Committee advances bill to expand electronic voting, stops short of banning proxies for condominiums

The House Committee on Consumer Protection & Commerce advanced House Bill 850 on Thursday, a measure that clarifies and expands ways condominium owners may participate and vote in association business, including electronic voting and remote meetings.

Supporters said the bill aims to modernize condominium election rules and increase owner participation. "CAI stands in its support of HB 50 as it provides greater participation by owners and voting at annual meetings," a representative of the Community Association Institute testified. Steve Glanstein of the Hawaii State Association of Parliamentarians said the bill chiefly cleans up language around non‑in‑person meetings and makes electronic voting clearer. "The in person meeting is not really much of an issue," Glanstein said. "The second 1 is for meetings which are not held in person. We felt it was good to make the current legislation really clear about the owners are approving for, avoiding a meeting if you're skipping a meeting."

The committee also heard from condo owners who urged further changes. Greg Masekian said he supports the bill’s intent but said his association has experienced what he described as retaliatory uses of the board president’s power to call special meetings under HRS chapter 514B‑121. "One of the biggest things and problems that I see ... is an abuse of power for these meetings," Masekian said, recommending amendment to limit the president’s unilateral authority to call special meetings.

Why it matters: condominium associations cover thousands of units statewide and affect owners’ investments and property rights. Proponents argued electronic voting and remote meeting rules will increase owner participation; critics and some owners warned the bill does not fix all governance risks.

What the committee did: Members adopted the chair’s recommendation to pass HB 850 with amendments and moved it out of committee for further consideration. During decision making the committee chair called the roll; the chair and vice chair voted aye and several representatives (Ichiama, Iwamoto (with reservations), Kong, Martin and Tam) recorded affirmative votes; several members were noted as excused. The committee’s action record shows the recommendation was adopted.

Discussion vs. decision: Committee discussion focused on two threads — (1) clarifying how electronic meetings and voting would work and (2) addressing owner concerns about board officers’ authority to call special meetings. The committee did not adopt language that would eliminate proxies; witnesses and members framed proxies as long‑standing private contractual mechanisms owners may choose to use.

Next steps: HB 850 will move forward with the committee’s adopted amendments; the transcript indicates a deferred effective date in committee paperwork (the chair referenced a defective date in internal processing). Further amendment or floor action could change proxy or special‑meeting provisions.

Ending note: Testimony combined perspectives from association trade groups, a parliamentarian group and individual owners who said governance safeguards remain necessary.