Condo Media - March 2021 - 28

CAI LEGISLATIVE ACTION COMMITTEES UPDATE
NEW HAMPSHIRE
(NHLAC)
By Gary Daddario,
Esq., CCAL
NHLAC CHAIR

So, maybe I should just get used to being
wrong. At the end of each legislative
cycle, I predict that the legislature will be
focused on other issues than associations
next time around. However, each new
session brings multiple association-related bills. What follows is a description
and brief commentary on bills pending
at the time this issue went to press:
● House Bill 462 - This bill seeks to
add to the Condominium Act an explicit foreclosure power for associations
after obtaining court judgments in lien
enforcement cases. The procedure
would be the same as for other secured
creditor lien holders (e.g. mortgage
holders). This bill was proposed by
the NHLAC and we plan to support it.
We have tried unsuccessfully to bring
this bill into law previously, but we will
persevere until associations have the
benefit of meaningful relief in their
long-term delinquency cases.
● House Bill 466 - This bill requires
recusal from votes to award a contract
of any unit owner who has an interest
in a business that may perform contractual work for an association. It is
a repeat attempt of a previously-failed
bill. The NHLAC sees a few issues with
this bill. First, unit owners do not vote
to award association contracts. This
function is performed by the board
members. Next, an association's governing documents often include specific language allowing board members to
conduct business with the association.
Finally, when a unit owner's business
works for the association, we tend to
see good deals and great efforts provided to the community. This makes
logical sense because the unit owner/
business owner has interests in both
organizations and most people prefer
to have the respect of their neighbors.

CONDOMEDIA March 2021

● House Bill 313 - This bill would
prohibit associations from adopting or
enforcing restrictions against " ham "
radio antennae, their supporting
structures, and related equipment. It is
a repeat attempt of a previously-failed
bill. While the NHLAC sees the value in
" ham " radio operations, it objects to this
bill's prohibition against enforcement
of association restrictions. When unit
owners purchase property in associations with restrictions, they are doing so
voluntarily and with full knowledge that
they may have less freedom of use of the
premises than they might otherwise enjoy on " single-family " property. Further,
many unit owners purchase at associations because they desire the " clean "
and uniform appearance required in
such communities. It appears unfair to
all such owners to, by statute, deprive
them of their reasonable expectations
while allowing persons who purchased
restricted property to use the property
without concern for the restrictions.
● House Bill 336 - This is a repeat of a
prior attempt to create a condominium
dispute resolution board operated by
the State. While the NHLAC is not
opposed to an outlet for resolution of
disputes, we do have concerns about
a lack of procedural due process for
associations, some of the details of the
dispute resolution board's operation
and the costs to both the State and the
associations of New Hampshire.
● House Bill 358 - This is a repeat of a
previously-failed bill. It seeks to prohibit
associations from requiring more than
a simple majority vote to approve a unit
owner's solar energy system. While the
NHLAC is not opposed to solar power,
again, this bill has several problems
in the context of associations. First,
most associations already have voting
standards set at 66 percent-80 percent
when it comes to amending the governing documents. Next, unit owners at
associations most often do not own the
exterior of the buildings and do not own
(other than in an undivided interest with
all other owners) the common areas.

Even if unit owners were willing to accept the sight of solar equipment on the
premises, most associations do not have
the space to accommodate all owners
if all owners wanted to install solar
panels and the like. Other problematic
questions arise given that unit owners
do not own their roofs, any injuries
related to such equipment could create
liability issues for the association and
the existence of the equipment could
be problematic when unit owners are
moving from the complex and not taking the equipment with them.
All in all, it looks like it could be
another active year in association legislation in the Granite State. Please look for
opportunities to attend any public sessions and/or reach out to the NHLAC to
see how you can make your voice heard.

RHODE ISLAND
(RILAC)
By Janet
Aronson, Esq.
RILAC CO-CHAIR

The 2020 Rhode Island legislative year
was, like most events in 2020, derailed
by COVID-19. The 2020 year ended
with no new laws for Rhode Island condominium associations. While that can
be viewed as disappointing, it may actually be beneficial. At the outset of the
year, there was one potential piece of
legislation lingering from 2019 that had
been held for further study. Specifically,
there was a bill to establish that board
members would be personally liable if
the manager for the association did not
maintain fidelity coverage. Needless
to say, the fact that COVID-19 may
have kept this piece of legislation in the
sidelines appears to be a good thing.
NEW LEGISLATIVE SESSION
With the start of the new legislative year
on January 5, 2021, we look forward to
what may be possible. While we expect
a slow start until the pandemic is better

Condo Media - March 2021

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