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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to residential association board of 2
directors; amending s. 718.111, F.S.; conforming 3
provisions to changes made by the act; amending ss. 4
718.112, 719.106, and 720.3033, F.S.; revising 5
certification and education requirements for board 6
directors of residential condominium associations, 7
cooperative associations, and homeowners' 8
associations, respectively; conforming provisions to 9
changes made by the act; providing an effective date. 10
11
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 12
13
Section 1. Paragraph (g) of subsection (12) of section 14
718.111, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 15
718.111 The association. — 16
(12) OFFICIAL RECORD S.— 17
(g)1. By January 1, 2019, an association managing a 18
condominium with 150 or more units which does not contain 19
timeshare units shall post digital copies of the documents 20
specified in subparagraph 2. on its website or make such 21
documents available thro ugh an application that can be 22
downloaded on a mobile device. 23
a. The association's website or application must be: 24
(I) An independent website, application, or web portal 25
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wholly owned and operated by the association; or 26
(II) A website, application, or web portal operated by a 27
third-party provider with whom the association owns, leases, 28
rents, or otherwise obtains the right to operate a web page, 29
subpage, web portal, collection of subpages or web portals, or 30
an application which is dedicated to the asso ciation's 31
activities and on which required notices, records, and documents 32
may be posted or made available by the association. 33
b. The association's website or application must be 34
accessible through the Internet and must contain a subpage, web 35
portal, or other protected electronic location that is 36
inaccessible to the general public and accessible only to unit 37
owners and employees of the association. 38
c. Upon a unit owner's written request, the association 39
must provide the unit owner with a username and pa ssword and 40
access to the protected sections of the association's website or 41
application which contain any notices, records, or documents 42
that must be electronically provided. 43
2. A current copy of the following documents must be 44
posted in digital format o n the association's website or 45
application: 46
a. The recorded declaration of condominium of each 47
condominium operated by the association and each amendment to 48
each declaration. 49
b. The recorded bylaws of the association and each 50
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amendment to the bylaws. 51
c. The articles of incorporation of the association, or 52
other documents creating the association, and each amendment to 53
the articles of incorporation or other documents. The copy 54
posted pursuant to this sub -subparagraph must be a copy of the 55
articles of incorporation filed with the Department of State. 56
d. The rules of the association. 57
e. A list of all executory contracts or documents to which 58
the association is a party or under which the association or the 59
unit owners have an obligation or responsibili ty and, after 60
bidding for the related materials, equipment, or services has 61
closed, a list of bids received by the association within the 62
past year. Summaries of bids for materials, equipment, or 63
services which exceed $500 must be maintained on the website or 64
application for 1 year. In lieu of summaries, complete copies of 65
the bids may be posted. 66
f. The annual budget required by s. 718.112(2)(f) and any 67
proposed budget to be considered at the annual meeting. 68
g. The financial report required by subsectio n (13) and 69
any monthly income or expense statement to be considered at a 70
meeting. 71
h. The affidavit and educational certificate certification 72
of each director required by s. 718.112(2)(d)4.b. 73
i. All contracts or transactions between the association 74
and any director, officer, corporation, firm, or association 75
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that is not an affiliated condominium association or any other 76
entity in which an association director is also a director or 77
officer and financially interested. 78
j. Any contract or document regardin g a conflict of 79
interest or possible conflict of interest as provided in ss. 80
468.436(2)(b)6. and 718.3027(3). 81
k. The notice of any unit owner meeting and the agenda for 82
the meeting, as required by s. 718.112(2)(d)3., no later than 14 83
days before the meet ing. The notice must be posted in plain view 84
on the front page of the website or application, or on a 85
separate subpage of the website or application labeled "Notices" 86
which is conspicuously visible and linked from the front page. 87
The association must also post on its website or application any 88
document to be considered and voted on by the owners during the 89
meeting or any document listed on the agenda at least 7 days 90
before the meeting at which the document or the information 91
within the document will be cons idered. 92
l. Notice of any board meeting, the agenda, and any other 93
document required for the meeting as required by s. 94
718.112(2)(c), which must be posted no later than the date 95
required for notice under s. 718.112(2)(c). 96
3. The association shall ensure that the information and 97
records described in paragraph (c), which are not allowed to be 98
