Final
Report of the Select Committee
March
4, 2008
Select
Committee on Condominium & Homeowner Association Governance
Representative
Julio Robaina, Chairman
Representative
Kevin C. Ambler
Representative
Luis R. Garcia
Representative
Joseph A. "Joe" Gibbons
Representative
Richard "Rich" Glorioso
Representative
Jimmy Patronis
Representative
Yolly Roberson
Representative
Franklin Sands
Representative
Juan C. Zapata
Executive
Summary
Condominiums, cooperatives,
and homeowners associations are associations that collect assessments from
neighbors and utilize those assessments for the common good of the
association. Many citizens have commented that current Florida law does not
adequately govern such associations. The Select Committee met throughout the
state to listen to citizens and make recommendations for change. In brief,
the Select Committee recommends that:
- The Department of Business and Professional
Regulation be required to increase enforcement activities, including
increased use of subpoenas.
- Association board members must attend training.
- Associations be prohibited from employing related
service providers.
- The Florida Department of Law Enforcement create
law enforcement training programs focusing on association theft crimes.
- The Legislature increase the budgetary authority
for the regulation of condominiums and cooperatives from existing trust
funds.
- Regulatory funds currently held in the Division of
Land Sales, Condominiums and Mobile Homes Trust Fund should not be
transferred to the General Revenue Fund.
- There be additional grounds for disqualification of
a board member.
- Associations may not waive an audit for more than
two consecutive years.
- Homeowners' associations should be regulated by the
state, similar to the current regulation of condominium and cooperative
associations.
- That every five years there be a Community
Association Living Study Commission.
- The Select Committee be recreated this summer to
continue its work.
Final
Report of the Select Committee
on
Condominium and Homeowners Association Governance
On January 11, 2008,
Speaker Marco Rubio created the Select Committee on Condominium and
Homeowners Association Governance. Representative Julio Robaina was
appointed chair and Representatives Kevin C. Ambler, Luis R. Garcia, Joseph
A. Gibbons, Richard "Rich" Glorioso, Jimmy Patronis, Yolly
Roberson, Franklin Sands, and Juan C. Zapata were appointed to the
committee. The Speaker's charge to the Select Committee was:
The purview of the select
committee shall be limited to the governance of condominiums, cooperatives,
and homeowners associations, to include accounting, budgeting, audits, theft
by officers and directors, elections, and access to records, the state
regulation of condominiums and cooperatives by the Department of Business
and Professional Regulation.
The committee met five
times to hear public testimony about associations. Those meetings were in
Pembroke Pines (January 26, 2008), Miami Beach (February 9, 2008), Orlando
(February 16, 2008), Tampa (February 23, 2008), and Tallahassee (March 1,
2008). In total, 529 persons filled out appearance cards at such meetings,
more attended that did not fill out an appearance card.
Background
A
condominium is a "form of ownership of real property created pursuant
to ch. 718, F.S., which is comprised entirely of units that may be owned by
one or more persons, and in which there is, appurtenant to each unit, an
undivided share in common elements".1 A
condominium is created by recording a declaration of condominium in the
public records of the county in which the condominium will be located.2
A declaration is like a constitution in that it:
strictly
governs the relationships among condominium units owners and the condominium
association. Under the declaration, the Board of the condominium association
has broad authority to enact rules for the benefit of the community.3
A declaration may include
covenants and restrictions concerning the use, occupancy, and transfer of
the units permitted by law with reference to real property.4
A declaration of condominium may be amended as provided in
the declaration. If the declaration does not provide a method for amendment,
it may generally be amended as to any matter by a vote of two-thirds of the
units.5
A cooperative association
is very similar to a condominium. A cooperative is a "form of ownership
of real property wherein legal title is vested in a corporation or other
entity and the beneficial use is evidenced by an ownership interest in the
association and a lease or other muniment of title or possession granted by
the association as the owner of all the cooperative property."6
Homeowners' association
means a Florida corporation responsible for the operation of a subdivision
in which voting membership is made up of parcel ownership and in which
membership is a mandatory condition of parcel ownership and which is
authorized to impose assessments that, if unpaid, may become a lien on the
parcel.7 Homeowners'
associations are regulated under chapter 720, F.S.
