Rep. Norm Thurston — Voting Record

Bill

Number

H.B. 99 (2015GS)

Sponsor

Rep. Schultz, M.

Final action

Governor Signed 3/31/2015

Outcome

Became law — signed by Gov. Gary R. Herbert

Summary

What it does

• This bill:
• defines terms;
• provides that a management committee meeting and a board meeting shall be open to each unit owner or lot owner;
• provides certain circumstances under which a management committee or a board may close a meeting;
• requires that, upon request, the management committee or the board send written notice of a meeting to each unit owner or lot owner by email;
• requires each management committee meeting and each board meeting to include time for comment from the unit owners or lot owners; and
• makes technical and conforming changes.

Every vote on this bill

Bill text

ASSOCIATION OPEN MEETING AMENDMENTS
GENERAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH
Chief Sponsor: Mike Schultz
Senate Sponsor: 
J. Stuart Adams
LONG TITLE
General Description:
This bill enacts and modifies provisions relating to meetings of the governing body of
an association of unit owners and an association of lot owners.
Highlighted Provisions:
This bill:
▸ defines terms;
▸ provides that a management committee meeting and a board meeting shall be open
to each unit owner or lot owner;
▸ provides certain circumstances under which a management committee or a board
may close a meeting;
▸ requires that, upon request, the management committee or the board send written
notice of a meeting to each unit owner or lot owner by email;
▸ requires each management committee meeting and each board meeting to include
time for comment from the unit owners or lot owners; and
▸ makes technical and conforming changes.
Money Appropriated in this Bill:
None
Other Special Clauses:
This bill provides a special effective date.
Utah Code Sections Affected:
AMENDS:
57-8-3
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2013, Chapters 95 and 152
57-8a-102
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2013, Chapters 95 and 152
57-8a-104
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2011, Chapter 137
57-8a-224
, as enacted by Laws of Utah 2013, Chapter 152
ENACTS:
57-8-56
, Utah Code Annotated 1953
57-8a-225
, Utah Code Annotated 1953
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
Section 1. Section 
57-8-3
 is amended to read:
57-8-3.
Definitions.
As used in this chapter:
(1) "Assessment" means any charge imposed by the association, including:
(a) common expenses on or against a unit owner pursuant to the provisions of the
declaration, bylaws, or this chapter; and
(b) an amount that an association of unit owners assesses to a unit owner under
Subsection 
57-8-43
(9)(g).
(2) "Association of unit owners" means all of the unit owners:
(a) acting as a group in accordance with the declaration and bylaws; or
(b) organized as a legal entity in accordance with the declaration.
(3) "Building" means a building, containing units, and comprising a part of the
property.
(4) "Commercial condominium project" means a condominium project that has no
residential units within the project.
(5) "Common areas and facilities" unless otherwise provided in the declaration or
lawful amendments to the declaration means:
(a) the land included within the condominium project, whether leasehold or in fee
simple;
(b) the foundations, columns, girders, beams, supports, main walls, roofs, halls,
corridors, lobbies, stairs, stairways, fire escapes, entrances, and exits of the building;
(c) the basements, yards, gardens, parking areas, and storage spaces;
(d) the premises for lodging of janitors or persons in charge of the property;
(e) installations of central services such as power, light, gas, hot and cold water,
heating, refrigeration, air conditioning, and incinerating;
(f) the elevators, tanks, pumps, motors, fans, compressors, ducts, and in general all
apparatus and installations existing for common use;
(g) such community and commercial facilities as may be provided for in the
declaration; and
(h) all other parts of the property necessary or convenient to its existence, maintenance,
and safety, or normally in common use.
(6) "Common expenses" means:
(a) all sums lawfully assessed against the unit owners;
(b) expenses of administration, maintenance, repair, or replacement of the common
areas and facilities;
(c) expenses agreed upon as common expenses by the association of unit owners; and
(d) expenses declared common expenses by this chapter, or by the declaration or the
bylaws.
(7) "Common profits," unless otherwise provided in the declaration or lawful
amendments to the declaration, means the balance of all income, rents, profits, and revenues
from the common areas and facilities remaining after the deduction of the common expenses.
(8) "Condominium" means the ownership of a single unit in a multiunit project
together with an undivided interest in common in the common areas and facilities of the
property.
(9) "Condominium plat" means a plat or plats of survey of land and units prepared in
accordance with Section 
57-8-13
.
(10) "Condominium project" means a real estate condominium project; a plan or
project whereby two or more units, whether contained in existing or proposed apartments,
commercial or industrial buildings or structures, or otherwise, are separately offered or
