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NO MORE ZOOM MEETINGS ONLY!
An Opinion
By Jan Bergemann
Published
May 20, 2025
CONDO BILL 3.0 contains minimum one great provision helping
condo owners: The new wording for board meetings and owners’
meetings still allows meetings by ZOOM, but requires that the actual
meeting is held on location, no more than 15 miles away from the
location of the condo building.
That
means that board members – or managers – can no longer mute owners
using their three minutes allowed by statute to speak on agenda
items. Owners can – in person – participate in these meetings. The
new wording of the statutes – see below – specifically states that a
meeting on location is required, and if the meeting is televised by
ZOOM, it is required that all persons in the room can understand
what people participating by ZOOM are saying and that all folks
participating by ZOOM can hear what all members of board and owners
at location are saying.
If Zoom
is being used, the recording has to be maintained as an official
record of the association and has to be posted on the association’s
website, if the association is – by law --- required to maintain a
website.
This is
definitely a big step in the right direction of making sure that the
right of owners to speak for minimum three minutes on an agenda item
is not being infringed upon.
Please
see below the new wording of the law – effective July 1, 2025 (once
the bill is signed into Law by Governor Ron DeSantis).
Now we
only have to convince legislators that the same rules should apply
as well for HOAs (FS 720) and that police officers hired by boards
as sergeant-of-arms have to attend board certification seminars
before attending these meetings. It just happens too often that
these off-duty police officers remove owners from meetings who do
nothing else but speaking for three minutes on agenda items as
allowed by statutes. Police officers, unaware of these association
laws, often remove members because the board doesn’t like what they
have to say. That actually makes these police officers complicit
with the board in violating Florida statutes. This has to change!
Nothing wrong with off-duty police officers make some extra money,
but they should know the laws governing these associations to avoid
helping to violate the laws.
NEW WORDING FROM HB 913:
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FS 718.112(2)
(c) Board of administration meetings.
In a residential condominium association of more than 10
units, the board of administration shall meet at least
once each quarter. At least four times each year, the
meeting agenda must include an opportunity for members
to ask questions of the board. Meetings of the board of
administration at which a quorum of the members is
present are open to all unit owners. Members of the
board of administration may use e-mail as a means of
communication but 1626 may not cast a vote on an
association matter via e-mail. A unit owner may tape
record or videotape the meetings. The right to attend
such meetings includes the right to speak at such 1629
meetings with reference to all designated agenda items
and the right to ask questions relating to reports on
the status of construction or repair projects, the
status of revenues and expenditures during the current
fiscal year, and other issues affecting the condominium.
The division shall adopt reasonable rules governing the
tape recording and videotaping of the meeting. The
association may adopt written reasonable rules governing
the frequency, duration, and manner of unit owner
statements.
1. Adequate notice of all board meetings, which must
specifically identify all agenda items, must be posted
conspicuously on the condominium property at least 48
continuous hours before the meeting except in an
emergency. If the board meeting is to be conducted via
video conference, the notice must state that such
meeting will be via video conference and must include a
hyperlink and a conference telephone number for unit
owners to attend the meeting via video conference, as
well as the address of the physical location where the
unit owners can attend the meeting in person. If the
meeting is conducted via video conference, it must be
recorded and such recording must be maintained as an
official record of the association. If 20 percent of the
voting interests petition the board to address an item
of business, the board, within 60 days after receipt of
the petition, shall place the item on the agenda at its
next regular board meeting or at a special meeting
called for that purpose. An item not included on the
notice may be taken up on an emergency basis by a vote
of at least a majority plus one of the board members.
Such emergency action must be noticed and ratified at
the next regular board meeting. Written notice of a
meeting at which a nonemergency special assessment or an
amendment to rules regarding unit use will be considered
must be mailed, delivered, or electronically transmitted
to the unit owners and posted conspicuously on the
condominium property at least 14 days before the
meeting. Evidence of compliance with this 14-day notice
requirement must be made by an affidavit executed by the
person providing the notice and filed with the official
records of the association.
(d) Unit owner meetings.
1. An annual meeting of the unit owners must be held at
the location provided in the association bylaws and, if
the bylaws are silent as to the location, the meeting
must be held within 15 miles of the condominium property
or within the same county as the condominium property.
However, such distance requirement does not apply to an
association governing a timeshare condominium. If a unit
owner meeting is conducted via video conference, a unit
owner may vote electronically in the manner provided in
s. 718.128.
2. Unit owner meetings, including the annual meeting of
the unit owners, may be conducted in person or via video
conference. If the annual meeting of the unit owners is
conducted via video conference, a quorum of the members
of the board of administration must be physically
present at the physical location where unit owners can
attend the meeting. The location must be provided in the
association bylaws and, if the bylaws are silent as to
the location, the meeting must be held within 15 miles
of the condominium property or within the same county as
the condominium property. If the unit owner meeting is
conducted via video conference, the video conference
must be recorded and such recording must be maintained
as an official record of the association. The division
shall adopt rules pursuant to ss. 120.536 and 120.54
governing the requirements for meetings. |
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