As
of December 31, 2007, there were 1,394,467 condominium units in Florida, and
77,609 cooperative shares (units).8 Homeowners'
associations are not regulated by the state, and it is unknown how many
homes are subject to a mandatory homeowners' association. The Department of
Business and
1
Section 718.103(11), F.S. 2 Section 718.104(2), F.S. 3
Neuman v. Grand View at Emerald Hills, 861 So.2d 494, 496-497 (Fla. 4th
DCA 2003). 4 Section 718.104(5), F.S. 5 Section
719.103(12), F.S. 6 Section 718.103(11), F.S. 7
Section 720.301(9), F.S. 8 Email correspondence from
DBPR, received February 6, 2008.
Professional
Regulation (DBPR) regulates condominium and cooperative associations. In
2007, DBPR received 2,482 complaints about condominiums and cooperatives.9
Significant Association
Problems
While there were a wide
variety of problems that these citizens discussed with the committee, the
following problems were the most prevalent and problematic:
Access
to Records.
Complaints
regarding member access to association records were the most prevalent
complaint heard by the committee. Current law provides that any member of an
association has the right to inspect the association records at reasonable
times.10 In practice, it
appears that some associations fail to comply with that law.11
Danille Carroll, the current Condominium Ombudsman12,
testified that the biggest complaint she hears about is regarding access to
records.13 DBPR
received 120 alleged violations in regard to access of records between
October 1, 2007 and December 31, 2007, which constituted 19.83% of all
alleged violations received during that time.14
The Select Committee heard from a number of unit and parcel
owners who testified about the difficulty they had in obtaining records from
their board of directors. In regard to the access to records issue, the
Committee decided to investigate the difficulties that associations have in
obtaining records firsthand. The Committee endeavored to obtain association
records on its own to see how hard it is to obtain such records and to look
into conduct regarding a financial review.
10
Official records of the association are open to inspection at all
reasonable times and must be made available to a unit owner within 5 working
days, if it is a condominium association, or a parcel owner within 10
working days, if it is a homeowners' association, after receipt of a written
request made by the unit or parcel owner to the board. See Section
718.111(12), F.S.; Section 720.303(5), F.S. 11
Failure of an association to provide records within 10 working days
after receipt of a written request to do so creates a rebuttable presumption
that the association willfully failed to comply. A unit or parcel owner is
entitled to actual damages or minimum damages up to $500 when this occurs.
See Section 718.111(12)(c), F.S; Section 720.303(5) (a), (b), F.S. 12
The Office of the Condominium Ombudsman's was created in part to be a
resource to condominium associations and members and to act as a liaison
between the division, unit owners, boards of directors, board members,
community association managers, and other affected parties. See Section
718.5012, F.S.; See http://www.myflorida.com/condos/. 13
Select Committee on Condominiums & Homeowners Association
Governance, Meeting at Florida Real Estate Commission, Orlando, Florida
(February 16, 2008). 14 The quarter is from October
2007- December 2007.
Association
Management Problems
The
committee heard from a number of owners who provided examples of management
problems in their associations. Many such problems related to maintenance
and repair contracts. Examples included contracts related to major repairs
after recent hurricanes and contracts with entities related to a manager or
a board member.
Perceived
Lack of Enforcement by the
Department
of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR).15
Condominium
and cooperative associations are regulated by DBPR. DBPR reports that they
received 8,284 complaints since July 1, 2004. Of those, 5,234 complaints
were resolved within 90 days, and 2,651 (32%) exceeded 90 days. Numerous
speakers at the hearings discussed their perception of DBPR delay and
inaction.
15
The Division of Florida Land Sales, Condominiums, and Mobile Homes of the
Department of Business and Professional Regulation has the ability to
enforce and ensure compliance with the provisions of ch. 718. Section
718.501, F.S.
Recommendations
The members of the
committee, after hearing the testimony and discussing the issues, recommend
that the Legislature adopt the following legislative changes. These
recommendations are categorized for simplicity, and thus the order of the
list should not be considered as the Committee's priority:
Increase DBPR Enforcement
Tools for Condominiums and Cooperatives
Current
authority for DBPR to enforce condominium and cooperative law can be found
at s. 718.501, F.S., and s. 719.501, F.S. As noted above, DBPR does not
regulate homeowners' associations. Upon receiving a complaint, DBPR is
required to acknowledge receipt of the complaint and determine whether DBPR
has jurisdiction over the complaint within 30 days, and is required to take
action upon the complaint within 90 days. DBPR is authorized to investigate
any complaint within its jurisdiction and may subpoena witnesses and compel
the production of documents in furtherance of an investigation. If DBPR
finds that a board member or the association has violated association law,
it first offers education and guidance to the association or board member,
and only resorts to fines and punishment after repeated violations. An
individual board member is not subject to a fine if he or she complies with
legal requirements within 10 days of notice of the violation.16
16
Section 718.501(1)(d)4.,
F.S.
