Condo Media - March 2021 - 29

controlled, the RILAC is considering
potential legislation that would allow
associations to accomplish votes via
mail-in ballots or electronically. Although some association condominium
documents may already provide for
voting through mail, the vast majority
require voting to take place at a meeting
of unit owners. In lieu of associations
having to go through the tedious process
of amending the condominium documents, members of the RILAC believe
that this potential legislation could be
very beneficial to allow associations to
accomplish the necessary unit owner
votes for elections, budgets, etc., without
the need for proxies and the resulting
complications and concerns that such
process entails. Overall, the use of mailin or electronic ballots would allow for
greater unit owner participation in such
votes. As even when the pandemic ends,
many unit owners who ordinarily don't
attend meetings would have an easy
avenue to participate.
The RILAC looks forward to the post
pandemic possibilities. Anyone with
suggestions concerning the laws pertaining to condominiums should feel
free to reach out the RILAC so we may
consider the same in our endeavor to
improve the operation and administration for Rhode Island associations.

CAI's 2021
Federal
Priorities
By Dawn M. Bauman,
CAE, SVP
GOVERNMENT &
PUBLIC AFFAIRS,and

C. Scott Canady
CAI'S FEDERAL
ADVOCATE

The CAI Federal Legislative Action
Committee has approved legislative
and regulatory priorities for 2021
and the 117th Congress. These 2021
federal priority issues focus on helping
community associations through the
COVID-19 pandemic and other issues

important to the day-to-day operations
of our communities.
Below is a summary of CAI's 2021
federal legislative priority issues.
COVID-19 RELIEF
CAI continues to advocate for federal resources to help community association
boards, homeowners, and business partners emerge strong from the COVID-19
pandemic. Top priorities include:
● Support for housing. CAI supports
legislation to create a Homeowner Assistance Fund to provide housing security
for community association homeowners
who are unemployed or underemployed
due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
● Limiting liability for associations
following government-issued pandemic protocols. CAI supports federal
legislation to establish a national
standard for limiting liability of community associations and other organizations that document adherence
to local and state orders and federal
guidance from the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention.
ACTIVE FEDERAL PRIORITIES
TO SUPPORT THE COMMUNITY
ASSOCIATION HOUSING MODEL
CAI advocates for federal legislation
and regulation to provide operational
certainty for community associations
and to ensure that housing opportunity
and mortgage credit are available
throughout the community association
housing model.
● Disaster assistance. CAI supports
enactment of the Disaster Assistance
Equity Act of 2019 to streamline community association access to federal
disaster assistance programs.
● Housing policy. CAI supports
federal incentives for affordable homeownership in the community association housing model and equal access
to mortgage credit for all creditworthy
consumers through federal mortgage
programs and agencies.

● Short-term rentals. CAI supports
federal legislation easing administrative
burdens of community associations
seeking to enforce community shortterm rental policies with online shortterm rental platforms.
● Fair Housing Act and assistance
animals. CAI supports current
federal guidance clarifying reasonable
accommodation requirements for
assistance animals.
MONITORING PRIORITIES TO
SUPPORT THE COMMUNITY
ASSOCIATION HOUSING MODEL
CAI will monitor legislation and regulatory actions for any impact on the community association housing model.
● Preserving association governance.
CAI supports allowing community
associations to manage association
affairs without unnecessary or unwarranted prescriptive federal intervention. CAI will monitor Congress and
federal agencies for any proposed
legislation or regulations that reduce
association governance of community
architectural standards and control of
common property.
● Community financial stability.
CAI supports public policy promoting
the financial stability of community
associations and their residents.
CAI will monitor Congress and federal
agencies for any actions that may impair community association lien priority or unreasonably restrain collection
of association assessments.
● Flood risk management. CAI supports continuation of the National Flood
Insurance Program (NFIP). CAI will
monitor NFIP reform to ensure community associations have continued access
to NFIP-backed flood insurance.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT CAI'S LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES OR TO STAY UP TO DATE ON
LEGISLATIVE ISSUES, VISIT CAIONLINE.ORG/
ADVOCACY AND CAI'S ADVOCACY BLOG,
ADVOCACY.CAIONLINE.ORG.

March 2021 CONDOMEDIA

http://www.CAIONLINE.ORG/ http://ADVOCACY.CAIONLINE.ORG

Condo Media - March 2021

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