2013 Legislative Session Has Begun
The 51st Legislative session for Arizona began on Monday, January 14, 2013 and we are off to a running start on the number of Arizona HOA related bills that have been introduced so far. We will be tracking these bills throughout the Arizna Legislative Session and will provide updates on a frequent basis. As of January 29, 2013, a summary of the current HOA bills follows.
Links are provided to each bill on the Arizona State Legislature website. If introduced in the House of Representatives, the bill begins with HB and if introduced in the Senate, the bill begins with SB. Please note that the bill sponsors are listed on the cover of each bill under "Introduced by".
HB 2135 - This bill states that after the period of Declarant control, the Declarant cannot hold more than one seat on the Board of Directors of an HOA or a condominium association. The bill further states that HOAs and condominiums would be required to allow for voting by use of electronic mail and via facsimile delivery. http://www.azleg.gov/legtext/51leg/1r/bills/hb2135p.pdf
HB 2154 – This bill states that if the petitioner prevails in an administrative hearing for a dispute between an owner and a HOA or condominium association or a mobile home park landlord and tenant, the administrative law judge is required to order the respondent to pay any attorney fees reasonably incurred by the petitioner. The bill further states that if a petition for a hearing in a dispute between an owner and an HOA or a condominium association is dismissed at the owner's request before a hearing is held, the filing fee must be refunded to the owner. http://www.azleg.gov/legtext/51leg/1r/bills/hb2154p.pdf
HB 2155 – This bill would require that homeowner associations include in the annual Corporation Commission filing an addendum entitled "Disclosure Regarding Reserve Fund Study" in a substantially specific form. Detail regarding the level of funding and whether or not the association is "underfunded" is included on the form as shown within the body of the bill. The Corporation Commission would then be required to make the addendums available to the public on its website. http://www.azleg.gov/legtext/51leg/1r/bills/hb2155p.pdf
HB 2193 – This bill would allow homeowner associations the ability to remove trash or repair hazardous structures on foreclosed properties within the association. The bill would further allow the association to place a lien on the property for the costs, and the property owner would be liable. http://www.azleg.gov/legtext/51leg/1r/bills/hb2193p.pdf
HB 2274 – This bill was resurrected from the 2012 session and states that beginning January 1, 2015, homeowner associations would be required to register with the Secretary of State instead of with the applicable county recorder. The bill goes further to state that beginning March 1, 2015, the Secretary of State would be required to post this information online in a form that makes it available to the public. http://www.azleg.gov/legtext/51leg/1r/bills/hb2274p.pdf
HB 2337 – This bill was also introduced in last year's session but was vetoed by Governor Brewer. It is back this year and states that unless prohibited by the CC&Rs, an owner may use an owner's unit or home as rental property. The owner may designate a third party to act as agent with respect to HOA matters on the property. The HOA would be prohibited from requiring a copy of the rental agreements or from requiring a tenant to limit or waive rights of due process as a condition of occupancy. The bill would allow the association to obtain information (i.e. name of tenants, names of children, lease term, and license plate numbers of applicable tenant vehicles). The association could charge a fee of up to $25 for each new tenancy. http://www.azleg.gov/legtext/51leg/1r/bills/hb2337p.pdf
HB 2363 – This bill states that homeowner associations could not prohibit an owner from using any portion of the owner's property as a vegetable garden or for the cultivation of other edible plants. http://www.azleg.gov/legtext/51leg/1r/bills/hb2363p.pdf
HB 2460 – This bill provides that owners within an age-restricted planned community may be required to make payments to a master association under specified circumstances. http://www.azleg.gov/legtext/51leg/1r/bills/hb2460p.pdf
SB 1055 – This bill would require that while serving process, a certified process server would be authorized and privileged to enter and remain lawfully on real property and be admitted unannounced in a planned community or condominium association that is guarded or gated. http://www.azleg.gov/legtext/51leg/1r/bills/sb1055p.pdf
SB 1278 - This bill states that planned communities would have no authority over public roadways dedicated to a government entity. Unlike similar prior years' bills, this bill also states that this would only apply to those planned communities whose CC&Rs are recorded after December 31, 2014. http://www.azleg.gov/legtext/51leg/1r/bills/sb1278p.pdf
SB 1302 – This bill provides additional clarification on the design guideline/architectural review committee bill that became law after last year's session. http://www.azleg.gov/legtext/51leg/1r/bills/sb1302p.pdf
Please visit the Arizona State Legislature website at http://www.azleg.gov/ for more information regarding the 2013 session and upcoming hearings regarding these bills. We will provide updates and notifications or hearings as soon as we are notified. To check the status of a bill, go to www.azleg.gov and in the top right hand corner of the home page type in the applicable bill (e.g. HB2460) and hit enter. The next page that appears will give you a bill overview, a list of the sponsors, the bill versions and the applicable calendar for the bill's journey through the legislative process.