| Call to Action SB - 1168 Thanks to your support, SB 1168 has been moved out of the Calendars Committee and is scheduled for a vote on the House Floor TOMORROW, Saturday, May 23, 2015. This is ANOTHER TCAA Call to Action on SB 1168. TCAA's Affirmative Legislation sponsored by Senator Royce West (SB 1168) and Representative Jason Villalba (Dallas) needs your immediate help. PLEASE ACT IMMEDIATELY AS TIME IS SHORT! Call your State Representative to support SB 1168. Talking points and sample email language for both bills are below. You can look up your legislators on the Texas Legislature's website at: http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/ Call to Action to *SUPPORT SB 1168 Bill descriptions and sample message below. BILL DESCRIPTION SB 1168 (TCAA affirmative legislation)Relating to the operation of certain property owners' associations Some of the bill's more important provisions are as follows: *For all mailings except collection mailings, certified mail is no longer required. Certified mail is expensive for HOAs, and rarely is accepted by the homeowner. However, the bill retains consumer protections by requiring mail to be sent in a manner that provides evidence of mailing from the postal carrier (for example certificate of mailing). *Allows members to attend open board meetings held by video conferencing technology using the same technology. *Allows more flexibility for boards to take day-to-day action outside of a meeting while clarifying that certain important votes (e.g. selling land or adopting a deed restriction) must be taken at an open meeting. * Provides privacy protection by allowing associations to adopt rules regarding use of secret ballots, and by making clear that any person who tabulates or recounts votes must not disclose to anyone how an individual voted. *Allows associations more flexibility in offering payment plans. Currently associations cannot offer payment plans for longer than 18 months; the bill removes that restriction. *Eliminates confusion and "lawyer food" by clarifying that Ch. 207 (applicable to homeowners association resale certificates) does not apply to condos. The resale certificate provisions applicable to condos are already in Chapter 82 of the Property Code. *Clarifies the manner in which votes may be cast. Absentee ballots or proxy voting must be allowed, and the association may also elect to offer other methods such as online voting. SAMPLE E-MAIL Send a brief, clear message, such as the following: (Please don't use this word for word, but simply as an example of how to express your opinion). SUBJECT: SUPPORT SB 1168 Dear Representative (Last Name): As a citizen of your district, and a resident of (Name Homeowners Association), I'm writing about the Senate Bill 1168 (by Sen. West and Rep. Villalba). I SUPPORT SB 1168 because it will ensure that homeowners have additional voter and consumer protection by clarifying the existing law. The bill will also protect the privacy of ballots I cast in HOA votes. It will allow me to participate more in my association by attending/viewing HOA board meetings via Skype or other video conferencing service. The bill enhances transparency of HOAs by requiring important HOA board votes to take place only at an open meeting. The bill allows my HOA to offer me and my fellow owners more flexible payment plans than current law allows (current law prohibits HOA payment plans of over 18 months; this bill eliminates that 18-month restriction). I support SB 1168 I respectfully request that you SUPPORT SB 1168 Thank you for protecting the homeowners of Texas. Sincerely, (Name and Address) SAMPLE PHONE CALL Normally you will be referred to the staff member who is in charge of that topic for the Representative. Make sure you let the person you talk with know that you live in their district. Tell them that you want to make sure that he or she knows you live in a homeowners association and that you would like his/her help in SUPPORTING SB 1168. This is an example of what to say: "Hi, my name is___________. I am a homeowner in the ______________ Homeowners Association. (I live in Representative ____________'s district). I am calling about Senate Bill 1168 and I want to make sure that Representative _____________ knows that I SUPPORT SB 1168. I SUPPORT SB 1168 because it will ensure that homeowners have additional voter and consumer protection and will clarifying existing law. The bill will protect the privacy of ballots I cast in HOA votes. It will allow me to participate more in my association by attending/viewing HOA board meetings via Skype or other video conferencing service. The bill enhances transparency of HOAs by requiring important HOA board votes to take place only at an open meeting. The bill gives my HOA the ability to offer more flexible payment plans than current law allows (current law prohibits HOA payment plans of over 18 months; this bill eliminates that 18-month restriction). I respectfully request that you SUPPORT SB 1168 Thank you for protecting the homeowners of Texas. PLEASE THANK THE PERSON FOR LISTENING TO YOUR CONCERNS. EACH CALL COUNTS. Thank you so much for taking time to call. Please make sure to be courteous and pleasant during the conversation. Your call does make a difference! Texas Community Association Advocates (TCAA) is the public policy voice of community associations and the professionals who serve them. We hope this update has been informative, and welcome your participation and continued support of TCAA: Judd Austin, Esq., co-chair (Henry * Austin * Oddo * Fletcher, PC, Dallas) Connie Heyer, Esq., co-chair (Niemann & Heyer LLP, Austin) Randy Allen, director (Goodwin Management, Inc., Austin) Pam Bailey, CMCA, AMS, PCAM, director (Chaparral Management Co., Houston) Sandra Denton, CMCA, LSM, PCAM, director (General Manager, Sienna Plantation, Missouri City) Marta Gore, director (community association volunteer, McKinney) Judi Phares, CMCA, PCAM, director (CMA, Inc., Dallas) Dean Riddle, Esq., director (Riddle & Williams PC, Dallas) Worth Ross, AMS, director (Worth Ross Management, Dallas) Fred Shapiro, PCAM, director (SBB Management Company, Dallas) Christi Wells, CMCA, director (Mutual of Omaha Bank, Dallas) Support TCAA Our work at the Capitol is possible only with your financial support. Have you made your 2015 contribution to TCAA? Mail to: TCAA PO Box 79751 Houston, TX 77279 Phone: (512) 314-5077 [email protected] TCAA Website |
