TAKE ACTION: GUARD YOUR VOTING RIGHTS — AND YOUR WALLET! – Center for California Homeowner Association Law

Thinking of recalling your board or challenging the last election in small claims court?

You won’t be able to do either one if AB2159 becomes law. This bill is ON THE ASSEMBLY FLOOR FOR A VOTE RIGHT NOW BY ALL 80 MEMBERS – please TAKE ACTION  and phone your Assembly Member to stop it!

AB2159 is the bill that lets California associations use email and the HOA’s website to vote for board directors.  VOTING BY EMAIL AND WEBSITES LEAVES NO PAPER TRAIL OF SIGNED ENVELOPES AND BALLOTS THAT HOMEOWNERS CAN COLLECT AS EVIDENCE TO SHOW THE COURT IN ORDER TO CHALLENGE AN ELECTION OR MOUNT A RECALL.

Without envelopes, proxies, and ballots, there is nothing for homeowners to “witness” in a tabulation. Nor can quorum be established under the laws now governing elections.

Phone your state Assembly representative IN SACRAMENTO AND URGE A NO VOTE ON AB2159. (HOW do you do this? Directions are below.)

Ditto for SB900.

This is the legislation that will make homeowners responsible to “maintain, repair, and replace” ALL utility lines supplying gas, electrical, water, and heat to the subdivision when an “interruption in service” occurs in a common area. [What’s an “interruption in service”? Bill doesn’t say.]

CCHAL readers will remember our NewsBrief describing what triggered SB900: the Orange County homeowners who got socked with a $4800 emergency assessment – due in 30 days – to pay off a $1 million dollar repair bill for broken gas lines. [See the CCHAL Facebook page for the facts and the news story about the homeowners.)

SB900 will make this “solution” permanent: instead of making the UTILITY COMPANIES fix their own lines (which is what typical CC&Rs require), HOMEOWNERS are going to get stuck with

the LEGAL duty to fix utility lines,
the repair bills – not to mention
the liability if the repairs aren’t done right.

This legislation too is on the Senate floor for a vote. PHONE YOUR SENATOR IN SACRAMENTO AND URGE HIM/HER TO VOTE NO ON SB900.

Don’t know who your Assembly Member and Senator are in Sacramento? Go here on the CCHAL website to find out: https://findyourrep.legislature.ca.gov/

PHONE – DON’T EMAIL –

YOUR ASSEMBLY MEMBER IN SACRAMENTO URGE ‘NO!’ ON AB2159 AND
YOUR SENATOR IN SACRAMENTO TO URGE ‘NO!’ ON SB900.
IDENTIFY YOURSELF AS A HOMEOWNER IN A CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION. IF THE RECEPTIONIST SAYS S/HE CAN’T TAKE YOUR VOTE “BECAUSE YOU’RE NOT IN THE LAWMAKER’S DISTRICT,” EXPLAIN THAT YOU ARE CALLING ABOUT A STATEWIDE BILL AFFECTING YOUR VOTING RIGHTS (AB2159) – AND YOUR MONEY (SB900) — AND YOU WANT YOUR VOTE RECORDED –
and THANK whoever answers the phone.

Please email CCHAL at infoi@calhomelaw.org to let us know that you phoned and

THANKS FOR TAKING ACTION! PROTECT YOUR VOTING RIGHTS AND YOUR WALLET!

Do forward this NewsBrief to your Facebook, Twitter, and other social media platforms

Questions/comments? Email us at info@calhomelaw.org

Help support the work of the Center for HOA Law (CCHAL) by making a donation here: https://calhomelaw.org/