Bill Text: FL S0580 | 2013 | Regular Session | Introduced
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Homeowners' Associations
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (? 3-1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2013-04-25 - Laid on Table, companion bill(s) passed, see CS/HB 7119 (Ch. 2013-218), CS/CS/CS/HB 73 (Ch. 2013-188) [S0580 Detail]
Download: Florida-2013-S0580-Introduced.html
Bill Title: Homeowners' Associations
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (? 3-1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2013-04-25 - Laid on Table, companion bill(s) passed, see CS/HB 7119 (Ch. 2013-218), CS/CS/CS/HB 73 (Ch. 2013-188) [S0580 Detail]
Download: Florida-2013-S0580-Introduced.html
Florida Senate - 2013 SB 580 By Senator Hays 11-00540A-13 2013580__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to homeowners’ associations; amending 3 s. 720.303, F.S.; providing for association members to 4 take photographs or images of association records 5 without charge in certain circumstances; decreasing 6 the amount of time an association has to comply with 7 access to the records; clarifying provisions relating 8 to fees that an association may charge for providing 9 copies of records; creating s. 720.3033, F.S.; 10 requiring association directors to file with the 11 association secretary certification that they have 12 read certain association documents, will uphold the 13 documents, and will uphold their fiduciary 14 responsibility to the members, or that they have 15 completed an educational course approved by the 16 department; providing that the certificate is valid 17 while the director is on the board; providing 18 penalties for failure to file a written certification 19 or educational certificate; requiring the secretary to 20 retain each written certification or educational 21 certificate for 5 years; providing procedures to be 22 followed which relate to contracts or transactions 23 between the association and a director or entity in 24 which a director or officer is financially interested; 25 providing for disclosure of the contract or other 26 transaction to members; providing for the cancellation 27 of such contract or transaction under certain 28 circumstances; prohibiting any officer, director, or 29 association manager from soliciting or receiving 30 certain personal benefits from any person providing or 31 offering to provide goods or services to the 32 association; providing a penalty; providing an 33 exception; providing for the removal of any director 34 or officer charged with a felony theft or embezzlement 35 offense involving association funds or property; 36 providing for the reinstatement of such person under 37 certain circumstances; requiring the association to 38 maintain insurance or a bond to cover funds that will 39 be in the custody of the association or its management 40 agent; providing an effective date. 41 42 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 43 44 Section 1. Subsection (5) of section 720.303, Florida 45 Statutes, is amended to read: 46 720.303 Association powers and duties; meetings of board; 47 official records; budgets; financial reporting; association 48 funds; recalls.— 49 (5) INSPECTION AND COPYING OF RECORDS.—The official records 50 shall be maintained within the state and must be open to 51 inspection and available for photocopying by members or their 52 authorized agents at reasonable times and places within 51053 business days after receipt of a written request for access. 54 This subsection may be complied with by having a copy of the 55 official records available for inspection or copying in the 56 community. If the association has a photocopy machine available 57 where the records are maintained, it must provide parcel owners 58 with copies on request during the inspection if the entire 59 request is limited to no more than 25 pages. The association 60 must also permit a member to take photographic images of such 61 records with a camera or other electronic device at no charge. 62 (a) The failure of an association to provide access to the 63 records within 510business days after receipt of a written 64 request submitted by certified mail, return receipt requested, 65 creates a rebuttable presumption that the association willfully 66 failed to comply with this subsection. 67 (b) A member who is denied access to official records is 68 entitled to the actual damages or minimum damages for the 69 association’s willful failure to comply with this subsection. 70 The minimum damages are to be $50 per calendar day up to 10 71 days, the calculation to begin on the 11th business day after 72 receipt of the written request. 73 (c) The association may adopt reasonable written rules 74 governing the frequency, time, location, notice, records to be 75 inspected, and manner of inspections, but may not require a 76 parcel owner to demonstrate any proper purpose for the 77 inspection, state any reason for the inspection, or limit a 78 parcel owner’s right to inspect records to less than one 8-hour 79 business day per month.The association may impose fees to cover80the costs of providing copies of the official records,81including, without limitation, the costs of copying.The 82 association may charge up to 50 cents per page for copies made 83 on the association’s photocopier. If the association does not 84 have a photocopy machine available where the records are kept, 85 or if the records requested to be copied exceed 25 pages in 86 length, the association may have copies made by an outside 87 vendor or association management company personnel and may 88 charge the actual cost of copying, including any reasonable89costs involving personnel fees and charges at an hourly rate for90vendor or employee time to cover administrative costs to the91vendor or association. The association shall maintain an 92 adequate number of copies of the recorded governing documents, 93 to ensure their availability to members and prospective members. 94 Notwithstanding this paragraph, the following records are not 95 accessible to members or parcel owners: 96 1. Any record protected by the lawyer-client privilege as 97 described in s. 90.502 and any record protected by the work 98 product privilege, including, but not limited to, a record 99 prepared by an association attorney or prepared at the 100 attorney’s express direction which reflects a mental impression, 101 conclusion, litigation strategy, or legal theory of the attorney 102 or the association and which was prepared exclusively for civil 103 or criminal litigation or for adversarial administrative 104 proceedings or which was prepared in anticipation of such 105 litigation or proceedings until the conclusion of the litigation 106 or proceedings. 107 2. Information obtained by an association in connection 108 with the approval of the lease, sale, or other transfer of a 109 parcel. 110 3. Personnel records of the association’s employees, 111 including, but not limited to, disciplinary, payroll, health, 112 and insurance records. For purposes of this subparagraph, the 113 term “personnel records” does not include written employment 114 agreements with an association employee or budgetary or 115 financial records that indicate the compensation paid to an 116 association employee. 