ASSEMBLY, No. 5494

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

219th LEGISLATURE

 

INTRODUCED MARCH 17, 2021

 


 

Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman  ANNETTE QUIJANO

District 20 (Union)

 

 

 

 

SYNOPSIS

     Establishes penalty on planned real estate development association for failure to provide association members timely access to certain meeting minutes.

 

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

     As introduced.

  


An Act concerning association member access to executive board meeting minutes in common interest communities, and amending P.L.1993, c.30.

 

     Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

 

     1.  Section 2 of P.L.1993, c.30 (C.45:22A-44) is amended to read as follows:

     2.  a.  Subject to the master deed, declaration of covenants and restrictions or other instruments of creation, the association may do all that it is legally entitled to do under the laws applicable to its form of organization. 

     b.  The association shall exercise its powers and discharge its functions in a manner that protects and furthers the health, safety and general welfare of the residents of the community. 

     c.  The association shall provide a fair and efficient procedure for the resolution of disputes between individual unit owners and the association, and between unit owners, which shall be readily available as an alternative to litigation. 

     d.    The association may assert tort claims concerning the common elements and facilities of the development as if the claims were asserted directly by the unit owners individually. 

     e.  The Commissioner of Community Affairs shall have the authority to impose a penalty on an association for failing to make minutes of meetings available to the association members, to the extent required pursuant to subsection a. of section 4 of P.L.1993, c.30 (C.45:22A-46).  A penalty imposed by the commissioner pursuant to this subsection shall not exceed $2,000 per meeting for which the minutes were required to be taken and made available to all association members, but were not made available to one or more association members. 

(cf: P.L.1993, c.30, s.2)

 

     2.  This act shall take effect on the first day of the second month next following enactment. 

 

 

STATEMENT

 

     This bill would provide the Commissioner of Community Affairs with the authority to impose a penalty on the association of a planned real estate development for failing to make executive board meeting minutes available to the association members in compliance with the existing requirements of the 1993 supplement

to “The Planned Real Estate Development Full Disclosure Act”, P.L.1993, c.30 (C.45:22A-43 et seq.).  A penalty imposed by the commissioner pursuant to this bill would not exceed $2,000 per meeting for which the minutes were not made available to one or more association members.

     Under existing law, the association of a planned real estate development is required to make minutes of the proceedings of executive board meetings available to all association members prior to the next open meeting.  The meetings subject to this existing requirement consist of all executive board meetings required to be open to all association members, and voting-eligible tenants where applicable.  A planned real estate development is a term defined in the “The Planned Real Estate Development Full Disclosure Act,” P.L.1977, c.419 (C.45:22A-21 et seq.) to encompass communities governed by homeowners’ associations, condominiums, and cooperative communities.