In
response to complaints, representatives of DBPR commented about how they
were sometimes restricted under current law from taking strong enough action
regarding violations of the law. Currently, if a condominium association
does not comply, then DBPR may do one or more of the following: send a
letter to the association telling them to cease and desist what they are
doing, impose fines to exceed no more than $5,000 per violation, or request
an order of compliance from the circuit court if the association fails to
comply with DBPR's investigation. If the association still does not comply,
then DBPR may pursue an action in circuit court against the association.17
DBPR may administer oaths and subpoena and compel the attendance
of witnesses, take evidence, and require the production of relevant
information, including the existence and description of books or documents.
DBPR has the legal authority to issue a subpoena to compel a condominium or
cooperative association to produce books and records,18
although the power is rarely used.19
The
Select Committee recommends that the subpoena power be used to assist
owners of some of the most recalcitrant associations who continuously deny
access to records. The Select committee, therefore, recommends that ss.
718.501 and 719.501, F.S., be amended to require
that DBPR subpoena books and records of the association upon a showing that
the association has failed to provide access to two disparate owners on at
least two disparate occasions in the previous year. Where such a subpoena is
required, the association shall be required to provide a copy of the
subpoenaed documents to the complainant without charge. The Condominium
Ombudsman pointed out several deficiencies in the laws related to the
Ombudsman. One such deficiency is that the Ombudsman has no authority to
assist a member of a cooperative association. The Select Committee finds
that this was an oversight. Accordingly, the Select Committee recommends
that the Ombudsman be granted the same authority to assist cooperative unit
owners as the Ombudsman has to assist a condominium unit owner.
Current
law requires an association to allow all members of the association to
attend meetings of the association.20 Current
law also allows the chairman of an association board of directors to exclude
from any meeting any person other than the members of the association.
Accordingly, an association may exclude DBPR employees and the Condominium
Ombudsman from association meetings. Where an invitation was not made or the
directors refused to allow attendance, Ombudsman employees have been refused
entry into meetings, and thereby had difficulty in helping owners. The
members of the Select Committee believe that regular meetings of an
association should be open to state employees who are acting in furtherance
of their duties. The Select Committee recommends that associations
must allow a DBPR investigator, or an employee of the Ombudsman, to attend
any meeting of the association that is open to members of the
association.
Mandatory
Training for Board Members.
Associations
are more than a group of neighbors; they are a business that must be
competently run. Associations range in size from a small homeowners'
association with only a few members, to a large condominium tower with a
multi-million dollar budget, to an association running multiple communities
that is larger than some cities. Currently, DBPR provides information
regarding condominium law and management on its website.21
Since 2001, DBPR has also provided voluntary training for
condominium board members through a contract with Community Associations
Institute (CAI). During the 2006-2007 fiscal year, 2,211 unit owners
attended training courses. Training courses for the most recent quarter had
271 participants.22
In that there are approximately 22,000 condominium associations in
Florida, at best only 10% of the boards had one board member attend a
condominium training class in the past year.
17
Section 718.501, F.S. 18
Section 718.501, F.S. 19
Nine subpoenas were issued in calendar year 2007.
20
Section 718.112(d)(6), F.S. 21
See http://www.myflorida.com/dbpr/lsc/condominiums.html
. 22
October 1, 2007- December 31, 2007.
A
consistent theme in the testimony before the committee was that board
members do not follow the law because they do not know the law and that they
continue poor management practices because they do not understand good
business practices.
The
Select Committee recommends that every member of the board of directors
of a condominium or cooperative association should be required to attend an
education class that covers legal requirements and basic good business
practices. The Select Committee further believes that the cost of such
training should be covered by the State through the annual fees currently
paid by condominiums and cooperatives. The Select Committee does believe
that an exception may be warranted for smaller associations (under 25 units)
because of their smaller budget and the possible difficulty of finding board
members willing to serve. The Select Committee further believes that the
burden of assuring compliance should be on the associations and not on DBPR,
unless a complaint is filed.
