Condominium and Property Owners' Association Acts; adoption and rule enforcement, appeals. (HB791)

Introduced By

Del. Jim LeMunyon (R-Oak Hill) with support from co-patron Del. Mark Sickles (D-Alexandria)

Progress

Introduced
Passed Committee
Passed House
Passed Senate
Signed by Governor
Became Law

Description

Condominium and Property Owners' Association Acts; rule enforcement. Gives the association the right to file a legal action for an order of abatement as a separate remedy for rules violations by an owner. Read the Bill »

Outcome

Bill Has Passed

History

DateAction
01/07/2014Committee
01/07/2014Prefiled and ordered printed; offered 01/08/14 14102258D
01/07/2014Referred to Committee on General Laws
01/10/2014Assigned GL sub: Subcommittee #1
01/14/2014Subcommittee recommends reporting with amendment(s) (7-Y 0-N)
01/21/2014Reconsidered by GL sub: Subcommittee #1
01/21/2014Subcommittee recommends reporting with amendment(s) (7-Y 0-N)
01/23/2014Reported from General Laws with substitute (21-Y 1-N) (see vote tally)
01/23/2014Committee substitute printed 14103962D-H1
01/27/2014Read first time
01/28/2014Passed by for the day
01/29/2014Passed by for the day
01/30/2014Engrossed by House - committee substitute HB792H1
01/30/2014Read second time
01/30/2014Committee substitute agreed to 14103962D-H1
01/30/2014Engrossed by House - committee substitute HB791H1
01/31/2014Read third time and passed House (60-Y 34-N 1-A)
01/31/2014VOTE: PASSAGE (60-Y 34-N 1-A) (see vote tally)
02/03/2014Constitutional reading dispensed
02/03/2014Referred to Committee on General Laws and Technology
02/17/2014Reported from General Laws and Technology with substitute (14-Y 1-N)
02/17/2014Committee substitute printed 14103965D-S1
02/19/2014Constitutional reading dispensed (40-Y 0-N)
02/20/2014Read third time
02/20/2014Passed by for the day
02/21/2014Read third time
02/21/2014Floor substitute printed to Web only 14105241D-S2 (Petersen)
02/21/2014Passed by for the day
02/24/2014Read third time
02/24/2014Passed by for the day
02/25/2014Read third time
02/25/2014Reading of substitute waived
02/25/2014Committee substitute agreed to 14103965D-S1 (26-Y 14-N)
02/25/2014Title replaced 14103965D-S1
02/25/2014Substitute offered by Senator Petersen ruled out of order 14105241D-S2
02/25/2014Reading of amendment waived
02/25/2014Amendment by Senator Wexton agreed to
02/25/2014Engrossed by Senate - committee substitute with amendment HB791S1
02/25/2014Passed Senate with substitute with amendment (30-Y 9-N)
02/26/2014Placed on Calendar
02/27/2014Pending question ordered
02/27/2014Senate substitute with amendment rejected by House 14103965D-S1 (39-Y 55-N)
02/27/2014VOTE: REJECTED (39-Y 55-N) (see vote tally)
03/03/2014Senate insisted on substitute with amendment (37-Y 3-N)
03/03/2014Senate requested conference committee
03/04/2014House acceded to request
03/05/2014Conferees appointed by House
03/05/2014Delegates: LeMunyon, Habeeb, Sickles
03/05/2014Conferees appointed by Senate
03/05/2014Senators: Barker, Petersen, Ruff
03/07/2014C Amended by conference committee
03/07/2014Conference substitute printed 14105568D-H2
03/07/2014Conference report agreed to by Senate (37-Y 2-N)
03/07/2014Reconsideration of conference report agreed to by Senate (39-Y 0-N)
03/07/2014Conference report agreed to by Senate (35-Y 4-N)
03/07/2014Conference report agreed to by House (82-Y 15-N)
03/07/2014VOTE: ADOPTION (82-Y 15-N) (see vote tally)
03/17/2014Enrolled
03/17/2014Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB791ER)
03/17/2014Signed by President
03/18/2014Signed by Speaker
04/06/2014Governor's recommendation received by House
04/06/2014Governor's substitute printed 14105713D-H3
04/22/2014Placed on Calendar
04/23/2014House concurred in Governor's recommendation (74-Y 19-N)
04/23/2014VOTE: ADOPTION (74-Y 19-N)
04/23/2014Senate concurred in Governor's recommendation (35-Y 4-N)
04/23/2014G Governor's recommendation adopted
04/23/2014Reenrolled
04/23/2014Reenrolled bill text (HB791ER2)
04/23/2014Signed by Speaker as reenrolled
04/23/2014Signed by President as reenrolled
04/23/2014Enacted, Chapter 784 (effective 7/1/14)
04/23/2014G Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0784)

Video

This bill was discussed on the floor of the General Assembly. Below is all of the video that we have of that discussion, 5 clips in all, totaling 1 hour.

