Please
Veto COMMUNITY Association Bill S 1196
Dear
Governor Charlie Crist:
With
all due respect, I would like to ask you to veto the above bill
for a variety of reasons:
1.)
The bill contains the same language as Senate Bill S 714,
which you vetoed last year stating: "It
poses an unacceptable safety risk, especially to Florida's
elderly condominium residents." No
matter what
you have been told, nothing has changed in regard to protection
of lives, health and safety of our many elderly citizens.
2.)
The bill again contains language that allows
fines levied by associations to be enforced by liens and
foreclosures. That
language had been removed in 2004 after the HOA Task Force heard
lots of testimony from owners.
As a member of that task force during its meetings in
2003-2004, I heard horror stories of bully tactics and
blackmail. As you
know, our Constitution allows only government entities to fine
our citizens. According
to OPPAGA, about 2.5 million homes are located in homeowners'
associations. This
provision, if allowed to be enacted, will create even more
foreclosures, something Florida
can ill afford.
3.)
Certain provisions in the bill allow the cost of
record requests to seriously increase, while some important
documents will be hidden from inspection by owners.
Instead of encouraging more transparency, these
provisions would allow more business to be conducted behind
closed doors, locking out the owners who pay the bills.
4.)
Certain
provisions in the bill will give
some boards and service providers
even more dictatorial tools to subdue owners who may not agree
with the actions of the board. FREEDOM
OF SPEECH and TRANSPARENCY
will suffer another serious defeat – allowing community
associations to turn into mini-dictatorships.
Many condo owners have
been fed false information in order to gain their support for
this bill. As you
know, many community associations are in serious financial
distress. The
provisions in this bill will do nothing -- or very little -- to
help community associations deal with the serious problems
caused by unpaid dues and/or foreclosures.
As an attorney, you will
have no problem looking through the smoke screen that was used
to get many board members and owners to support the bill.
The
list of anti-owner provisions in this bill is very long.
You can see more detailed information about the downside
of this bill at: http://www.ccfj.net/LEGSESS10S1196ER.html