117 4. Medical records of parcel owners or community residents. 118 5. Social security numbers, driver’s license numbers, 119 credit card numbers, electronic mailing addresses, telephone 120 numbers, facsimile numbers, emergency contact information, any 121 addresses for a parcel owner other than as provided for 122 association notice requirements, and other personal identifying 123 information of any person, excluding the person’s name, parcel 124 designation, mailing address, and property address. However, an 125 owner may consent in writing to the disclosure of protected 126 information described in this subparagraph. The association is 127 not liable for the disclosure of information that is protected 128 under this subparagraph if the information is included in an 129 official record of the association and is voluntarily provided 130 by an owner and not requested by the association. 131 6. Any electronic security measure that is used by the 132 association to safeguard data, including passwords. 133 7. The software and operating system used by the 134 association which allows the manipulation of data, even if the 135 owner owns a copy of the same software used by the association. 136 The data is part of the official records of the association. 137 (d) The association or its authorized agent is not required 138 to provide a prospective purchaser or lienholder with 139 information about the residential subdivision or the association 140 other than information or documents required by this chapter to 141 be made available or disclosed. The association or its 142 authorized agent may charge a reasonable fee to the prospective 143 purchaser or lienholder or the current parcel owner or member 144 for providing good faith responses to requests for information 145 by or on behalf of a prospective purchaser or lienholder, other 146 than that required by law, if the fee does not exceed $150 plus 147 the reasonable cost of photocopying and any attorney’s fees 148 incurred by the association in connection with the response. 149 Section 2. Section 720.3033, Florida Statutes, is created 150 to read: 151 720.3033 Officers and directors.— 152 (1)(a) Within 90 days after being elected or appointed to 153 the board, each director shall certify in writing to the 154 secretary of the association that he or she has read the 155 association’s declaration of covenants, articles of 156 incorporation, bylaws, and current written rules and policies; 157 that he or she will work to uphold such documents and policies 158 to the best of his or her ability; and that he or she will 159 faithfully discharge his or her fiduciary responsibility to the 160 association’s members. 161 (b) In lieu of the written certification, a director may 162 submit a certificate showing that he or she has satisfactorily 163 completed the educational curriculum administered by an 164 education provider approved by the division within 1 year before 165 or 90 days after the date of his or her election or appointment 166 to the board. 167 (c) The written certification or educational certificate is 168 valid for the uninterrupted tenure of the director on the board. 169 A director who does not timely file the written certification or 170 educational certificate shall be suspended from the board until 171 he or she complies with the requirement. The board may 172 temporarily fill the vacancy during the period of suspension. 173 (d) The secretary shall retain each director’s written 174 certification or educational certificate for inspection by the 175 members for 5 years after the director’s election. However, the 176 failure to have the written certification or educational 177 certificate on file does not affect the validity of any board 178 action. 179 (2) If the association enters into a contract or other 180 transaction with any of its directors or a corporation, firm, 181 association, or other entity in which an association director is 182 also a director or officer or is financially interested, the 183 board must: 184 (a) Comply with the requirements of s. 617.0832. 185 (b) Enter the disclosures required by s. 617.0832 into the 186 written minutes of the meeting. 187 (c) Approve the contract or other transaction by an 188 affirmative vote of two-thirds of the directors present. 189 (d) At the next regular or special meeting of the members, 190 disclose the existence of the contract or other transaction to 191 the members. Upon motion of any member, the contract or 192 transaction shall be brought up for a vote and may be canceled 193 by a majority vote of the members present. If the members cancel 194 the contract, the association is only liable for the reasonable 195 value of goods and services provided up to the time of 196 cancellation and is not liable for any termination fee, 197 liquidated damages, or other penalty for such cancellation. 198 (3) An officer, director, or manager may not solicit, offer 199 to accept, or accept any thing or service of value for which 200 consideration has not been provided for his or her benefit or 201 for the benefit of a member of his or her immediate family, from 202 any person providing or proposing to provide goods or services 203 to the association. Any officer, director, or manager who 204 knowingly solicits, offers to accept, or accepts any thing or 205 service of value is subject to a civil penalty as provided in s. 206 718.501(1)(d). However, this paragraph does not prohibit an 207 officer, director, or manager from accepting services or items 208 received in connection with trade fairs or education programs. 209 (4) A director or officer charged by information or 210 indictment with a felony theft or embezzlement offense involving 211 the association’s funds or property must be removed from office. 212 The vacancy shall be filled according to law until the end of 213 the period of the suspension or the end of the director’s term 214 of office, whichever occurs first. A director or officer who has 215 criminal charges pending may not be appointed or elected to a 216 position as a director or officer. However, if the charges are 217 resolved without a finding of guilt, the director or officer 218 shall be reinstated for any remainder of his or her term of 219 office. 220 (5) The association shall maintain insurance or a fidelity 221 bond for all persons who control or disburse funds of the 222 association. The insurance policy or fidelity bond must cover 223 the maximum funds that will be in the custody of the association 224 or its management agent at any one time. As used in this 225 subsection, the term “persons who control or disburse funds of 226 the association” includes, but is not limited to, persons 227 authorized to sign checks on behalf of the association, and the 228 president, secretary, and treasurer of the association. The 229 association shall bear the cost of any insurance or bond. 230 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2013.