SENATE 3rd Reading Unamended May 2, 2011 SENATE 2nd Reading Unamended April 29, 2011First Regular Session Sixty-eighth General Assembly STATE OF COLORADO REENGROSSED This Version Includes All Amendments Adopted in the House of Introduction LLS NO. 11-0898.01 Duane Gall SENATE BILL 11-253 SENATE SPONSORSHIP Carroll, Newell HOUSE SPONSORSHIP Williams A., Senate Committees House Committees Judiciary A BILL FOR AN ACT Concerning clarification of the requirements for registration of a unit owners' association under the "Colorado Common Interest Ownership Act". Bill Summary (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced and does not reflect any amendments that may be subsequently adopted. If this bill passes third reading in the house of introduction, a bill summary that applies to the reengrossed version of this bill will be available at http://www.leg.state.co.us/billsummaries.) Legislation adopted in 2010 requires unit owners' associations (a/k/a homeowners' associations or HOAs) to register annually with the director of the division of real estate and pay a fee to support the creation and operation of an HOA information and resource center. The bill amends the registration provisions by: Removing a citation to a specific statute under which most, but not all, HOAs are organized, effectively closing a potential loophole; Limiting the information that an HOA must provide to a specific list of items, including the official name of the HOA and the name and contact information for the HOA's managing agent; Clarifying that an HOA that fails to register will have its right to pursue legal remedies suspended, without prejudice, and that upon valid registration it will not have permanently lost its rights or otherwise been penalized for the gap in registration; Clarifying the means by which an HOA can prove that it is registered; Specifying that a registration may not be invalidated solely as a result of a technical or typographical error; and Codifying the effective date of the registration requirement. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Colorado: SECTION 1. 38-33.3-401, Colorado Revised Statutes, is amended to read: 38-33.3-401. Registration - annual fees. (1) Effective January 1, 2011, every unit owners' association organized under section 38-33.3-301 shall register annually with the director of the division of real estate, in the form and manner specified by the director. (2) (a) Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (b) of this subsection (2), the annual registration shall be accompanied by a fee in the amount set by the director in accordance with section 12-61-111.5, C.R.S., and shall include the following information, required to be disclosed under section 38-33.3-209.4 (1). The information shall be updated within ninety days of after any change: in accordance with section 38-33.3-209.4 (1). (I) The name of the association, as shown in the records of the Colorado secretary of state; (II) The name of the association's management company, managing agent, or designated agent, which may be the association's registered agent, as shown in the records of the Colorado secretary of state, or any other agent designated by the executive board for purposes of registration under this section; and (III) A valid address and telephone number for the association or its management company, managing agent, or designated agent. (b) A unit owners' association shall be is exempt from the fee, but not from the registration requirement, if the association: (I) Has annual revenues of five thousand dollars or less; or (II) Is not authorized to make assessments and does not have any revenue. (3) A registration shall be is valid for one year. The right of an association that fails to register, or whose annual registration has expired, is ineligible to impose or enforce a lien for assessments under section 38-33.3-316 or to pursue any action or employ any enforcement mechanism otherwise available to it under section 38-33.3-123 is suspended until it the association is again validly registered pursuant to this section. A lien for assessments previously filed during a period in which the association was validly registered or before registration was required pursuant to this section shall is not be extinguished by a lapse in the association's registration, but any pending enforcement proceedings related to such lien shall be suspended, and any applicable time limits tolled, until the association is again validly registered pursuant to this section. An association's registration in compliance with this section revives any previously suspended rights without penalty to the association. (4) (a) A registration is valid upon acceptance by the division of real estate of the information required by paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of this section and the payment of any applicable fees. (b) An association's registration number, and an electronic or paper confirmation issued by the division of real estate, are prima facie proof of valid registration. (c) Administratively final determinations by the director of the division of real estate concerning the validity or timeliness of registrations under this section are subject to judicial review pursuant to section 24-4-106 (11), C.R.S.; except that the court shall not find a registration invalid due solely to technical or typographical errors. SECTION 2. 38-33.3-117 (1.5) (l) and (1.5) (m), Colorado Revised Statutes, are amended, and the said 38-33.3-117 (1.5) is further amended BY THE ADDITION OF A NEW PARAGRAPH, to read: 38-33.3-117. Applicability to preexisting common interest communities. (1.5) Except as provided in section 38-33.3-119, the following sections shall apply to all common interest communities created within this state before July 1, 1992, with respect to events and circumstances occurring on or after January 1, 2006: (l) 38-33.3-315 (7); and (m) 38-33.3-317; and (n) 38-33.3-401. SECTION 3. Safety clause. The general assembly hereby finds, determines, and declares that this act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, and safety.