Article
Courtesy of The Sun Sentinel
By Joe
Kollin
Published June 2,
2008
Gov. Charlie Crist's
veto of a bill to overhaul homeowner associations was hailed on Tuesday by
those who wanted even greater accountability from boards.
"We're happy because this opens the door for a good, solid homeowner
association reform bill next year," said Jan Bergemann, president of
the Deland-based Cyber Citizens for Justice, a volunteer organization that
represents owners.
"He received so many e-mails from so many people from across the
state that he had to," said state Rep. Julio Robaina, R-Miami, leader
of the condo and homeowner association reform movement in the Legislature.
Crist on May 1 signed into law a major condo reform measure, but
complications in the homeowner association bill led to his veto on Monday.
Unlike condo associations, homeowner associations aren't regulated by the
state and lack some of the protections that condo owners have. Roughly 1.4
million homeowners in Florida live in communities governed by homeowner
associations.
The rejected measure (CS,HB
679) included provisions that would have let homeowner associations lien
and foreclose on owners who don't pay fines of more than $1,000; required
new directors within 30 days of election to file statements that they have
read the association's rules or be disqualified from serving; allowed a
majority of owners to terminate reserve accounts; and created 23 pages of
contradictory requirements that owners and boards would have had to follow
for resolving disputes before going to court.
However, Crist vetoed the bill for a seemingly innocuous provision: it
would have exempted association-run swimming pools from state inspection
and regulation.
"I cannot allow the families that use the approximately 7,300 public
pools found at homeowners associations across the state to be endangered
by water-related illness and other safety hazards due to this loss or
decrease in state supervision," Crist wrote in his veto message.
Mike Leeds, a homeowner in the 415-unit Imagination Farms community in
Davie, said regulation is needed.
"There are several areas where homeowners do need help," he
said, including the way they are forced to pay increased maintenance to
make up for those not paying because they abandon their houses or are
foreclosed.
Bergemann, who had urged supporters of homeowner association reform to
e-mail their opposition to Crist, said the bill was "designed for
special interests and didn't make sense."
Robaina said the veto will allow him the chance to develop a comprehensive
reform bill for homeowner associations.
"It puts us in the position where we want to be; it gives us the
opportunity to start from scratch on a HOA bill," he said.
He plans to spend the summer preparing a bill for next year's legislative
session and "the biggest thing I'll be looking for is whether
homeowners want regulation and if so, if they are willing to pay. That
will be a key question, if people are willing to be regulated for a
cost."
The fee likely would be similar to the $4-a-unit fee every condo
association pays annually to the state for regulation.
Rep. Julio Robaina can be reached at 305-442-6868 or [email protected]
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