Article
Courtesy of Community News Releases
Published March 24, 2023
Miami-Dade County District 11 Commissioner Roberto J.
Gonzalez sponsored legislation that passed at the Tuesday, Mar. 7, County
Commission meeting, which urges the Florida Legislature to enact House Bill
919 and Senate Bill 1114 to strengthen laws against fraud and mismanagement
by Homeowner Associations (HOA) and enhance protections for HOA communities.
“Owning a home is part of the American dream that so many work hard to
achieve. I will always fight for homeowners who are being taken advantage
of. It is a shame that there are a few HOAs that have abused their power,”
Commissioner Gonzalez said. “I am working with my counterparts at the state
level to bring justice to those that have been harmed and to create a
mechanism to hold bad actors accountable moving forward. I also commend the
homeowners who have bravely taken the initiative to bring these issues to
our attention.”
Commissioner Gonzalez was in Tallahassee on Mar. 8 to advocate for
House Bill 919, introduced by Rep. Juan Carlos Porras, and
Senate Bill 1114, introduced by Sen. Ana Maria Rodriguez. These
bills will increase powers concerning civil and criminal HOA matters, such
as the removal of officers or directors charged with specified crimes,
provide criminal penalties for certain actions, and provide monetary damages
for transactions resulting in improper personal benefit by such officers. It
will also prohibit the use of HOA and reserve funds for the payment of
attorneys’ fees and defense of the HOA and board members in legal
proceedings and introduce strict administration requirements for HOAs, such
as the appointment of recordkeepers, among other measures.
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