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WHERE WE ARE AT FOR THE MOMENT AND THANK YOU SENATOR BRADLEY
By
Eric Glazer, Esq.
Published February 28, 2022
I first want to give you some good news. On the more broad
scale, I want you to know that the listeners and viewers of this
show, along with yours truly, really count in the eyes of The
Florida Legislature.
There have been many times when I drafted legislation and I
asked each of you to call your local Senators or Members of The
House – to support a piece of legislation I drafted. Each and
every time I did, the legislation passed. Whether it was
requiring certification for HOA members, requiring the vote for
making a material alteration to take place before the alteration
was made, allowing for the installation of electric vehicle
charging stations or mandatory education for condo board
members, all of you demanded the legislation passed and each
time it did. As a group, the unit owners in Florida and the
community associations themselves can be powerful – WHEN THEY
WANT TO.
Case in point. Just last week, I asked each of you on the air
to e-mail or call Senator Jennifer Bradley and urge her to amend
her bill to include mandatory educational language for Board
members in Florida. Understand that this time last week,
mandatory education was dead again, for yet another year.
Well, the listeners of The Condo Craze and HOAs radio show
responded. They did e-mail her. Senator Anna Maria Rodriguez
reached out to her. I wrote her a lengthy letter urging that the
bill moving through The Senate be amended to include mandatory
education. And as a result, SB 1702 was amended by Senator
Bradley and mandatory education for condominium directors is
just about ready to pass The Florida Senate. Unfortunately,
mandatory education for HOA directors will still not be
required. The bottom line is when it comes to HOAs it’s a
“hands off” policy by The Florida Legislature.
There is strength in numbers and as the readers of our blogs,
the watchers and listeners of our show, and the attendees at our
seminars continue to grow------ so does our power to perhaps
finally get The Florida Legislature to hear us.
Unfortunately, it also took the Surfside tragedy for the members
of The Florida Legislature to hears us. But from now on maybe
when we warn them of impending disaster, hopefully the issue
will be taken more seriously. It’s us who have our ear to the
ground when it comes to Florida condominiums and HOAs. It’s us,
who should be listened to.
So, the condo bill making its way to the finish line in The
Florida Senate is SB 1702. Here is the link:
https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2022/1702
I’m not going to reveal what else the bill contains, because I
learned in the immortal words of Yogi Berra, “It ain’t over till
it’s over.” SB 1702 can still be amended until a companion bill
in Florida’s House is ironed out and the two bills match after
some negotiation. So, expect some give and take up until the
final moment. But at least for today, just know that you
have been heard loud and clear. At least those of you who live
in condominiums. If you believe in something with all your
heart, like I do and the listeners of this show do about
education, never give up, never back down, and always fight
fight fight until the powers that be hear you. I know I won’t.
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About
HOA & Condo Blog
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Eric Glazer graduated
from the University of Miami School of Law in 1992 after
receiving a B.A. from NYU. He has practiced community
association law for three decades and is the owner of
Glazer and Sachs, P.A. a five attorney law firm with
offices in Fort Lauderdale and Orlando.
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Eric is Board Certified by The Florida Bar in
Condominium and Planned Development Law.
Since 2009, Eric has been the host of Condo Craze
and HOAs, a weekly one hour radio show that airs at 11:00 a.m.
each Sunday on 850 WFTL.
See:
www.condocrazeandhoas.com.
Eric is the first attorney in the State of
Florida that designed a course that certifies condominium and
HOA residents as eligible to serve on a Board of Directors and
has now certified more than 20,000 Floridians all across the
state. He is certified as a Circuit Court Mediator by The
Florida Supreme Court and has mediated dozens of disputes
between associations and unit owners. Eric also devotes
significant time to advancing legislation in the best interest
of Florida community association members.
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