Comments

Deja Vu writes:

He's Baaaack.....

Last year Del. LeMunyon introduced this bill as HB 2257. Fortunately for the homeowners of Virginia, it failed.

The problem with the Bill is that empowers Associations to take actions against homeowners who violate "rules" without empowering homeowners to take the same actions against associations.

The Bill provides that "The association may file legal action in general district or circuit court to seek an order to require that any violation of the declaration or the rules and regulations be corrected."

BUT, Delegate LeMunyon, what if it's the ASSOCIATION's Board of Directors that's violating the Declaration? Why doesn't your bill provide a "level playing field" by allowing homeowners to take the ASSOCIATION to court?

Until you provide a "level playing field," your Bill deserves to fail again!

HOA Corporation Member writes:

Delegate LeMunyon:

Why are homeowners not given the same access to quick, inexpensive judicial relief when Boards of Directors are violating the covenants? Why must the homeowner file a lawsuit in Circuit Court but not the association? This is exactly the kind of unjust, punitive legislation which causes citizens to believe their elected officials are working against them, not for them.
It is a David and Goliath scenario and you Delegate LeMunyon are sponsoring Goliath.

HOA Corporate Member

Rebecca, PCAM of Sunnybrook Farm HOA writes:

Lighten up out there folks and don't pick on Deelegate LeMunyon!

Let me give you the Big Picture on this stuff.

My Tom Skiba at CAI's National Headquarters wrote:

"What we cannot support are situations that compromise the financial health and well-being of associations, place an undue regulatory burden and cost on associations, or treat associations differently than any other type of business entity. Because that is what associations are - businesses. "

I wrote back, "But Tom, we in CAI not only WANT associations treated "differently" than any other type of business entity -- we've INSISTED on different treatment for associations, so long as the difference was preferential to the association...TO US!

Haha!

What other "business," Tom, can unilaterally decide that you're in breach of a contractual relationship, haul you before a kangaroo court with no due process, impose a "fine" and sell your home by auction on the courthouse steps to collect the "fine" -- all without ever involving a court of competent jurisdiction? Only HOA's get to do this!

We get to do it because lawyers like me, and my pals F. Lee Foreclosure, Velvet Jones, Esq., and other CAI lawyers and lobbyists have worked for years to convince the legislatures that the sky would fall and the Republic would collapse unless associations had these powers.

Keep up the good work, Tom, but let's not only candidly admit what CAI stands for -- let's be proud of what we've done.

As always, have a profitable day!

Phil Filechurner, Esq.
Filechurner & Foreclosure LLP

We make money the CAI way: Through the equity in your home!

Bob writes:

Bad, bad, bad bill. It needs to be killed asap. The balance of power between HOA boards and the homeowner members they were elected to serve is tipped in favor of the boards and the regime (CAI, Property Management Companies), and HOA attorneys)that props them up. If an HOA board or its agent is in violation of the Non-Stock Corporation Act, a homeowner's only recourse is the civil courts system at their own expense. Yet an HOA board can utilize association funds to pursue action in the circuit courts? This is grossly unfair and anti-homeowner.

Betsy writes:

Some folks just aren't suited to living in an HOA.

If you're one of them, stop complaining here.

Just MOOOOOOOVE.

Betsy
The CAI Cash Cow

F. Lee Foreclosure, Esq. writes:

Memo for Phil Filechurner, Esq.:

Phil, I gotta hand it to you! Not only did you get House Bill 791 through the House General Laws Committee with only one vote against it (that being from Delegate Ramadan), but they AMENDED it to make it an even BETTER bill for CAI!

Who thought you'd be able to slip authority for HOA's to FINE homeowners into a Bill as an Amendment when the original Bill said NOTHING about Fines? What a slick move by Delegate LeMunyon and you, Phil!

Those homeowners never even saw it coming!

The law WAS that HOAs had NO authority to fine unless the authority was expressly INCLUDED in their Declarations.

But with our Amendment, HOAs can fine unless the Declarations expressly FORBID it! It's a dream come true!

HAHA! If we can get this through the full House and then the Senate, it's BUCKS time for our management company pals and for law firms like ours!

All of our fellow CAIers can find the Bill -- with our "improvements" -- on the official website of the Virginia Legislature:

http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?ses=141&typ=bil&val=hb791

And now -- ON TO THE SENATE!

As always, Pal, have a profitable day.

Your partner,

F. Lee Foreclosure
Filechurner & Foreclosure, LLP
"We make money the CAI way: From the equity in your home."

Rebecca, PCAM of Sunnybrook Far writes:

Dear Delegate LeMunyon:

I have a question that I hope you or your staff can help me with. It's about the amendment to your Bill, HB791, regarding the power of HOA Boards of Directors to fine homeowners.

