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WHAT’S ON YOUR LEGISLATIVE WISH LIST?
By
Jan Bergemann
Published
April 11, 2014
CCFJ
did their homework before drafting the HOA Reform Bill in 2013.
In two confirmed surveys (2008
+ 2012)
the priorities of homeowners were clearly established before
drafting the bill. In both surveys only the vote of confirmed
respondents were counted, making these surveys superior to other
surveys (or opinion polls) conducted with programs like
“survey monkey” – where results are easy to manipulate.
The
voice of the owners made it very clear that the three top
priorities on the mind of homeowners living in
Florida
’s homeowner’s associations regulated by FS
720 were easy to pinpoint:
-
Government
oversight – adding HOAs to the jurisdiction of the “Division of
Florida
Condominiums, Timeshares, and Mobile Homes.”
-
Election
reform, using the exact language of FS
718.112(2)(d).
-
Turn-over
of developer control – Changes to the language of FS
720.307
None
of these survey questions received an approval rate of less than
84.7% -- with other words: A SUPER MAJORITY.
And
while Part I of our HOA Reform Bill passed in 2013 with
“flying colors” – Part II of our bill was this year
unceremoniously killed by Governor Scott with the help of
Speaker Weatherford. You find my opinion about Governor
Scott’s actions on our HOA
REFORM BILL WEBSITE.
But
despite the results of the surveys, some homeowners may have
other changes in mind – needed to regain the sanity in
Florida
’s homeowner’s associations.
And
before working on the draft for next year’s bill I would
really like to ask all of you: What’s on your
legislative wish list?
Did
we forget anything? Please let us know. There is unlimited
comment space below!
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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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