CHIP: being realistic doesn’t change goal
By Jim Hunter  ©  South Marion Citizen
02/02/01
While the officers of Concerned Homeowners in Partnership (CHIP) are still miffed at their state senator over a proposed bill they want, they say they aren’t politically foolish. 

CHIP board members say they are savvy enough to take what they can get this year in the legislature to change things for homeowners in deed restricted developments in Marion County. 

But the CHIP board of directors isn’t happy with state Sen. Anna Cowin, R-Leesburg. At the recent local legislative delegation hearing preceding the spring session of the Florida Legislature, she surprised them by saying she would be filing what’s known as a ‘‘local bill” for them on revising state law regarding financial disclosure by deed restricted developments. 

CHIP wants a state-wide bill, one that would address revising the law for deed restricted communities throughout Florida. Cowin said at the delegation meeting she would be filing a bill that would only pertain to Marion County, which would make it easy to pass. 

CHIP President Buddy Catledge said that he had talked with Cowin after the meeting, and she told him that there would be considerable opposition to revision to the state law but that a local bill would get no opposition. 

Catledge said the political reality of that didn’t so upset the board members as the fact that the group has been working with Cowin since May — through the election — and she never once mentioned anything about a local bill. 

County Commission Chairman Larry Cretul, who requested the delegation to pursue the reform on behalf of the county commission as the county’s number one priority, said he was was also surprised at the meeting by the local bill angle. 

One question pending is what would happen if a Marion developer challenged a local law’s constitutionality, claiming that it applied to only one county in the state while developers in the other counties had an exemption under state law. State generally law takes precedence over local law. Cowin said on Jan. 31 she was still checking on that and some things might have to be left out of the local bill. 

Catledge also complained that in the whole time the group has been working with Cowin, though they have supplied specific information for the bill, they have yet to see a formal draft of it. Cowin has said she shared an original preliminary draft with CHIP and the bill has been rewritten a number of times. 

She said the bill was being re-written for a third time by the bill drafting division and she expected to have a draft next week. 

Catledge explained the situation to the membership of CHIP at a recent meeting and said the good side to the whole thing might be that if a local bill was in fact passed, others facing similar problems in other counties would surely want the revision to apply in their counties too, which might make reforming the state law easier in the next few years. 

Still, the CHIP leadership is not pleased with the whole affair and put out a press release which said that at first the local bill angle seemed a ‘‘copout,’’ but that ‘‘CHIP understands the power that the developer’s lobby has and indeed saw it manifest itself in the delegation meeting.’’ 

Being realistic, the press release said, CHIP would concentrate on what it could get now to safeguard local homeowners’ rights, but it added it wanted one thing clear: ‘‘CHIP has not changed its position that its ultimate goal is to have Florida Law amended where needed.’’ 

Catledge said he urged all members and residents in deed restricted developments to lobby their legislators for the bill and made available a list of the numerous legislators that represent parts of Marion. They include: Marion County Delegation members :



R-25 Representative Carey Baker 301 W. Ward Avenue Eustis, FL 32726-4024 (352) 746-6490 

R-24 Representative Dennis K. Baxley 111 S.E. 25th Avenue Ocala, FL 34471 (352) 732-1313 

R-43 Representative Nancy Argenziano 6216 W. Corporate Oaks Drive Crystal River, FL 34429-2694 888-626-2943 

R-42 Representative Hugh Gibson 916 Avenida Central The Villages, FL 32159 (352) 750-1671 

D-22 Representative Perry C. McGriff Jr. 1120 N.W. 13th St. Gainesville, FL 32602-3400 (352) 372-8406 

R-21 Representative Joe H. Pickens 222 North 3rd Street Palatka, FL 32177-3710 (904) 325-8384 

D-23 Representative Ed Jennings Jr. 4707 N.W. 53rd Ave. Gainesville, FL 32606-3400 (352) 377-0022 

D-10 Representative Will S. Kendrick P.O. Box K Carrabelle, FL 32322-1211 (850) 488-7870 

R-11 Senator Anna Cowin, Chair 716 W. Magnolia St. Leesburg, FL 34748 (352) 315-9335 

R-8 Senator James E. (Jim) King Jr. 9485 Regency Square Blvd., Suite 108 Jacksonville, FL 32225-8145
   1-888-861-9761 

D-5 Senator Rod Smith 2727 N.W. 43rd St., Suite 2 Gainesville, FL 32606 (352) 377-3800 

D-4 Senator Richard Mitchell Virgie Cone Center 406 10th Avenue N.W. Jasper, FL 32052 (904) 719-2733