose on improvements to real property construction defects from six years to three years. The LAC was critical in amending the bill and extending the statute of repose beyond six years where a provider failed to perform under express contractual or warranty obligation later than the six-year period. Status: ???
Read the other parts of CAI’s mid-year state legislative update series:
- Part V: Delaware, Illinois, Kentucky, Mississippi, Nebraska
- Part IV: Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, and Tennessee
- Part III: Arizona, Florida, Hawaii, North Carolina, and Washington
- Part II: Alabama, Indiana, Minnesota, and Missouri
- Part I: Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, South Carolina, and Virginia
View more information on what is happening or happened in your state during the 2020 legislative session.
