Legislative Update

By Matthew A. Gardner, Esq. Richardson|Ober

Afew of the newly sponsored legislative bills are briefly summarized below with comments on their possible impact on Associations for Managers and Boards of Directors to consider.

AB 648– Meetings by Teleconference

AB 648 by Assembly Member Valencia attempts to allow Associations to conduct board meetings without a physical location. The Board would have the discretion to make this decision if it could demonstrate that it satisfies certain conditions set out below.

physical location. CLAC is sponsoring AB 648 to extend those options beyond emergencies.

AB 648 bill would amend Civil Code §4090 and add §4926. The statutes would add a requirement that the notice for the meeting provide clear instructions on how to participate by teleconference, and would require everyone to be able to participate as if the meeting were held in person. The statutes would not permit virtual meetings that involve Board elections, unless the meeting is conducted by video conference and the camera is placed so that participants can see the inspector of elections counting and tabulating the

Associations that demonstrate that they can meet those conditions could continue to conduct business without returning to in person only meetings.

AB 1458 - Meetings and Quorum Requirements

AB 1458 by Assembly Member Ta attempts to offer solutions for Associations that cannot reach quorum in a Board member election.

AB 1458 would amend Section 5115 of the Civil Code, and amend Section 7512 of the Corporations Code with respect to meetings where directors are elected. The statute would allow an Association that cannot meet quorum requirements to adjourn the election meeting. The adjourned meeting would be to a date no less than five (5) and no more than 30 days away, and the quorum would be set to members who represent 10% of the voting membership. Those votes could be present in person, by proxy, or by secret written ballot.

CLAC is tracking almost 60 bills that deal directly or indirectly with issues important to Associations. You can continue to monitor this progress by searching for updates on www.caiclac.com.

Matthew A. Gardner, Esq. is a partner of Richardson|Ober who works with community associations, homeowners, and HOA boards of directors to amend governing documents, resolve homeowner/member disputes, manage assessment delinquency matters, and provide leadership training to volunteers and community members. Matthew can be reached at matt@roattorneys.com.