With less than 30 days left in the scheduled legislative session, there are still a large number of bills impacting community associations that remain on the legislative calendar. When the legislature refocuses on Common Interest Communities, we expect them to move fast and furiously on the remaining bills. Of these bills, the House Bills include :
HB 13-1090: Concerning Payment of Amounts Due Under a Construction Agreement. This bill establishes requirements for both private and public construction contracts. It was introduced to the House Committee on Business, Labor, Economic & Workforce Development and was postponed indefinitely. We do not expect any further action on this bill this year.
HB 13-1225: Concerning Additional Protections for Homeowner’s Insurance Policy Holders in Colorado and in Connection therewith, Enacting the “Homeowners Insurance Reform Act of 2013”. Generally speaking, this bill is geared at addressing a situation that resulted from the Wildfires of 2012 in which homeowners discovered they were underinsured for their losses. This bill requires a review of policies at least every other year and requires that policies be written in plain language. Once thought to be dead, this bill was revived and is scheduled for a Senate Committee hearing on April 16, 2013.
HB 13- 1134: Concerning Unit Owners’ Associations Under the “Colorado Common Interest Ownership Act.” As originally introduced, this bill greatly expanded the powers and duties of the Office of HOA Information and Resources Center. This bill underwent major revisions in committee and is scheduled for a second reading in the House on Friday April 12, 2013. These revisions included removal of the mandate that the Office of HOA Information and Resource Center act as a mediator and monitor elections, and instead required the office to study other programs that are currently in place in other states to determine the need for such actions.
HB 13-1276: Concerning Limitations on the actions a Unit Owners’ Association under the “Colorado Common Interest Ownership Act” may take against a Unit Owner with respect to the Collection of Debt Owed to the Unit Owners’ Association. This is one of the newly introduced bills and is aimed at trying to further protect owners within a community from aggressive association collections by requiring, among other things, that a six month payment plan be offered to owners to pay delinquencies. This bill is scheduled for a second reading in the House on Friday, April 16, 2013.
HB 13-1277: Concerning the Regulation of Persons who Manage the Affairs of Common Interest Communities under the “Colorado Common Interest Ownership Act”. This is the second of the two bills introduced late in the session and aimed at addressing owner protections. This bill addresses licensing of community managers and attempts to define what constitutes management. Assigned to the Business, Labor, Economic, & Workforce Development Committee the bill is yet to be calendared for debate.
We will follow up soon with the remaining Senate Bills and their prospects for passage.