Condo Media - October 2011 - 51

These and other “good governance” provisions will provide “a lot of useful guidance” for community associations, McGlauflin said. As for the priority lien, the LAC has not decided when, or if, to pursue it in the future. Committee members will decide this fall whether to try again in the next legislative session, which begins in December. But McGlauflin isn’t optimistic: “Unless we can come up with a creative way of skinning this cat, I don’t see a lot of hope for getting this measure passed.”

Rhode Island
Like its Maine counterpart, the Rhode Island LAC has been concentrating on a single bill in the current legislative session — a measure that would make it easier for association boards to approve limited common area rights for owners. The state condominium law requires unanimous approval of owners; the proposed amendment would authorize boards to approve limited common area requests as long as abutting owners did not object. The legislation made it through the Rhode Island House last year but died in the Senate — largely because of a political squabble that the bill’s supporters assumed was unrelated to the bill itself. This year, however, the bill didn’t even make it out of the House, reports Edmund Allcock, a partner in Marcus, Errico, Emmer & Brooks and co-chair of the Rhode Island LAC. The sponsor of the House bill was told “the Senate had no interest in it,” he explained, “so she didn’t push it beyond the committee level.” It turns out that some lawmakers did in fact, object to the substance of the legislation, Allcock said, because “they don’t think associations should amend the original condominium declaration unless all the owners approve the change.” Under the current framework, he noted, a board on its own authority can grant an easement to a third party to construct a cell tower on association property, “but it can’t approve a limited common element for an owner who

wants to add a deck or a garden” unless all the owners approve. “This makes no sense,” Allcock said, but it reflects a belief that owners who buy condominiums should not expect the rules to change — an old-fashioned mindset, Allcock agreed, but one that is also very difficult to change. “We may try again next year,” he said. But with the prospects for achieving a different outcome uncertain, at best, he added, “we may table the bill for a few years.” The LAC has also been tracking a bill that would prohibit the charging of transfer fees, although the legislation, as currently worded, appears to target only fees charged by developers and would not affect homeowner or condominium associations.

LAC is particularly concerned, including a bill creating an advisory commission to study the state’s condominium statute, and legislation requiring community associations to comply with the state’s open meeting law. The LAC doesn’t object to the substance of either bill, Gaines emphasized; but it is concerned, in both cases, about the way in which the measures are drafted. With the advisory commission, the problem is its “one-sided” composition, including a unit owner and an attorney “who represents owners, owner groups or ‘aggrieved’ unit owners,” but specifically excluding association board members and attorneys who represent boards or management companies. In testifying against

A Rhode Island bill died due to a prevailing belief that owners who buy condominiums should not expect the rules to change — an old-fashioned mindset.
Another measure the LAC had been monitoring, extending to owners the same 30-day post-foreclosure right of redemption that applies to lenders, “got nowhere,” Allcock reported. The LAC argued successfully that owners have multiple opportunities to cure a delinquency before the association forecloses. Giving them an additional 30 days postforeclosure wouldn’t affect the foreclosure outcome, Allcock said; it would simply “delay the process” and increase the financial strain on associations. the bill, Gaines argued that the commission should represent “all stakeholders” to ensure that its recommendations are “balanced and fair.” Housing Committee members, he said, “seemed to acknowledge our concern with the bill as drafted.” Testifying on the measure applying the state’s open meeting law to condominiums — a perennial bill that seems to surface annually— Gaines focused again on the wording, supporting the principle (that owners should be allowed to attend board meetings) but noting the need to permit executive sessions in some circumstances. The bill, as worded, would allow executive sessions for boards to discuss issues with the association’s attorney, but would not allow closed sessions for board members to discuss information communicated by the attorney among themselves. Gaines said it appears that, as in the past, the bill will not get beyond the committee. Gaines also testified on a “right-todry” measure protecting the right of condominium owners to dry their

Massachusetts
The Massachusetts LAC had a full legislative plate this year, with 48 bills on its watch list. More than half (27) have been through the hearing process, most of them heard by the Joint Housing Committee in June on the same day. Those hearings held “no surprises” and have as yet produced no action, according to LAC Chairman, Matthew Gaines, an associate with Marcus, Errico, Emmer & Brooks. He testified on several measures about which the

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Condo Media - October 2011

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Condo Media - October 2011