proposed to be offered for sale. Condominium project also means the property when the
context so requires.
(11) "Condominium unit" means a unit together with the undivided interest in the
common areas and facilities appertaining to that unit. Any reference in this chapter to a
condominium unit includes both a physical unit together with its appurtenant undivided interest
in the common areas and facilities and a time period unit together with its appurtenant
undivided interest, unless the reference is specifically limited to a time period unit.
(12) "Contractible condominium" means a condominium project from which one or
more portions of the land within the project may be withdrawn in accordance with provisions
of the declaration and of this chapter. If the withdrawal can occur only by the expiration or
termination of one or more leases, then the condominium project is not a contractible
condominium within the meaning of this chapter.
(13) "Convertible land" means a building site which is a portion of the common areas
and facilities, described by metes and bounds, within which additional units or limited common
areas and facilities may be created in accordance with this chapter.
(14) "Convertible space" means a portion of the structure within the condominium
project, which portion may be converted into one or more units or common areas and facilities,
including limited common areas and facilities in accordance with this chapter.
(15) "Declarant" means all persons who execute the declaration or on whose behalf the
declaration is executed. From the time of the recordation of any amendment to the declaration
expanding an expandable condominium, all persons who execute that amendment or on whose
behalf that amendment is executed shall also come within this definition. Any successors of
the persons referred to in this subsection who come to stand in the same relation to the
condominium project as their predecessors also come within this definition.
(16) "Declaration" means the instrument by which the property is submitted to the
provisions of this act, as it from time to time may be lawfully amended.
(17) "Expandable condominium" means a condominium project to which additional
land or an interest in it may be added in accordance with the declaration and this chapter.
(18) "Governing documents":
(a) means a written instrument by which an association of unit owners may:
(i) exercise powers; or
(ii) manage, maintain, or otherwise affect the property under the jurisdiction of the
association of unit owners; and
(b) includes:
(i) articles of incorporation;
(ii) bylaws;
(iii) a plat;
(iv) a declaration of covenants, conditions, and restrictions; and
(v) rules of the association of unit owners.
(19) "Independent third party" means a person that:
(a) is not related to the unit owner;
(b) shares no pecuniary interests with the unit owner; and
(c) purchases the unit in good faith and without the intent to defraud a current or future
lienholder.
(20) "Leasehold condominium" means a condominium project in all or any portion of
which each unit owner owns an estate for years in his unit, or in the land upon which that unit
is situated, or both, with all those leasehold interests to expire naturally at the same time. A
condominium project including leased land, or an interest in the land, upon which no units are
situated or to be situated is not a leasehold condominium within the meaning of this chapter.
(21) "Limited common areas and facilities" means those common areas and facilities
designated in the declaration as reserved for use of a certain unit or units to the exclusion of the
other units.
(22) "Majority" or "majority of the unit owners," unless otherwise provided in the
declaration or lawful amendments to the declaration, means the owners of more than 50% in
the aggregate in interest of the undivided ownership of the common areas and facilities.
(23) "Management committee" means the committee as provided in the declaration
charged with and having the responsibility and authority to make and to enforce all of the
reasonable rules covering the operation and maintenance of the property.
(24) (a) "Means of electronic communication" means an electronic system that allows
individuals to communicate orally in real time.
(b) "Means of electronic communication" includes:
(i) web conferencing;
(ii) video conferencing; and
(iii) telephone conferencing.
(25) "Meeting" means a gathering of a management committee, whether in person or
by means of electronic communication, at which the management committee can take binding
action.
[
(24)
] 
(26)
 "Mixed-use condominium project" means a condominium project that has
both residential and commercial units in the condominium project.
[
(25)
] 
(27)
 "Par value" means a number of dollars or points assigned to each unit by the
declaration. Substantially identical units shall be assigned the same par value, but units located
at substantially different heights above the ground, or having substantially different views, or
having substantially different amenities or other characteristics that might result in differences
in market value, may be considered substantially identical within the meaning of this
subsection. If par value is stated in terms of dollars, that statement may not be considered to
reflect or control the sales price or fair market value of any unit, and no opinion, appraisal, or
