Condo Media - October 2024 - 38

The Region NEW HAMPSHIRE
access to meeting minutes is already
provided for in the Condominium Act.
Further, the requirement of a monthly
open community meeting represents
an additional burden to associations
that appears to be unnecessary.
HB 1224:
This bill would have
reduced the voting
New Hampshire's
New Laws
The Legislative Year in Review
[By Gary M. Daddario, Esq., CCAL]
Here in the Granite State, we are
accustomed to a flurry of annual legislative
activity pertaining to associations.
This year was no exception. By way of
recap, I first begin with brief mentions of
bills that failed and warrant no further
discussion. Then, I provide information
pertaining to the bills that passed.
The 2024 bills that failed include:
HB 1645:
maintain a minimum of five years' worth
of financial records and to conduct an
independent audit of records and
financials every three years. The NHLAC
opposed this bill because unit owner
access to the records is already provided
for in the Condominium Act and the
further obligations placed unnecessary
burdens and expenses on associations.
You've heard of this one
before. It would have
created a state-run Condominium
Dispute Resolution Board charged with
hearing complaints against associations.
The New Hampshire Legislative Action
Committee (NHLAC) opposed this bill
for a number of reasons including
procedural and due process concerns
for the " defendant " associations.
HB 239:
This bill represents a
continuing effort that
carried over from the 2023 legislative
session. It would have required
condominium associations to provide
access to financial records within
15 days of a unit owner's request. It also
would have required associations to
38 CONDOMEDIA October 2024
HB 1306:
This bill would have
prohibited condominium
boards, absent community approval,
from imposing a special assessment
for capital improvements in an amount
beyond 5% of the year's budgeted
expenses. The NHLAC opposed this
bill because it would interfere with
association boards' abilities to raise
funds needed to properly maintain
their properties.
HB 1357:
This bill would have
changed the open
community meeting requirement from
once per quarter to once per month.
It also would have required that
minutes taken at meetings be made
available to unit owners promptly.
The NHLAC opposed this bill because
requirement such that only a majority
vote would be needed to amend bylaws,
budgets, or other governing documents
regarding the selection and siting
of a utility service or installation.
The NHLAC monitored this bill, as
it did not appear to be an issue for
the vast majority of associations.
I turn now to a discussion of the bills
that passed:
HB 1129:
This bill clarifies that
unit owners may provide
either " directed " or " undirected " proxies
to another person who will attend a
community meeting in their place.
A " directed " proxy is one that includes
the original unit owner's decisions and
votes on matters that are known to be
on the agenda for a vote at the meeting.
In other words, a " directed " proxy
functions like a ballot and the proxy
holder essentially attends the meeting
for purposes of delivery. An " undirected "
proxy is one that does not contain the
original unit owner's voting preferences
or decisions and, instead, transfers the
power to cast votes to the proxy holder
who will attend the meeting. The holder
of an " undirected " proxy attends the
meeting and takes an active role in the
voting process on behalf of the original
unit owner. The bill also reiterated that
in an association of more than 20 units,
no one unit owner may cast more than
10% of the total voting power of the
association by proxy, and that in
associations of less than 20 units, no one
unit owner may cast a majority of the
total voting power by proxy. The
NHLAC supported this bill because the
clarification regarding " directed " and
" undirected " proxies was needed, since
the Condominium Act already used
Condo Media - October 2024

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