Revision: March 24, 2009, midnight
2009 SESSION
05/04
HOUSE BILL 376
AN ACT relative to condominium governance.
SPONSORS: Rep. Hinkle, Hills 19; Rep. P. Preston, Graf 8
COMMITTEE: Commerce and Consumer Affairs
This bill requires a condominium association to follow certain procedures in holding meetings of the association, adopting the annual budget, filling vacancies on the board, and amending condominium by-laws.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
09-0632
05/04
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Nine
AN ACT relative to condominium governance.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 New Paragraphs; Content of Bylaws; Budget; Amendments. Amend RSA 356-B:35 by inserting after paragraph IV the following new paragraphs:
V. The bylaws shall provide that the board of directors shall make a copy of the preliminary budget for the coming fiscal year available to each unit owner, at no cost to the unit owner, at least 15 days in advance of the annual meeting of the unit owners association. The budget shall be in a reasonably itemized form which sets forth the amount of the common expenses payable by the owner. This preliminary budget is for discussion purposes only. The final budget shall be prepared by the incoming board of directors and made available to each unit owner at least 15 days prior to the beginning of the new fiscal year. Any budget revised by the board of directors during the fiscal year shall be made available to the unit owners within 15 days of its adoption.
VI. Amendments to the bylaws may be proposed by any unit owner or member of the board of directors, provided that a copy of the amendment be made available to each unit owner at the beginning of the annual meeting or at the beginning of a special meeting called for that purpose. The bylaws may be amended by a majority vote of the unite owners’ association members in attendance at the annual meeting.
2 Meetings of the Condominium Association. Amend RSA 356-B:37 to read as follows:
356-B:37 Meetings.
I. Meetings of the unit owners’ association shall be held in accordance with the provisions of the condominium instruments at least once each year after the formation of said association. The bylaws shall specify an officer who shall, at least 21 days in advance of any annual or regularly scheduled meeting, and at least 7 days in advance of any other meeting, send to each unit owner notice of the time, place, and purpose or purposes of such meeting. Such notice shall be sent by first class United States mail to all unit owners of record at the address of their respective units and to such other addresses as any of them may have designated to such officer. The notice of the annual or special meeting may be sent electronically to unit owners who have authorized such electronic communication in lieu of the United States mail. At least 14 days in advance of any other meeting of the association or board of directors, an officer of the association shall post notice of the meeting in the manner and location to be specified in the condominium bylaws. The secretary or other duly authorized officer of the unit owners’ association, who shall also be a member of the board of directors of the unit owners’ association, shall prepare an affidavit which shall be accompanied by a list of the addresses of all unit owners currently on file with the association and shall attest that notice of the association meeting was mailed to all unit owners on that list by first class mail or electronically. A copy of the affidavit and mailing list shall be available at the noticed meeting for inspection by all owners then in attendance and shall be retained with the minutes of that meeting. The affidavit required in this section shall be available for inspection by unit owners for at least 3 years after the date of the subject meeting.
II.(a) The order of business at the annual meeting of the unit owners association shall be as follows:
(1) Roll call.
(2) Presentation of proof of notice of meeting.
(3) Reading of minutes of preceding meeting.
(4) Reports of officers.
(5) Presentation of preliminary budget for the coming fiscal year for, discussion purposes only.
(6) Reports of committees if appropriate.
(7) Election of directors whose terms are due to expire or who have resigned from the board within 30 days prior to the annual meeting.
(8) Unfinished business.
(9) New business.
(b) Any of the above agenda items may be waived by a vote of the unit owners present.
III. All meetings of the board of directors shall be open to all unit owners, except that the board may exclude or restrict attendance at those meetings, or portions of meetings, dealing with:
(a) Any matter, the disclosure of which would constitute an unwarranted invasion of individual privacy.
(b) Any matter involving discipline or dismissal of a specific officer of the association.
(c) Matters which, if discussed in public, would likely affect adversely the reputation of any unit owner, unless such person requests an open meeting. This exemption shall extend to any lien on a unit owners property, or any application for assistance or waiver of a fee, fine, or other levy, if based on inability to pay or poverty of the applicant. The board of directors may adopt rules regarding the conduct of unit owners in attendance at board meetings.
IV. The condominium association shall post the minutes of board meetings in a location accessible to unit owners, and shall make copies of the minutes available upon request of the unit owners, within 14 days of the date such minutes are approved by the board or 45 days of the board meeting, whichever occurs first. The unit owner shall be responsible for any copying costs, except that if the unit owner elects to receive the copy electronically, there shall be no charge to the unit owner.
V. In this chapter, a “meeting” means the convening of a quorum of the board of directors or unit owners association for the purpose of discussing or acting upon a matter or matters over which the unit owners association or board has supervision, control, or authority. A chance, social, or other encounter not convened for the purpose of acting upon such matters shall not constitute a meeting if such encounter involves only the exchange of information and no decisions are made regarding such matters.
3 New Section; Election of the Board of Directors. Amend RSA 356-B by inserting after section 37 the following new section:
356-B:37-a Election of the Board of Directors.
I. Nominations for the board of directors may be made by a nominating committee or by any unit owner from the floor at the annual meeting of the unit owners association or at any special meeting held for that purpose.
II. Vacancies in the board of directors caused by any reason other than removal of a director by a vote of the unit owners or the expiration of a normal term of office shall be filled by a vote of the majority of the remaining directors at a special meeting of the board of directors held for that purpose promptly after the occurrence of any such vacancy. Notice of such a meeting shall be sent to each unit owner designating the purpose and location of the meeting at least 14 days prior to the meeting. Any vacancy occurring within 30 days of the annual unit association meeting shall be filled by a vote of the unit owners at such meeting. Each person so elected shall be a director for the remainder of the term of any director so replaced.
III. Nothing in this section shall affect the right of the declarant to appoint or remove officers of the unit owners association or its board of directors pursuant to the terms of the condominium instruments as provided in RSA 356-B:36.
4 Applicability. On or before January 1, 2011, each condominium association in this state shall amend its bylaws so as to conform to the requirements of sections 1-3 of this act.
5 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2010.