fair market transaction at a different figure may affect the par value of any unit, or any
undivided interest in the common areas and facilities, voting rights in the unit owners'
association, liability for common expenses, or right to common profits, assigned on the basis
thereof.
(28) "Period of administrative control" means the period of control described in
Subsection 
57-8-16.5
(1).
[
(26)
] 
(29)
 "Person" means an individual, corporation, partnership, association, trustee,
or other legal entity.
[
(27)
] 
(30)
 "Property" means the land, whether leasehold or in fee simple, the building,
if any, all improvements and structures thereon, all easements, rights, and appurtenances
belonging thereto, and all articles of personal property intended for use in connection
therewith.
[
(28)
] 
(31)
 "Record," "recording," "recorded," and "recorder" have the meaning stated
in Title 57, Chapter 3, Recording of Documents.
[
(29)
] 
(32)
 "Size" means the number of cubic feet, or the number of square feet of
ground or floor space, within each unit as computed by reference to the record of survey map
and rounded off to a whole number. Certain spaces within the units including attic, basement,
or garage space may be omitted from the calculation or be partially discounted by the use of a
ratio, if the same basis of calculation is employed for all units in the condominium project and
if that basis is described in the declaration.
[
(30)
] 
(33)
 "Time period unit" means an annually recurring part or parts of a year
specified in the declaration as a period for which a unit is separately owned and includes a
timeshare estate as defined in Subsection 
57-19-2
(19).
[
(31)
] 
(34)
 "Unit" means either a separate physical part of the property intended for any
type of independent use, including one or more rooms or spaces located in one or more floors
or part or parts of floors in a building or a time period unit, as the context may require. A
convertible space shall be treated as a unit in accordance with Subsection 
57-8-13.4
(3). A
proposed condominium unit under an expandable condominium project, not constructed, is a
unit two years after the date the recording requirements of Section 
57-8-13.6
 are met.
[
(32)
] 
(35)
 "Unit number" means the number, letter, or combination of numbers and
letters designating the unit in the declaration and in the record of survey map.
[
(33)
] 
(36)
 "Unit owner" means the person or persons owning a unit in fee simple and
an undivided interest in the fee simple estate of the common areas and facilities in the
percentage specified and established in the declaration or, in the case of a leasehold
condominium project, the person or persons whose leasehold interest or interests in the
condominium unit extend for the entire balance of the unexpired term or terms.
Section 2. Section 
57-8-56
 is enacted to read:
 57-8-56.
Management committee meetings -- Open meetings.
(1) (a) At least 48 hours before a meeting, the association of unit owners shall give
written notice of the meeting via email to each unit owner who requests notice of a meeting,
unless:
(i) notice of the meeting is included in a meeting schedule that was previously provided
to the unit owner; or
(ii) (A) the meeting is to address an emergency; and
(B) each management committee member receives notice of the meeting less than 48
hours before the meeting.
(b) A notice described in Subsection (1)(a) shall:
(i) be delivered to the unit owner by email, to the email address that the unit owner
provides to the management committee or the association of unit owners;
(ii) state the time and date of the meeting;
(iii) state the location of the meeting; and
(iv) if a management committee member may participate by means of electronic
communication, provide the information necessary to allow the unit owner to participate by the
available means of electronic communication.
(2) (a) Except as provided in Subsection (2)(b), a meeting shall be open to each unit
owner or the unit owner's representative if the representative is designated in writing.
(b) A management committee may close a meeting to:
(i) consult with an attorney for the purpose of obtaining legal advice;
(ii) discuss ongoing or potential litigation, mediation, arbitration, or administrative
proceedings;
(iii) discuss a personnel matter;
(iv) discuss a matter relating to contract negotiations, including review of a bid or
proposal;
(v) discuss a matter that involves an individual if the discussion is likely to cause the
individual undue embarrassment or violate the individual's reasonable expectation of privacy;
or
(vi) discuss a delinquent assessment or fine.
(3) (a) At each meeting, the management committee shall provide each unit owner a
reasonable opportunity to offer comments.
(b) The management committee may limit the comments described in Subsection (3)(a)
to one specific time period during the meeting.
(4) A management committee member may not avoid or obstruct the requirements of
this section.
(5) Nothing in this section shall affect the validity or enforceability of an action of a
management committee.
(6) The provisions of this section do not apply during the period of administrative
control.
(7) The provisions of this section apply regardless of when the condominium project's
initial declaration was recorded.
Section 3. Section 
