More from Capitol Hill

Earlier this week, two new bills were introduced into the State House for consideration that are directly aimed at Homeowners’ Associations.

HB 23-1127, dubbed as the “Customer’s Right to Use Energy”, adds additional protections into the Colorado Common Interest Ownership Act (“CCIOA”) for new green technologies.  The bill, as currently drafted, adds “Micro Hydroelectricity” and  “Micro Wind Turbines” to the list of protected energy sources to CCIOA.  The bill then provides that the Association shall not limit or prohibit the installation or use of any system or appliance that uses natural gas, propane, solar photovoltaics, micro wind turbines or micro hydroelectricity for generating electricity, cooking, heating water, or heating or cooling spaces in a Unit. Sponsored by Rep. Ty Winter (R) and Sen. Mark Baisley (R), the bill shows the continued interest in common interest communities by all members of the general assembly.  HB 23-1127 has been assigned to the Committee on Energy and the Environment and is scheduled for a hearing on February 9, 2023.

The second bill HB 23-1131 is a very troublesome bill introduced by Rep. Ron Weinberg (R) with no sponsor in the senate as of yet.  HB 23-1131 changes how an association adopts a budget by prohibiting the Board of Directors from adopting a budget at a board meeting unless a majority of all owners are present at the board meeting in person or by proxy.  Only if a majority of all owners are present at the board meeting may the budget be voted upon and then sent to the owners for ratification at a meeting of the Owners.  In my opinion, this bill as drafted will have catastrophic impact on community associations, as attendance at annual meetings is difficult to achieve and attendance at board meetings is near impossible, thus leaving associations in a position of never being able to adopt a budget.  Assigned to the Committee on Transportation and Local Government, we can only hope this bill is postponed indefinitely as soon as possible.  It is set to be heard on February 14 at 1:30. 

We will keep you updated on these bills through our 2023 Legislative Tracker.

If you have any questions on the new bill, please contact any of our Altitude attorneys at [email protected] or (303) 432-9999.