California’s SB 323 seeks to introduce fair elections procedures for HOAs, addressing one of my 6 substantive defects in the HOA legal scheme.[i] Deborah Goonan’s excellent discussion of this bill[ii] brought to my attention a second defect in the HOA legal scheme, the lack of enforcement of the law[iii].
The bill modifies California’s Civil Code, Section 5145(a), inter alia, mandating a court to void any election found to violate the law. The court no longer has discretion, as many have been found to favor the HOA over the member, and insures that justice be served. “A member of an association may bring a civil action for declaratory or equitable relief for a violation of this article by the association.”
Section (b) is modified to read, “A member who prevails in a civil action to enforce the member’s rights . . . the court may impose a civil penalty of up to five hundred dollars ($500) for each violation.”
In all fairness, the bill requires the violation to be intentional and material to the outcome to avoid frivolous suits. With CAI “experts” in HOA law involved in many of these cases, it’s hard to view the violation as accidental. There is an instance in Arizona at this time where this bill is sorely needed.[iv]
Without fair elections, all this pro-HOA clamor by CAI and other staunch HOA backers that HOAs are the epitome of democracy where members can vote, and should get elected and involved in the affairs of their HOA becomes meaningless tripe!
California’s SB 323 must be made law not only in California, but in all the states as well!
References
[i] See HOA Common Sense: rejecting private government, Democratic elections, No. 5.
[ii] See “California HOA elections bill update (March 2019)”, Independent American Communities.
[iii] Supra, n. i, HOA Boards can do no wrong, No. 7.
[iv] For example, see “Non-conforming HOA voting procedure”, HOA Constitutional Government.
California’s SB 323 seeks to introduce fair elections procedures for HOAs, addressing one of my 6 substantive defects in the HOA legal scheme.[i] Deborah Goonan’s excellent discussion of this bill[ii] brought to my attention a second defect in the HOA legal scheme, the lack of enforcement of the law[iii].
The bill modifies California’s Civil Code, Section 5145(a), inter alia, mandating a court to void any election found to violate the law. The court no longer has discretion, as many have been found to favor the HOA over the member, and insures that justice be served. “A member of an association may bring a civil action for declaratory or equitable relief for a violation of this article by the association.”
Section (b) is modified to read, “A member who prevails in a civil action to enforce the member’s rights . . . the court may impose a civil penalty of up to five hundred dollars ($500) for each violation.”
In all fairness, the bill requires the violation to be intentional and material to the outcome to avoid frivolous suits. With CAI “experts” in HOA law involved in many of these cases, it’s hard to view the violation as accidental. There is an instance in Arizona at this time where this bill is sorely needed.[iv]
Without fair elections, all this pro-HOA clamor by CAI and other staunch HOA backers that HOAs are the epitome of democracy where members can vote, and should get elected and involved in the affairs of their HOA becomes meaningless tripe!
California’s SB 323 must be made law not only in California, but in all the states as well!
References
[i] See HOA Common Sense: rejecting private government, Democratic elections, No. 5.
[ii] See “California HOA elections bill update (March 2019)”, Independent American Communities.
[iii] Supra, n. i, HOA Boards can do no wrong, No. 7.
[iv] For example, see “Non-conforming HOA voting procedure”, HOA Constitutional Government.
HOA Constitutional Government 
By an HOA that I have since escaped, I was fined for a supposed violation that was unsupported by Governing Documents and State laws. Worse, I then discovered that two of the five Board members deciding my fate were not legitimately elected based on State law (and the other three Board members, plainly, allowed the bogus election to happen). I assume it would be considered unworkable to invalidate the actions taken by Board members who are determined not to be elected legitimately; yet, it is doubly galling and unfair that the actions taken by illegitimate Board members are allowed to stand as if they are valid acts. Do you have any thoughts on this aspect of the issue of unlawfully-elected Board members, Mr. Staropoli? Thanks.
Unfortunately, your BOD is functioning as a rogue board — ignoring the law and governing documents. Enforcement is not by the town or state, but by a civil suit by the member costing $$$$ and time. Bottom line: the HOA holds all the aces! Until the state holds directors and officers responsible for violations and subjects them to jail and / or fines, nothing will change. Some states impose minimal fines of $500, but you still need to file civil suit.