57-8a-102
 is amended to read:
57-8a-102.
Definitions.
As used in this chapter:
(1) (a) "Assessment" means a charge imposed or levied:
(i) by the association;
(ii) on or against a lot or a lot owner; and
(iii) pursuant to a governing document recorded with the county recorder.
(b) "Assessment" includes:
(i) a common expense; and
(ii) an amount assessed against a lot owner under Subsection 
57-8a-405
(7).
(2) (a) Except as provided in Subsection (2)(b), "association" means a corporation or
other legal entity, any member of which:
(i) is an owner of a residential lot located within the jurisdiction of the association, as
described in the governing documents; and
(ii) by virtue of membership or ownership of a residential lot is obligated to pay:
(A) real property taxes;
(B) insurance premiums;
(C) maintenance costs; or
(D) for improvement of real property not owned by the member.
(b) "Association" or "homeowner association" does not include an association created
under Title 57, Chapter 8, Condominium Ownership Act.
(3) "Board of directors" or "board" means the entity, regardless of name, with primary
authority to manage the affairs of the association.
(4) "Common areas" means property that the association:
(a) owns;
(b) maintains;
(c) repairs; or
(d) administers.
(5) "Common expense" means costs incurred by the association to exercise any of the
powers provided for in the association's governing documents.
(6) "Declarant":
(a) means the person who executes a declaration and submits it for recording in the
office of the recorder of the county in which the property described in the declaration is
located; and
(b) includes the person's successor and assign.
(7) (a) "Governing documents" means a written instrument by which the association
may:
(i) exercise powers; or
(ii) manage, maintain, or otherwise affect the property under the jurisdiction of the
association.
(b) "Governing documents" includes:
(i) articles of incorporation;
(ii) bylaws;
(iii) a plat;
(iv) a declaration of covenants, conditions, and restrictions; and
(v) rules of the association.
(8) "Independent third party" means a person that:
(a) is not related to the owner of the residential lot;
(b) shares no pecuniary interests with the owner of the residential lot; and
(c) purchases the residential lot in good faith and without the intent to defraud a current
or future lienholder.
(9) "Judicial foreclosure" means a foreclosure of a lot:
(a) for the nonpayment of an assessment; and
(b) (i) in the manner provided by law for the foreclosure of a mortgage on real
property; and
(ii) as provided in Part 3, Collection of Assessments.
(10) "Lease" or "leasing" means regular, exclusive occupancy of a lot:
(a) by a person or persons other than the owner; and
(b) for which the owner receives a consideration or benefit, including a fee, service,
gratuity, or emolument.
(11) "Limited common areas" means common areas described in the declaration and
allocated for the exclusive use of one or more lot owners.
(12) "Lot" means:
(a) a lot, parcel, plot, or other division of land:
(i) designated for separate ownership or occupancy; and
(ii) (A) shown on a recorded subdivision plat; or
(B) the boundaries of which are described in a recorded governing document; or
(b) (i) a unit in a condominium association if the condominium association is a part of
a development; or
(ii) a unit in a real estate cooperative if the real estate cooperative is part of a
development.
(13) (a) "Means of electronic communication" means an electronic system that allows
individuals to communicate orally in real time.
(b) "Means of electronic communication" includes:
(i) web conferencing;
(ii) video conferencing; and
(iii) telephone conferencing.
(14) "Meeting" means a gathering of a board, whether in person or by means of
electronic communication, at which the board can take binding action.
[
(13)
] 
(15)
 "Mixed-use project" means a project under this chapter that has both
residential and commercial lots in the project.
[
(14)
] 
(16)
 "Nonjudicial foreclosure" means the sale of a lot:
(a) for the nonpayment of an assessment; and
(b) (i) in the same manner as the sale of trust property under Sections 
57-1-19
 through
57-1-34
; and
(ii) as provided in Part 3, Collection of Assessments.
(17) "Period of administrative control" means the period during which the person who
filed the association's governing documents or the person's successor in interest retains
authority to:
(a) appoint or remove members of the association's board of directors; or
(b) exercise power or authority assigned to the association under the association's
governing documents.
[
(15)
] 
(18)
 "Residential lot" means a lot, the use of which is limited by law, covenant,
or otherwise to primarily residential or recreational purposes.
Section 4. Section 
57-8a-104
 is amended to read:
57-8a-104.
Limitation on requirements for amending governing documents --
Limitation on contracts.
[
(1) As used in this section, "period of administrative control" means the period during
which the person who filed the association's governing documents or a successor in interest
retains authority to:
]
[
(a) appoint or remove members of the association's board of directors; or
]
[
(b) exercise power or authority assigned to the association under its governing
documents.
]
[
(2)
] 
(1)
