ON THE COMMONS: Guest  Julio Robaina

Here you can listen and/or download the latest talk show "On The Commons" taped on Saturday, July 12, 2008. Talk show host Shu Bartholomew talks with State Representative Julio Robaina, Distr. 117 (R), Miami/Dade about Florida's Condo Act, amended by a bill just signed by Governor Charlie Crist: H 995

Today most, if not all, state legislative bodies go through the routine of tweaking and rewriting state statutes regulating HOAs and condos. Despite this annual rite, the problems in residential America  persist and multiply. And still, some of these legislators turn to the same people year after year, heeding their advice. 

But not all legislators remain in the fog that has enveloped them since the beginning of this saga. And one legislator stands out.

In a complete departure from the "business as usual" way of dealing with the ongoing problems, Florida Representative Robaina traveled the length and breadth of his state to talk to the people who live in associations. He did this not once, but twice. Armed with first hand knowledge of the real problems, with a deep understanding of the frustrations and inequities that existed, he returned to Tallahassee to write legislation inspired by the owners and designed to protect private property from the horrors and abuses of a system gone amok. 

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