Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Homeowners Associations topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Senate reviews bill to require notice and voting on easement, covenant changes in HOAs
Summary
Senate Bill 400 would establish notice and voting procedures for amending covenants, conditions and restrictions and clarify processes for easements and homeowners associations; supporters said it would protect property owners' rights, opponents warned it could enable obstruction and duplicate broader reform proposals.
Senator Ken Bogner told the Senate Local Government Committee that Senate Bill 400 seeks to provide due-process protections and clearer amendment procedures for residential easements, covenants, conditions and restrictions (CCRs) and homeowners associations.
"S B 400 here does two basic things," Bogner said: require notice and voting opportunities for owners affected by proposed CCR changes and provide amendment procedures when governing documents are silent.
Supporters described concrete problems they said the bill would address: late or unclear notice of proposed changes, small groups of owners adopting rules without broad participation, and difficulty amending old covenants that require unanimous consent. Attorney Stephanie Baucus said she has seen "horror stories" of covenants changed behind owners' backs; Robin Hogan described being served suit papers without prior notice and urged that owners have the chance to meet and vote before litigation begins.
Several homeowners and landowner-association members who testified said the bill would clarify notice (some witnesses called for certified-mail requirements and a 30-day window) and prevent a small, active minority from making binding changes that affect a larger, absent ownership base. Michelle Gillespie Goldstein (remarks read into the record) described a Flathead-area easement used by about 50 properties where proposed changes were communicated inconsistently, she said, and recommended clearer notice and participation rules.
Opponents said the bill could have unintended consequences for small associations and developers. Zoe King, president of a small HOA on Hauser Lake, urged caution and said one-size legislative fixes do not suit all community types. Andy Skinner said a protracted neighbors' dispute had already cost years in court and voiced concern that the bill's objection provisions would allow a single owner to block changes.
Dawn Baumann of Community Associations Institute urged the committee to consider a broader statutory reform modeled on the Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act (House Bill 619 referenced in testimony) rather than a narrower measure, saying a comprehensive approach would better address governance, budgets and due process.
Senator Bogner closed by noting the bill's intent is to provide notice and voting opportunity and said he was open to clarifying language (for example, on majority thresholds or ownership shares). The hearing closed with no recorded committee action in the transcript segment.