accessible to unit owners, are not posted on the association's 99
website or application. If protected information or information 100
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restricted from being accessible to uni t owners is included in 101
documents that are required to be posted on the association's 102
website or application, the association shall ensure the 103
information is redacted before posting the documents. 104
Notwithstanding the foregoing, the association or its agent is 105
not liable for disclosing information that is protected or 106
restricted under this paragraph unless such disclosure was made 107
with a knowing or intentional disregard of the protected or 108
restricted nature of such information. 109
4. The failure of the associ ation to post information 110
required under subparagraph 2. is not in and of itself 111
sufficient to invalidate any action or decision of the 112
association's board or its committees. 113
Section 2. Paragraph (d) of subsection (2) of section 114
718.112, Florida Statut es, is amended to read: 115
718.112 Bylaws.— 116
(2) REQUIRED PROVISIONS. —The bylaws shall provide for the 117
following and, if they do not do so, shall be deemed to include 118
the following: 119
(d) Unit owner meetings. — 120
1. An annual meeting of the unit owners must be held at 121
the location provided in the association bylaws and, if the 122
bylaws are silent as to the location, the meeting must be held 123
within 45 miles of the condominium property. However, such 124
distance requirement does not apply to an association governin g 125
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a timeshare condominium. 126
2. Unless the bylaws provide otherwise, a vacancy on the 127
board caused by the expiration of a director's term must be 128
filled by electing a new board member, and the election must be 129
by secret ballot. An election is not required if the number of 130
vacancies equals or exceeds the number of candidates. For 131
purposes of this paragraph, the term "candidate" means an 132
eligible person who has timely submitted the written notice, as 133
described in sub-subparagraph 4.a., of his or her intention to 134
become a candidate. Except in a timeshare or nonresidential 135
condominium, or if the staggered term of a board member does not 136
expire until a later annual meeting, or if all members' terms 137
would otherwise expire but there are no candidates, the terms of 138
all board members expire at the annual meeting, and such members 139
may stand for reelection unless prohibited by the bylaws. Board 140
members may serve terms longer than 1 year if permitted by the 141
bylaws or articles of incorporation. A board member may not 142
serve more than 8 consecutive years unless approved by an 143
affirmative vote of unit owners representing two -thirds of all 144
votes cast in the election or unless there are not enough 145
eligible candidates to fill the vacancies on the board at the 146
time of the vacancy. Only board service that occurs on or after 147
July 1, 2018, may be used when calculating a board member's term 148
limit. If the number of board members whose terms expire at the 149
annual meeting equals or exceeds the number of candidates, the 150
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candidates become members of the board effective upon the 151
adjournment of the annual meeting. Unless the bylaws provide 152
otherwise, any remaining vacancies shall be filled by the 153
affirmative vote of the majority of the directors making up the 154
newly constituted board even if th e directors constitute less 155
than a quorum or there is only one director. In a residential 156
condominium association of more than 10 units or in a 157
residential condominium association that does not include 158
timeshare units or timeshare interests, co -owners of a unit may 159
not serve as members of the board of directors at the same time 160
unless they own more than one unit or unless there are not 161
enough eligible candidates to fill the vacancies on the board at 162
the time of the vacancy. A unit owner in a residential 163
condominium desiring to be a candidate for board membership must 164
comply with sub-subparagraph 4.a. and must be eligible to be a 165
candidate to serve on the board of directors at the time of the 166
deadline for submitting a notice of intent to run in order to 167
have his or her name listed as a proper candidate on the ballot 168
or to serve on the board. A person who has been suspended or 169
removed by the division under this chapter, or who is delinquent 170
in the payment of any assessment due to the association, is not 171
eligible to be a candidate for board membership and may not be 172
listed on the ballot. For purposes of this paragraph, a person 173
is delinquent if a payment is not made by the due date as 174
specifically identified in the declaration of condominium, 175
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bylaws, or articles of incorporation. If a due date is not 176
specifically identified in the declaration of condominium, 177
bylaws, or articles of incorporation, the due date is the first 178
day of the assessment period. A person who has been convicted of 179
any felony in this state or i n a United States District or 180
Territorial Court, or who has been convicted of any offense in 181
another jurisdiction which would be considered a felony if 182
committed in this state, is not eligible for board membership 183
unless such felon's civil rights have been restored for at least 184
