Here in Colorado, the state legislative session is in full swing. The First Regular Session of the Seventy-third General Assembly convened on January 13, 2021. The House and Senate generally convene at 10:00 a.m. on Mondays and 9:00 a.m. on Tuesdays through Fridays. Committees may meet upon adjournment of their respective chambers, at a time set in the chamber calendar, or as scheduled by the committee chair.
When the Colorado Common Interest Ownership Act (“CCIOA”) became effective on July 1, 1992, it was the first time since 1963 (when Colorado first statutorily recognized condominium ownership in the Colorado Condominium Ownership Act) that a major piece of legislation was passed with regard to homeowner associations. CCIOA was first of its kind in Colorado when it first became effective. It speaks to a variety of issues and concerns related to living in and governing an HOA and has been amended several times since 1992 to strengthen protections for homeowners.
While there has never been any regulatory oversight of HOAs, there was a brief period of regulatory oversight of Community Association Managers and Management Companies (“CAMs”). Community Association Manager licensing and regulation existed in the form of the Community Association Manager Program, housed in the Division of Real Estate (“Division”) from July 1, 2015, to July 1, 2019. This program was similar to the other regulatory programs housed at the Division, however, rather than a commission based model (where a commission makes decisions regarding compliance with the license law) it was a Director based model (where the Director of the Division acts as the decision maker).
In May of 2019, the General Assembly passed House Bill 19-1212, which concerned the recreation of the CAM licensing program. The bill would have continued the CAM licensing program, administered by the Division, for one year. However, on May 31, 2019, Governor Polis vetoed HB19-1212, and the CAM Program expired on June 30, 2019. The Governor’s related Executive Order D-2019-006 (Directing a Stakeholder Process to Examine Community and Homeowner Associations).
Early in 2020, the legislature added language to House Bill 20-1200 (Sunset of the Homeowners' Association Information And Resource Center) which would have created a robust dispute resolution program for HOAs, administered by the Division of Real Estate. However, with a two million dollar fiscal note, that language was stripped from the bill. Currently under consideration is HB21-1229, titled “Home Owners' Associations Governance Funding Record Keeping”. If passed as introduced, this bill would require HOAs to do several things, including but not limited to provide their current governing documents and a list of the association’s current fees chargeable upon the sale of property within the association to the HOA Information and Resource Center for posting on its website; post on their own website the contact information for the HOA and its management company, if any, as well as other information currently required to be disclosed and limiting the use of proxies by requiring express delegation of a unit owner's voting rights in a signed, dated writing.
As an administrative agency, the Division has no authority to make law. While administrative rule making occurs regularly in regulatory environments, those rules must have statutory authorization. And those statutes must be passed by legislators. If you do not know who your representative and senator are in the Colorado General Assembly, the Find my Legislator tool is a great resource for determining whose constituent you are.
For more information please visit the Colorado General Assembly’s website.