The amendment is a little confusing to my Board Members. It provides that this power "shall be exercised by the association in good faith and not exercised frivolously, vexatiously, or primarily for purposes of harrassment of the member."

My Board wants to make sure that when they're harrassing a member, but the harrassment is NOT their PRIMARY PURPOSE, then under your bill they're fine (get it -- fine?) to do that, right?

I wouldn't bother you while the legislature is in session, but I can't find Phil Filechurner, Esq. I actually heard that he fell off the wagon after the Washington Post wrote about your Bill. If you see Phil, please thank him for us.

And come back next year with that Bill thatb requires all homeowners to have a GOOD ATTITUDE!

Rebecca, PCAM of Sunnybrook Farm HOA

Shu Bartholomew writes:

Dear Delegate LeMunyon,

In the good old days, Americans lived in homes in communities. Today they live in "units" that are subject to the whims and vagaries of board members drunk on power, incompetent and often dishonest managers and yes, greedy attorneys who, without the conflicts created in associations, wouldn't be making such a good living. The good old old fashioned communities have been replaced by war zones and kommunes. This is not a legacy I want to leave my children and grandchildren. I am sure you feel the same way. Your compassion for your constituent leads me to believe that you really are a caring person which convinces me that your goal is not to further destroy our neighborhoods. But that is exactly what your bill, HB791, will do.

The difference between you and me will be more pronounced in the future when another horror story hits the media about a homeowner targeted by a whacked out, out of control board, aided and abetted by an incompetent manager and the greedy association attorneys.

You will have to look at yourself in the mirror knowing you tilted the power further away from the owners and gave the association the power to fine, and yes, to non judicially foreclose to collect that fine, whether or not the homeowners wanted the association to have that ability. In fact every time you hear of yet another horror story, another person or family that has suffered over something ridiculous, you will know that your bill contributed to it.

I, on the other hand, will know that I tried hard to stop it. The guilt I will have to bear, should I fail, is whether I fought hard enough to try to protect the rights of American homeowners. I will always wonder if there was anything else I could have said or done to get back to living in a community where neighbors were friends and looked out for each other, instead of warriors looking for infractions like dusty mailboxes or unapproved garden hoses.

I am including just one of these stories below. The banner for the serviceman would have been considered iconic Americana at one point, now it is an "eyesore" and a reason to get the attorneys involved. What is interesting though is that this story has generated almost 1650 comments from readers. Most of them anti HOA, anti the powers associations have and anti all the rules and regulations. Check them out for yourself. Go to the link I provided below and scroll down for the comments section.

I respectfully request that you pull your bill and help us get back to a kinder, gentler America where people are not afraid of going home and where neighbors are friends and knew each other.

Sincerely yours,

Shu Bartholomew
www.onthecommons.us

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/oddnews/hoa-tells-military-family-to-remove-sailor’s-‘welcome-home’-banner-193538586.html

Missing Link writes:

Delegate LeMunyon:

The link to HB791, your terrible bill -- which has received tons of press coverage -- seems to have been deleted from your web page.

Since you are the official sponsor of the bill, and are now on the conference committee to negotiate the bill with conferees from the state senate, I find this very strange....

Using the link to your page on Richmondsunlight, one would think that you had nothing to do with the Bill.

If only that were true.....

HB 791 is Out of Conference writes:

The Conference Committee Report is now on the LIS site.

Don't celebrate yet, but the language that permitted HOAs to fine unless the Declaration expressly provided otherise is NOT THERE.

Is it true that the flag over CAI HQ is at half mast?

Another Missing Link writes:

Delegate LeMunyon's site has the link to HB791 again.

But Delegate Sickles, the co-sponsor of the Bill, does not have any link to HB791.

He DOES have a link to a Bill that he sponsored, HB914, which would repeal the crime of fornication.

And now, Delegate Sickes, please stop trying to fornicate with HOMEOWNERS in Virginia Condos and HOAs.

anon writes:

looks like Waldo has lost interest (what a shocker). last post 6 months ago... waste of time website... put it out of it misery.

Rebecca, PCAM of Sunnybrook Farm HOA writes:

Right you are, Mr. Anon!

Why, what's to stop folks from using the information in these comments for "opposition reasearch" against Delegate LeMunyon and Delegate Sickles?

How are we supposed to use them NEXT year to sponsor our CAI Bill to require all unit owners to have a GOOD ATTITUDE?

Sheesh! These unit owners should just do as Betsie, the CAI Cash Cow suggested, and MOOOOOVE!

Rebecca
PCAM of Sunnybrook Farm HOA