5 years as of the date such person seeks election to the board. 185
The validity of an action by the board is not affected if it is 186
later determined that a board member is ineligible for board 187
membership due to having been convicted of a felony. This 188
subparagraph does not limit the term of a member of the board of 189
a nonresidential or timeshare condominium. 190
3. The bylaws must provide the method of calling meetings 191
of unit owners, including annual meetings. Written notice of an 192
annual meeting must include an agenda; be mailed, hand 193
delivered, or electronically transmitted to each unit owner at 194
least 14 days before the annual meeting; and be posted in a 195
conspicuous place on the condominium property or association 196
property at least 14 contin uous days before the annual meeting. 197
Written notice of a meeting other than an annual meeting must 198
include an agenda; be mailed, hand delivered, or electronically 199
transmitted to each unit owner; and be posted in a conspicuous 200
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place on the condominium prope rty or association property within 201
the timeframe specified in the bylaws. If the bylaws do not 202
specify a timeframe for written notice of a meeting other than 203
an annual meeting, notice must be provided at least 14 204
continuous days before the meeting. Upon no tice to the unit 205
owners, the board shall, by duly adopted rule, designate a 206
specific location on the condominium property or association 207
property where all notices of unit owner meetings must be 208
posted. This requirement does not apply if there is no 209
condominium property for posting notices. In lieu of, or in 210
addition to, the physical posting of meeting notices, the 211
association may, by reasonable rule, adopt a procedure for 212
conspicuously posting and repeatedly broadcasting the notice and 213
the agenda on a clos ed-circuit cable television system serving 214
the condominium association. However, if broadcast notice is 215
used in lieu of a notice posted physically on the condominium 216
property, the notice and agenda must be broadcast at least four 217
times every broadcast hour of each day that a posted notice is 218
otherwise required under this section. If broadcast notice is 219
provided, the notice and agenda must be broadcast in a manner 220
and for a sufficient continuous length of time so as to allow an 221
average reader to observe the notice and read and comprehend the 222
entire content of the notice and the agenda. In addition to any 223
of the authorized means of providing notice of a meeting of the 224
board, the association may, by rule, adopt a procedure for 225
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conspicuously posting the meeting notice and the agenda on a 226
website serving the condominium association for at least the 227
minimum period of time for which a notice of a meeting is also 228
required to be physically posted on the condominium property. 229
Any rule adopted shall, in addition to othe r matters, include a 230
requirement that the association send an electronic notice in 231
the same manner as a notice for a meeting of the members, which 232
must include a hyperlink to the website where the notice is 233
posted, to unit owners whose e -mail addresses are included in 234
the association's official records. Unless a unit owner waives 235
in writing the right to receive notice of the annual meeting, 236
such notice must be hand delivered, mailed, or electronically 237
transmitted to each unit owner. Notice for meetings and notice 238
for all other purposes must be mailed to each unit owner at the 239
address last furnished to the association by the unit owner, or 240
hand delivered to each unit owner. However, if a unit is owned 241
by more than one person, the association must provide noti ce to 242
the address that the developer identifies for that purpose and 243
thereafter as one or more of the owners of the unit advise the 244
association in writing, or if no address is given or the owners 245
of the unit do not agree, to the address provided on the dee d of 246
record. An officer of the association, or the manager or other 247
person providing notice of the association meeting, must provide 248
an affidavit or United States Postal Service certificate of 249
mailing, to be included in the official records of the 250
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association affirming that the notice was mailed or hand 251
delivered in accordance with this provision. 252
4. The members of the board of a residential condominium 253
shall be elected by written ballot or voting machine. Proxies 254
may not be used in electing the board in general elections or 255
elections to fill vacancies caused by recall, resignation, or 256
otherwise, unless otherwise provided in this chapter. This 257
subparagraph does not apply to an association governing a 258
timeshare condominium. 259
a. At least 60 days before a sc heduled election, the 260
association shall mail, deliver, or electronically transmit, by 261
separate association mailing or included in another association 262
mailing, delivery, or transmission, including regularly 263
published newsletters, to each unit owner entitled to a vote, a 264
first notice of the date of the election. A unit owner or other 265
eligible person desiring to be a candidate for the board must 266
give written notice of his or her intent to be a candidate to 267