 (a) (i) Governing documents may not require that an amendment to the
governing documents adopted after the period of administrative control be approved by more
than 67% of the voting interests.
(ii) The vote required to adopt an amendment to governing documents may not be
greater than 67% of the voting interests, notwithstanding a provision of the governing
documents requiring a greater percentage and regardless of whether the governing documents
were adopted before, on, or after May 10, 2011.
(b) Subsection [
(2)
] 
(1)
(a) does not apply to an amendment affecting only:
(i) lot boundaries; or
(ii) members' voting rights.
[
(3)
] 
(2)
 (a) A contract for services such as garbage collection, maintenance, lawn care,
or snow removal executed on behalf of the association during a period of administrative control
is binding beyond the period of administrative control unless terminated by the board of
directors after the period of administrative control ends.
(b) Subsection [
(3)
] 
(2)
(a) does not apply to golf course and amenity management,
utilities, cable services, and other similar services that require an investment of infrastructure
or capital.
[
(4)
] 
(3)
 Voting interests under [
Subsections (2) and (3)
] 
Subsection (1)
 are calculated
in the manner required by the governing documents.
[
(5)
] 
(4)
 Nothing in this section affects any other rights reserved by the person who
filed the association's original governing documents or a successor in interest.
Section 5. Section 
57-8a-224
 is amended to read:
57-8a-224.
Responsibility for the maintenance, repair, and replacement of
common areas and lots.
(1) As used in this section:
(a) "Emergency repair" means a repair that, if not made in a timely manner, will likely
result in immediate and substantial damage to a common area or to another lot.
(b) "Reasonable notice" means:
(i) written notice that is hand delivered to the lot at least 24 hours before the proposed
entry; or
(ii) in the case of an emergency repair, notice that is reasonable under the
circumstances.
(2) Except as otherwise provided in the declaration or Part 4, Insurance:
(a) an association is responsible for the maintenance, repair, and replacement of
common areas; and
(b) a lot owner is responsible for the maintenance, repair, and replacement of the lot
owner's lot.
(3) After reasonable notice to the occupant of the lot being entered, the board may
access a lot:
(a) from time to time during reasonable hours, as necessary for the maintenance, repair,
or replacement of any of the common areas; or
(b) for making an emergency repair.
(4) (a) An association is liable to repair damage it causes to the common areas or to a
lot the association uses to access the common areas.
(b) An association shall repair damage described in Subsection (4)(a) within a time that
is reasonable under the circumstances.
(5) Subsections (2), (3), and (4) do not apply during the period of administrative
control [
as defined in Section 
57-8a-104
].
Section 6. Section 
57-8a-225
 is enacted to read:
 57-8a-225.
Board meetings -- Open meetings.
(1) (a) At least 48 hours before a meeting, the association shall give written notice of
the meeting via email to each lot owner who requests notice of a meeting, unless:
(i) notice of the meeting is included in a meeting schedule that was previously provided
to the lot owner; or
(ii) (A) the meeting is to address an emergency; and
(B) each board member receives notice of the meeting less than 48 hours before the
meeting.
(b) A notice described in Subsection (1)(a) shall:
(i) be delivered to the lot owner by email, to the email address that the lot owner
provides to the board or the association;
(ii) state the time and date of the meeting;
(iii) state the location of the meeting; and
(iv) if a board member may participate by means of electronic communication, provide
the information necessary to allow the lot owner to participate by the available means of
electronic communication.
(2) (a) Except as provided in Subsection (2)(b), a meeting shall be open to each lot
owner or the lot owner's representative if the representative is designated in writing.
(b) A board may close a meeting to:
(i) consult with an attorney for the purpose of obtaining legal advice;
(ii) discuss ongoing or potential litigation, mediation, arbitration, or administrative
proceedings;
(iii) discuss a personnel matter;
(iv) discuss a matter relating to contract negotiations, including review of a bid or
proposal;
(v) discuss a matter that involves an individual if the discussion is likely to cause the
individual undue embarrassment or violate the individual's reasonable expectation of privacy;
or
(vi) discuss a delinquent assessment or fine.
(3) (a) At each meeting, the board shall provide each lot owner a reasonable
opportunity to offer comments.
(b) The board may limit the comments described in Subsection (3)(a) to one specific
time period during the meeting.
(4) A board member may not avoid or obstruct the requirements of this section.
(5) Nothing in this section shall affect the validity or enforceability of an action of a
board.
(6) The provisions of this section do not apply during the period of administrative
control.
(7) The provisions of this section apply regardless of when the association's first
governing document was recorded.
Section 7. 
Effective date.
This bill takes effect on July 1, 2015.