Sunshine and the free flow
of information were exactly what the associations don’t want – Assemblyman Wagner
- Same self-serving HOA lobbyists and lawyers are supporting Assemblyman
Chad Mayes ram through AB- 1799
Posted By CotoBlogzz
Rancho Santa Margarita, CA – Assembly Bill 1720 by Assembly Member Donald
P. Wagner (R-Irvine) recently failed in the Housing & Community
Development Committee. The bill would have restored the intent of the Common
Interest Development Open Meeting Act and allowed homeowners to obtain
information about what their elected homeowner associations are doing.
According to a press release authored by David Scheidt, in the face of vehement and self-serving
opposition from homeowner association lobbyists and lawyers, the committee
bowed to those lobbyists. On the committee, only staunch pro-private property
rights champion Beth Gaines (R-El Dorado Hills) sided with the homeowners and
the principle of openness in government.
It appears that the same self-serving HOA lobbyists and lawyers are supporting
Assemblyman
Chad Mayes ram through AB- 1799
In the case of the Mayes' expedited AB-1799, he betrayed HOA homeowners disenfranchising thousands and giving the industry even more power to determine the outcome of elections. There is no compelling reason for such bill, other than self-serving HOA lobbyists and lawyers. Not surprising, since the visible money behind Assemblyman Mayes is coming from San Bernardino County Safety Employees and the Insurance Industry. The invisible money is of course, not visible.
But I digress - The David Scheidt's press release expands on AB-1720 and the HOA industry’s opposition.
In the case of the Mayes' expedited AB-1799, he betrayed HOA homeowners disenfranchising thousands and giving the industry even more power to determine the outcome of elections. There is no compelling reason for such bill, other than self-serving HOA lobbyists and lawyers. Not surprising, since the visible money behind Assemblyman Mayes is coming from San Bernardino County Safety Employees and the Insurance Industry. The invisible money is of course, not visible.
But I digress - The David Scheidt's press release expands on AB-1720 and the HOA industry’s opposition.
AB 1720 would have effectively overturned the 2013 case of SB
Liberty LLC v. Isla Vista Inc., which gutted the open meeting act by
eliminating the homeowners’ right to bring anyone – a friend, family member,
interpreter, or attorney – to advise or assist at a meeting of the homeowner
association board. It would have helped individuals better understand what
these quasi-public entities were doing.
“But,” said Wagner after the hearing, “sunshine and the free flow
of information were exactly what the associations don’t want. At the hearing,
one of their lobbyists even testified that the associations’ attorneys object
to having other attorneys in the room on behalf of homeowners. Of course they
do! But what a betrayal of fundamental principles of fairness for a government
committee to go along with that abuse of due process.”
“I’ve always suspected that continued secrecy was the real goal of
the opposition,” Wagner added. “It was extraordinary to hear a lobbyist
actually admit that, though.”
The opposition was so vociferous that any effort at compromise was
quashed, meaning, for example, that even a homeowner with language or physical
difficulties cannot have a representative assist in the management of their
affairs before the HOA board.
“I was surprised,” said Wagner, “that the committee would reject
the interests of our immigrant and elderly populations in favor of lobbyists
and lawyers. But it did. Based on this vote, if you are in a HOA, you are out
of luck and on your own. I really must thank my great Republican Colleague
Assembly Member Beth Gaines for her support of the people I was trying to help
and for her courageous vote for transparency in governance.”
Prior to the SB Liberty decision, decades of case
law had held consistently that Common Interest Development/homeowner association
boards were quasi-public entities, and that homeowners - who purchased the
homes and paid monthly dues – were entitled to obtain needed information from
them, without unreasonable restrictions. With that case, though, secrecy became
possible and the HOA lawyers and lobbyists have embraced it.
“In the end, this misguided opposition means a homeowner who isn’t
able to attend or understand the meeting – but nonetheless needs the
information discussed at these meetings – will be prohibited from having a
representative attend on their behalf, even if it was their son or daughter,”
said Wagner. “This bill was always about fair and equal representation, and
it’s a shame that fact wasn’t the focus of discussion at the committee. For
most people, their homes are their most significant possessions and the source
of most of their wealth. Homeowners deserve to have access to any information
that may affect their homes. Home ownership is a keystone of the American
dream. Apparently, the lawyers and lobbyists for HOAs don’t share that dream.”
Assembly
Member Wagner represents the 68th Assembly District which
includes all or part of the Orange County communities of Anaheim, Irvine, Lake
Forest, Orange, Tustin, Villa Park
and surrounding areas
and surrounding areas
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