the association at least 40 days before a scheduled el ection. 268
Together with the written notice and agenda as set forth in 269
subparagraph 3., the association shall mail, deliver, or 270
electronically transmit a second notice of the election to all 271
unit owners entitled to vote, together with a ballot that lists 272
all candidates not less than 14 days or more than 34 days before 273
the date of the election. Upon request of a candidate, an 274
information sheet, no larger than 8 1/2 inches by 11 inches, 275
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which must be furnished by the candidate at least 35 days before 276
the election, must be included with the mailing, delivery, or 277
transmission of the ballot, with the costs of mailing, delivery, 278
or electronic transmission and copying to be borne by the 279
association. The association is not liable for the contents of 280
the information sheets prepared by the candidates. In order to 281
reduce costs, the association may print or duplicate the 282
information sheets on both sides of the paper. The division 283
shall by rule establish voting procedures consistent with this 284
sub-subparagraph, including rule s establishing procedures for 285
giving notice by electronic transmission and rules providing for 286
the secrecy of ballots. Elections shall be decided by a 287
plurality of ballots cast. There is no quorum requirement; 288
however, at least 20 percent of the eligible v oters must cast a 289
ballot in order to have a valid election. A unit owner may not 290
authorize any other person to vote his or her ballot, and any 291
ballots improperly cast are invalid. A unit owner who violates 292
this provision may be fined by the association in accordance 293
with s. 718.303. A unit owner who needs assistance in casting 294
the ballot for the reasons stated in s. 101.051 may obtain such 295
assistance. The regular election must occur on the date of the 296
annual meeting. Notwithstanding this sub -subparagraph, an 297
election is not required unless more candidates file notices of 298
intent to run or are nominated than board vacancies exist. 299
b. Within 90 days after being elected or appointed to the 300
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board of an association of a residential condominium, each newly 301
elected or appointed director shall do both of the following: 302
(I) Certify by affidavit in writing to the secretary of 303
the association that he or she has read the association's 304
declaration of condominium, articles of incorporation, bylaws, 305
and current written p olicies; that he or she will work to uphold 306
such documents and policies to the best of his or her ability; 307
and that he or she will faithfully discharge his or her 308
fiduciary responsibility to the association's members. In lieu 309
of this written certification, within 90 days after being 310
elected or appointed to the board, the newly elected or 311
appointed director may 312
(II) Submit to the secretary of the association a 313
certificate of having satisfactorily completed the educational 314
curriculum administered by a divis ion-approved condominium 315
education provider within 1 year before or 90 days after the 316
date of election or appointment. 317
318
The affidavit and written certification or educational 319
certificate are is valid and do does not have to be resubmitted 320
as long as the director serves on the board without 321
interruption. A director of an association of a residential 322
condominium who fails to timely file the affidavit and written 323
certification or educational certificate is suspended from 324
service on the board until he or she co mplies with this sub -325
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subparagraph. The board may temporarily fill the vacancy during 326
the period of suspension. The secretary shall cause the 327
association must to retain a director's affidavit and written 328
certification or educational certificate for inspecti on by the 329
members for 5 years after a director's election or the duration 330
of the director's uninterrupted tenure, whichever is longer. 331
Failure to have such affidavit and written certification or 332
educational certificate on file does not affect the validity of 333
any board action. 334
c. Any challenge to the election process must be commenced 335
within 60 days after the election results are announced. 336
5. Any approval by unit owners called for by this chapter 337
or the applicable declaration or bylaws, including, but n ot 338
limited to, the approval requirement in s. 718.111(8), must be 339
made at a duly noticed meeting of unit owners and is subject to 340
all requirements of this chapter or the applicable condominium 341
documents relating to unit owner decisionmaking, except that 342
unit owners may take action by written agreement, without 343
meetings, on matters for which action by written agreement 344
without meetings is expressly allowed by the applicable bylaws 345
or declaration or any law that provides for such action. 346
6. Unit owners may waive notice of specific meetings if 347
allowed by the applicable bylaws or declaration or any law. 348
Notice of meetings of the board of administration, unit owner 349
meetings, except unit owner meetings called to recall board 350
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members under paragraph (j), and comm ittee meetings may be given 351
by electronic transmission to unit owners who consent to receive 352
notice by electronic transmission. A unit owner who consents to 353