Due
to time constraints, the Select Committee was unable to reach a consensus on
the form and minimum requirements of the required training program. The
Select Committee discussed, but did not reach consensus, on whether training
programs should be mandatory for homeowners' associations.
Prohibit Employment of Related
Service Providers
A common complaint in the
public testimony was insider contracts. Insider contracts were found in two
forms. One common form was where a management company would employ a related
firm at an inflated price to provide ordinary maintenance and repairs. The
other common form was where an officer of a director of a non-profit
association would have the association enter into contracts with for-profit
corporations owned in part or in whole by the director. The Select Committee
was surprised to learn that s. 617.0802, F.S., allows these apparent
conflicts of interest. The section reads:
617.0832
Director conflicts of interest.--
(1)
No contract or other transaction between a corporation and one or more of
its directors or any other corporation, firm, association, or entity in
which one or more of its directors are directors or officers or are
financially interested shall be either void or voidable because of such
relationship or interest, because such director or directors are present at
the meeting of the board of directors or a committee thereof which
authorizes, approves, or ratifies such contract or transaction, or because
his or her or their votes are counted for such purpose, if:
(a)
The fact of such relationship or interest is disclosed or known to the board
of directors or committee which authorizes, approves, or ratifies the
contract or transaction by a vote or consent sufficient for the purpose
without counting the votes or consents of such interested directors;
(b)
The fact of such relationship or interest is disclosed or known to the
members entitled to vote on such contract or transaction, if any, and they
authorize, approve, or ratify it by vote or written consent; or
(c)
The contract or transaction is fair and reasonable as to the corporation at
the time it is authorized by the board, a committee, or the members.
(2)
Common or interested directors may be counted in determining the presence of
a quorum at a meeting of the board of directors or a committee thereof which
authorizes, approves, or ratifies such contract or transaction.
The Select Committee
recommends that s. 617.0802, F.S., should not be applicable to condominium
associations, cooperative associations, and homeowners associations. The
Select Committee recommends amending association law to prohibit an
association from employing a service provider that has a financial
relationship with a member of the board of directors.
The Select Committee also
believes that Community Association Managers and their employers should
manage associations, and similarly should not provide services such as
maintenance and landscaping services.
Law Enforcement Relationship
to Associations
In the past year,
Miami-Dade County law enforcement agencies have formed a unit to investigate
and prosecute embezzlement of condominium association funds. They have had
great success, making several high-profile arrests of condominium officers
and managers. The Select Committee would like to see more law enforcement
agencies follow the lead of Miami-Dade County. Accordingly, the Select
Committee recommends that:
- Local law enforcement agencies create an
association fraud investigation unit.
- DBPR turn over suspected fraud and embezzlement
cases to local law enforcement.
- That the Legislature appropriate funds so that the
Florida Department of Law Enforcement may create a special training
program that will teach law enforcement personnel how to investigate and
prosecute association theft crimes.
In order to assist local
law enforcement agencies with investigation of associations, the Select
Committee recommends that:
- Local law enforcement agencies have the same rights
as an owner to examine the records of any association.
- The failure of a condominium or cooperative
association to comply with a request for inspection of records by a law
enforcement agency is a violation that may give rise to disciplinary
action by DBPR.
- Florida law specifically provides that no
association and no individual has any reasonable expectation of privacy
in the books, records and papers of any condominium association,
cooperative association, or homeowners association.
DBPR Budget
23
During
fiscal year 2006-2007, the Division of Land Sales, Condominiums and Mobile
Homes (the Division) received $17,086,980 in revenue in part from fees,
licenses, and penalties. Condominium and cooperative associations are
assessed a fee of $4 per unit per year to fund the regulatory and
educational services provided by the Division, a figure that was set in
1992.24 The total unreserved
fund balance as of June 30, 2007 was $25,891,754. Revenues from condominiums
accounted for $11,861,201 (almost 46%) of the unreserved balance. The chart
below shows selected fiscal budget information for the Division.
23
The Chairman allowed Michael Cochran, division director of the Division of
Land Sales, Condominiums, and Mobile Homes, and Danielle Carroll, Ombudsman,
to provide advice and input to the Select Committee regarding all of the
issues before the Select Committee. Mr. Cochran and Ms. Carroll did not
participate in the discussions regarding the DBPR budget. 24
Section 718.501(2), F.S.
