On Tuesday, the House Business, Labor, Economic and Workforce Development Committee approved an overhauled version of HB 1134 and the bill was just taken up on the House floor and passed on second reading.
As noted in my January 21st blog entry, the bill as originally introduced broadly expanded the powers of the HOA Information Officer and HOA Information and Resource Center which are both housed within the Colorado Division of Real Estate. Instead of proceeding with this broad expansion of power, the bill was overhauled to study the HOA regulatory models in Nevada, Virginia and Florida. In particular, the study will assess options, costs and the need for the Division of Real Estate to:
● offer to mediate HOA complaints;
● mandate the mediation of complaints;
● refer disputes to alternative dispute resolution services;
● provide owners with an expedited and inexpensive administrative hearing process specific to HOA disputes;
● monitor and review HOA procedures and election-related disputes;
● report alleged election-related misconduct;
● when requested, appoint an election monitor to conduct HOA elections;
● provide regulatory oversight over declarant-controlled boards to ensure they are complying with their fiduciary duty to the association and comply with the requirements in CCIOA relating to transition; and
● provide regulatory oversight to protect executive boards, directors, homeowners and residents from threats or defamatory conduct arising in HOA matters.
The bill also simplifies the registration requirements for HOAs and requires that pre-CCIOA communities must also register with the Division of Real Estate.
HB 1134 is expected to pass the full House on third reading and proceed to the Senate for action. Ultimately, we expect HB 1134 to be passed by the Senate and signed into law by Governor Hickenlooper.