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WHAT’S A QUORUM?
By
Jan Bergemann
Published
October 7, 2016
According to WIKIPEDIA it’s “A
quorum is the minimum number of members of a deliberative
assembly (a body that uses parliamentary procedure, such as a
legislature) necessary to conduct the business of that group.”
Sounds simple – and many folks here in Florida think so – but in
all reality is far from simple. It can be really tricky. Many
lawsuits and arbitrations have been fought over the
interpretation of the number required to create a quorum.
Our Florida legislature hasn’t made it any
easier for owners of property in community associations to
determine how many members have to be present in order to
establish the quorum as required by statutes and governing
documents. The wording in the statutes differs from condo to HOA,
and when the governing documents come into play we see often
more confusion than clear understanding.
CONDO FS 718.112(2)(b)
(b) Quorum; voting
requirements; proxies.--
1.
Unless a lower number is provided in the bylaws, the percentage
of voting interests required to constitute a quorum at a meeting
of the members is a majority of the voting interests. Unless
otherwise provided in this chapter or in the declaration,
articles of incorporation, or bylaws, and except as provided in
subparagraph (d)4., decisions shall be made by a majority of the
voting interests represented at a meeting at which a quorum is
present.
HOA FS 720.303(1)(a)
Unless a lower number is provided in the bylaws, the percentage
of voting interests required to constitute a quorum at a meeting
of the members shall be 30 percent of the total voting
interests. Unless otherwise provided in this chapter or in the
articles of incorporation or bylaws, decisions that require a
vote of the members must be made by the concurrence of at least
a majority of the voting interests present, in person or by
proxy, at a meeting at which a quorum has been attained.
And then add the wording of the governing
documents trying to tell you how many board members your
association should have. More riddles to be solved!
Every association is more or less different –
and needs a different approach. Still considering establishing a
quorum easy as One-Two-Three?
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Jan Bergemann is president of Cyber Citizens For Justice,
Florida
's largest state-wide property owners' advocacy group.
CCFJ works on legislation to help owners living in
community
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associations. He moved to
Florida
in 1995 - hoping to retire. He moved into a HOA, where the
developer cheated the homeowners and used the association dues
for his own purposes. End of retirement!
CCFJ was born in the year 2000, when some owners met in
Tallahassee
- finding out that power is only in numbers. Bergemann was a
member of Governor Jeb Bush's HOA Task force in 2003/2004.
The organization has two websites to inform interested
Florida
homeowners and condo owners:
News Website: http://www.ccfj.net/.
Educational Website: http://www.ccfjfoundation.net/.
We think that only owners can really represent owners, since all
service providers surely have a different interest! We are
trying to create owner-friendly laws, but the best laws are
useless without enforcement. And enforcement is totally lacking
in
Florida
!
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