Bill Text: HI HB2624 | 2010 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Planned Community Associations
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 17-2)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2010-02-18 - (H) The committee(s) recommends that the measure be deferred. [HB2624 Detail]
Download: Hawaii-2010-HB2624-Amended.html
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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
H.B. NO. |
2624 |
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TWENTY-FIFTH LEGISLATURE, 2010 |
H.D. 1 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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A BILL FOR AN ACT
RELATING TO PLANNED COMMUNITY ASSOCIATIONS.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
SECTION 1. Section 421J-4, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:
"§421J-4 Proxies. [(a) A
proxy shall be in writing and shall be valid for only a specified meeting of
the association and any adjournments of that meeting.
(b) A member of the association may give a
proxy to any person or the board of directors as an entity, and the proxy may
be limited as indicated by the member. No proxy shall be irrevocable unless:
(1) The proxy is coupled with a financial
interest in the unit; or
(2) The proxy is held pursuant to a first
mortgage of record encumbering a unit or an agreement of sale affecting a unit.
(c) To be valid, a proxy shall:
(1) Be delivered to the secretary of the
association or the managing agent, if any, no later than 4:30 p.m. on the second
business day prior to the date of the meeting to which it pertains;
(2) Contain at least the name of the
association, the date of the meeting of the association, the printed name and
signature of the person or persons giving the proxy, the unit or units for
which the proxy is given, and the date that the proxy is given; and
(3) Contain boxes wherein the owner has
indicated that the proxy is given:
(A) For quorum purposes only;
(B) To the individual whose name is
printed on a line next to this box;
(C) To the board of directors as a
whole and that the vote be made on the basis of the preference of the majority
of the board; or
(D) To those directors present at
the meeting and the vote to be shared with each board member receiving an equal
percentage.
(d) Any board of directors that uses
association funds to distribute proxies that include the election of directors
shall first post notice of its intent to distribute proxies in prominent
locations within the project at least thirty days prior to its distribution of
proxies; provided that if the board receives within seven days of the posted
notice a request by any owner for nomination to the board accompanied by a
statement, the board shall mail to all owners either:
(1) A proxy form containing the names of
all owners who have requested nomination to the board accompanied by their
statements; or
(2) A proxy form containing no names, but
accompanied by a list of names of all owners who have requested nomination to
the board and their statements.
The statement shall not exceed one hundred
words, indicating the owner's qualifications to serve on the board and reasons
for wanting to receive proxies.
(e) Nothing in this section shall affect
the holder of any proxy under a first mortgage of record encumbering an
apartment or under an agreement of sale affecting an apartment.
(f) Nothing in this section shall prohibit
the use of proxies for filling vacancies that occur after the notice of the
annual meeting has been distributed.] (a)
If only one of several owners of a unit is present at a meeting of the
association, that owner is entitled to cast all the votes allocated to that
unit. If more than one of the owners is present, the votes allocated to that
unit may be cast only in accordance with the agreement of a majority in
interest of the owners, unless the declaration or bylaws expressly provide
otherwise. There is majority agreement if any one of the owners casts the
votes allocated to that unit without protest by any of the other owners of the unit
to the person presiding over the meeting before the polls are closed.
(b) No developer or owner of units in a planned community, or their representative, may cast a vote for undeveloped units in that planned community.
(c) Votes allocated to a unit may be cast pursuant to a proxy duly executed by a unit owner. A unit owner may vote by mail or electronic transmission through a duly executed proxy. If a unit is owned by more than one person, each owner of the unit may vote or register a protest to the casting of votes by the other owners of the unit through a duly executed proxy. In the absence of a protest, any owner may cast the votes allocated to the unit by proxy. A unit owner may revoke a proxy given pursuant to this section only by actual notice of revocation to the secretary of the association or the managing agent. A proxy is void if it purports to be revocable without notice.
(d) No votes allocated to a unit owned by the association may be cast for the election or reelection of directors.
(e) A proxy, to be valid, shall:
(1) Be delivered to the secretary of the association or the managing agent, if any, no later than 4:30 p.m. on the second business day prior to the date of the meeting to which it pertains;
(2) Contain at least the name of the association, the date of the meeting of the association, the printed names and signatures of the persons giving the proxy, the unit numbers for which the proxy is given, the names of persons to whom the proxy is given, and the date that the proxy is given; and
(3) If it is a standard proxy form authorized by the association, contain boxes wherein the owner has indicated that the proxy is given:
(A) For quorum purposes only; or
(B) To the individual whose name is printed on a line next to this box.
(f) A proxy shall be valid only for the meeting to which the proxy pertains. A unit owner may designate any person as proxy and may limit the proxy as the unit owner desires and indicates; provided that no proxy shall be irrevocable unless coupled with a financial interest in the unit.
(g) A copy, facsimile telecommunication, or other reliable reproduction of a proxy may be used in lieu of the original proxy for any and all purposes for which the original proxy could have been used; provided that any copy, facsimile telecommunication, or other reproduction of the proxy shall be a complete reproduction of the entire original proxy.
(h) Nothing in this section shall affect the holder of any proxy under a first mortgage of record encumbering a unit or under an agreement of sale affecting a unit.
(i) With respect to the use of association funds to distribute proxies:
(1) Any board that intends to use association funds to distribute proxies, including the standard proxy form referred to in subsection (e)(3), shall first post notice of its intent to distribute proxies in prominent locations within the project at least twenty-one days before its distribution of proxies. If the board receives within seven days of the posted notice, a request by any owner for use of association funds to solicit proxies accompanied by a statement, the board shall mail to all owners:
(A) A proxy form containing the names of all owners who have requested the use of association funds for soliciting proxies accompanied by their statements; or
(B) A proxy form containing no names, but accompanied by a list of names of all owners who have requested the use of association funds for soliciting proxies and their statements.
The statement shall be limited to black text on white paper, shall not exceed one single-sided 8-1/2" x 11" page, and indicate the owner's qualifications to serve on the board or reasons for wanting to receive proxies; and
(2) A board member may use association funds to solicit proxies as part of the distribution of proxies. If a member of the board, as an individual, seeks to solicit proxies using association funds, the board member shall proceed as a unit owner under paragraph (1).
(j) No managing agent, resident manager, or their employees, shall solicit, for use by the managing agent or resident manager, any proxies from any unit owner of the association that retains the managing agent or employs the resident manager, nor shall the managing agent or resident manager cast any proxy vote at any association meeting except to establish a quorum.
(k) No board shall adopt any rule prohibiting the solicitation of proxies or distribution of materials relating to association matters on the common elements by unit owners; provided that a board may adopt rules regulating reasonable time, place, and manner of the solicitation or distribution of proxies, or both."
SECTION 2. Section 421J-6, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:
"[[]§421J-6[]]
Robert's Rules of Order. All association and board of directors meetings
shall be conducted in accordance with the most current edition of Robert's
Rules of Order[,] Newly Revised."
SECTION 3. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.
SECTION 4. This Act shall take effect on January 1, 2011.
Report Title:
Planned Community Associations
Description:
Conforms planned community association laws with respect to proxies to comparable provisions regulating condominium property regimes. Takes effect January 1, 2011. (HB2624 HD1)
The summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.
