Committee hears competing views on bill to change how covenants, easements and HOA rules are amended

Senate Bill 400 would establish notice and voting procedures for adopting, removing or amending easements, covenants, conditions and restrictions (CCRs) in homeowners associations and other covenanted communities. Sponsor Senator Ken Bogner said the bill is intended to provide due‑process protections and an opportunity for owners to vote on proposed changes rather than have amendments made without broad participation.

Supporters from across the state — homeowners, landowner association members and attorneys — testified that unclear notice practices and informal meetings have allowed changes to proceed without meaningful input from all owners. Attorney Stephanie Baucus said the bill lists basic notice elements and voting thresholds and could be aligned with pending House legislation adopting a uniform common interest ownership framework.

Opponents, including HOA leaders and the Community Associations Institute, said the bill may be one‑size‑fits‑all and could interfere with existing covenants, developer rights or well‑functioning associations. Zoe King, an HOA president, cautioned that different community types (small lake association versus large condo complex) have different governance needs; Andy Skinner described prolonged litigation he connected to prior related bills.

Committee members raised technical questions about voting mechanics — whether votes are counted by number of owners or by ownership shares — and about how the bill interacts with existing property and plat procedures. Senator Bogner said he is open to clarifying amendments (for example, changing "majority of owners voting" to "majority of ownership shares voting") and said the bill is intended to preserve unanimous‑consent protections where they remain part of existing CCRs.

The committee closed the hearing without executive action. The chair reminded members to submit any amendments to staff before the listed deadline.