Selected
Fiscal Information-Budgets Division of Land Sales,
Condominiums,
and Mobile Homes Expenditures
|
FY 2003-2004 |
FY 2004-2005 |
FY 2005-2006 |
FY 2006-2007 |
FY 2007-2008 |
|
Compliance and Enforcement: FTE |
68 |
82 |
86 |
86 |
89 |
Compliance and Enforcement: Total 25 |
$4,205,987 |
$4,904,373 |
$5,127,414 |
$5,548,609 |
$5,693,080 |
Transfers to Education |
$500,000 |
$500,000 |
$500,000 |
$250,000 |
$250,000 |
Standards and Licensure: FTE |
29 |
29 |
31 |
31 |
31 |
Standards and Licensure: Total 26 |
$2,211,725 |
$1,946,606 |
$2,071,892 |
$2,107,804 |
$1,934,960 |
Transfers to Mobile Home Relocation Corporation |
$500,000 |
$927,000 |
$1,400,000 |
$1,400,000 |
$0 |
25
Transfers to Education subtracted from Compliance and Enforcement Total 26
Transfers to Mobile Home Relocation Corporation subtracted from Standards
and Licensure Total
Condominium
unit owners testified before the Select Committee about the lack of
enforcement by DBPR, with some unit owners testifying that their complaints
have been pending for over a year. The Select Committee felt that funding of
the Division has lagged behind inflation and behind the explosion in the
number of condominium and cooperative association units in Florida. The
Select Committee finds that the budget amount authorized by recent General
Appropriations Acts may have been insufficient to fully fund the education
and enforcement functions required to protect condominium and cooperative
owners. Accordingly, the Select Committee recommends that the
budgetary authorization of the Division be increased. The Select Committee
also found that the Ombudsman provides a valuable service and that this
service should be expanded. Accordingly, the Select Committee recommends
that the budgetary authority of the Ombudsman also be increased.
The
recommendation that budgetary authority be increased is based in part on the
knowledge that there is a large unreserved balance in the trust fund. That
is, the condominium and cooperative owners have paid for these services, and
so these services should be provided at an adequate level from those monies
already paid. The Select Committee was informed, however, that the
Governor's proposed budget for FY 2008-2009 proposes no increase in services
and proposes to sweep $20 million from the Trust Fund into General Revenue. The
Select Committee recommends that the Legislature not sweep any
condominium regulatory funds from the Division of
Florida Land Sales, Condominiums, and Mobile Homes Trust Fund.
Disqualification of Board Members
Current
law requires condominium, cooperative and homeowners associations to allow
any member to be on the board of directors. There is only one exception to
this rule. Condominium law provides that a person may not serve on a
condominium association board of directors if the person has been convicted
of a felony, unless the person has had his or her voting rights restored.27
This restriction does not apply to cooperative associations or
homeowners associations. The Select Committee heard several presenters who
suggested that all convicted felons should be disqualified from serving on a
board of directors. Related to the condominium fraud arrests in Miami-Dade
County, the Select Committee noted that the board members arrested for theft
from their association remained on the board of directors.
The
Select Committee also heard of directors who were delinquent in their
assessments, yet continued to serve on the board of directors. Leaders are
expected to lead by example. An association board member that is delinquent
in payment of monies owed to his or her association is setting a poor
example. Also, an association board member delinquent on assessments has a
possible conflict of interest in that he or she should be voting to collect
on the assessment.28 Current law
does not allow an association to provide for suspension of a board member
who is delinquent. The Select Committee recommends the following
changes to law related to disqualification of a person from serving on an
association board of directors:
27
Section 718.112(d)(1), F.S., provides: "A person who has been convicted
of any felony by any court of record in the United States and who has not
had his or her right to vote restored pursuant to law in the jurisdiction of
his or her residence is not eligible for board membership." 28Section
718.116, F.S.; Section 720.3085, F.S.
- As to a person who has been convicted of a felony
that is a violent crime or a crime of moral turpitude, that person
should not be allowed to serve on a board of directors.
- As to any person who is alleged to be a convicted
felon, that person has the burden of proving that he or she is entitled
to serve.
- Felony convictions from any jurisdiction will serve
to disqualify a person from serving on a board, not just ones from the
United States.
- A director arrested for a felony theft or
embezzlement of the association's funds shall be suspended pending the
outcome of the case.
- A director more than 90 days delinquent in the
payment of any fee or assessment should be suspended from office until
the delinquent assessment is paid in full.
- A director more than 180 days delinquent in the
payment of any fee or assessment should be deemed to have abandoned the
office, creating a vacancy in the office to be filled according to law.
- The law regarding disqualification to serve as a
member of the board of directors should be made uniform for
condominiums, cooperatives, and homeowners associations.
Election Reform
The Select Committee heard
a number of complaints about election procedures in associations. The
problems seemed to be more significant in recall elections. While many
citizens complained of election problems, few made any suggestion on how to
improve the current law. The Select Committee discussed various ideas for
election reform but were unable to come to a firm consensus on how to
resolve the numerous problems related to elections. Accordingly, the
Select Committee recommends that the DBPR examine recent election
disputes and recommend statutory changes to election procedures before the
next legislative session. Additionally, the Select Committee recommends
that the Community Association Living Study Commission examine election law
in its first cycle.
Association Financial Matters
Current law requires a
condominium or homeowners' association to provide its members with various
levels of financial statements based on the revenues of the association.29
Those current levels are:
Current
law also allows the members of an association to increase or waive the
financial reporting requirements.30 The
levels of review above $100,000 require outside
review by an accounting professional. Many associations prefer to waive
outside review in order to lower the administrative costs of the
association. When outside review of financial statements is waived for many
years, however, instances of fraud, theft and mismanagement may not be
discovered. DBPR receives more complaints about financial mismanagement of
condominium associations than any other category of complaint.31
The Select Committee finds that the danger of missing instances of
fraud, theft and mismanagement exceeds the value of the cost savings
provided by allowing waiver of outside review. The Select Committee
recommends that no condominium or homeowners association with revenues
in excess of $100,000 may waive outside review for more than two consecutive
years.
Every
condominium and cooperative association must obtain and maintain adequate
insurance or fidelity bonding of all persons who control or disburse funds
of the association. The insurance policy or fidelity bond must cover the
maximum funds that will be in the custody of the association or its
management agent at any one time. The persons who must be covered include
the president, secretary, and treasurer of the association. The association
must pay the cost of bonding.32 There
is no corresponding requirement in homeowners associations. The Select
Committee recommends that homeowners associations similarly must obtain
surety bonding to protect association funds. Several citizens complained of
their homeowners' association paying members to serve the board of
directors. The Select Committee recommends that no association may
pay a board member, or waive assessments in part or in full, unless the
authority to pay or waive assessments is specifically in the declaration or
covenants.
29
Sections 718.111(13), and 720.303(7), F.S. 30
Id. 31
158 complaints in the most recent quarter (26.12% of all complaints) 32
Sections 718.111(11)(d) and
719.106(1)(k), F.S.
Regulation
of Homeowners Associations
As noted above, while
condominium and cooperative associations are subject to state regulation,
there is no regulatory body for homeowners associations. At every meeting of
the Select Committee, numerous members of homeowners associations asked that
they be regulated like condominium and cooperative associations. The
Chairman usually asked if he or she would be willing to pay the same $4 per
unit per year fee that condominiums and cooperatives pay, every person who
was asked replied yes. The Select Committee finds that regulation of
homeowners associations is in the best interests of association, residents,
and the state. According, the Select Committee recommends that
homeowners associations be regulated like condominiums and cooperatives
through DBPR, subject to thesame $4 per home per year fee. The Select
Committee then discussed implementation of this recommendation. As the
members of the Select Committee were uncertain regarding the number and
scope of homeowners associations and the burden that regulation will
invariably have on DBPR, the Select Committee recommends that the
Legislature fund a study that would report to the Governor, President of the
Senate, and Speaker of House by January 1, 2009 to suggest how to phase in
regulation of homeowners associations.
Study Commission
The members of the Select
Committee believe that the issues and laws regarding association living must
be constantly monitored in order that such laws keep pace with changes in
society and in community living. The Select Committee recommends
creation of a Community Association Living Study Commission to meet every
five years to study issues and laws related to community associations. The
first such commission should be convened in the Fall of 2008.
Future of the Select Committee
The
members of the Select Committee believe that they have made a positive
impact on Florida law. The members further believe that the process of
compelling associations to appear before the committee has had a positive
impact on the committee's understanding of the law and the problems that
citizens have dealing with their associations. The process has also helped
constituents who have, in some cases, spent years trying to get help with
their association. The Select Committee recommends that the committee
be reconvened this summer to further investigate association law and the
associations that are governed by it.
State
Representative Julio Robaina, the committee chairman, can be contacted at [email protected]
or 305-442-6868
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