receiving notices by electronic transmission is solely 354
responsible for removing or bypassing filter s that block receipt 355
of mass e-mails sent to members on behalf of the association in 356
the course of giving electronic notices. 357
7. Unit owners have the right to participate in meetings 358
of unit owners with reference to all designated agenda items. 359
However, the association may adopt reasonable rules governing 360
the frequency, duration, and manner of unit owner participation. 361
8. A unit owner may tape record or videotape a meeting of 362
the unit owners subject to reasonable rules adopted by the 363
division. 364
9. Unless otherwise provided in the bylaws, any vacancy 365
occurring on the board before the expiration of a term may be 366
filled by the affirmative vote of the majority of the remaining 367
directors, even if the remaining directors constitute less than 368
a quorum, or by the sole remaining director. In the alternative, 369
a board may hold an election to fill the vacancy, in which case 370
the election procedures must conform to sub -subparagraph 4.a. 371
unless the association governs 10 units or fewer and has opted 372
out of the statutory election process, in which case the bylaws 373
of the association control. Unless otherwise provided in the 374
bylaws, a board member appointed or elected under this section 375
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shall fill the vacancy for the unexpired term of the seat being 376
filled. Filling vacanci es created by recall is governed by 377
paragraph (j) and rules adopted by the division. 378
10. This chapter does not limit the use of general or 379
limited proxies, require the use of general or limited proxies, 380
or require the use of a written ballot or voting ma chine for any 381
agenda item or election at any meeting of a timeshare 382
condominium association or nonresidential condominium 383
association. 384
385
Notwithstanding subparagraph (b)2. and sub -subparagraph 4.a., an 386
association of 10 or fewer units may, by affirmative vo te of a 387
majority of the total voting interests, provide for different 388
voting and election procedures in its bylaws, which may be by a 389
proxy specifically delineating the different voting and election 390
procedures. The different voting and election procedures may 391
provide for elections to be conducted by limited or general 392
proxy. 393
Section 3. Paragraph (d) of subsection (1) of section 394
719.106, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 395
719.106 Bylaws; cooperative ownership. — 396
(1) MANDATORY PROVISIONS. —The bylaws or other cooperative 397
documents shall provide for the following, and if they do not, 398
they shall be deemed to include the following: 399
(d) Shareholder meetings. —There shall be an annual meeting 400
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of the shareholders. All members of the board of administration 401
shall be elected at the annual meeting unless the bylaws provide 402
for staggered election terms or for their election at another 403
meeting. Any unit owner desiring to be a candidate for board 404
membership must comply with subparagraph 1. The bylaws must 405
provide the method for calling meetings, including annual 406
meetings. Written notice, which must incorporate an 407
identification of agenda items, shall be given to each unit 408
owner at least 14 days before the annual meeting and posted in a 409
conspicuous place on the coo perative property at least 14 410
continuous days preceding the annual meeting. Upon notice to the 411
unit owners, the board must by duly adopted rule designate a 412
specific location on the cooperative property upon which all 413
notice of unit owner meetings are poste d. In lieu of or in 414
addition to the physical posting of the meeting notice, the 415
association may, by reasonable rule, adopt a procedure for 416
conspicuously posting and repeatedly broadcasting the notice and 417
the agenda on a closed -circuit cable television syst em serving 418
the cooperative association. However, if broadcast notice is 419
used in lieu of a posted notice, the notice and agenda must be 420
broadcast at least four times every broadcast hour of each day 421
that a posted notice is otherwise required under this sect ion. 422
If broadcast notice is provided, the notice and agenda must be 423
broadcast in a manner and for a sufficient continuous length of 424
time to allow an average reader to observe the notice and read 425
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and comprehend the entire content of the notice and the agend a. 426
In addition to any of the authorized means of providing notice 427
of a meeting of the shareholders, the association may, by rule, 428
adopt a procedure for conspicuously posting the meeting notice 429
and the agenda on a website serving the cooperative association 430
for at least the minimum period of time for which a notice of a 431
meeting is also required to be physically posted on the 432
cooperative property. Any rule adopted shall, in addition to 433
other matters, include a requirement that the association send 434
an electronic notice in the same manner as a notice for a 435
meeting of the members, which must include a hyperlink to the 436
website where the notice is posted, to unit owners whose e -mail 437
addresses are included in the association's official records. 438
Unless a unit owner w aives in writing the right to receive 439
notice of the annual meeting, the notice of the annual meeting 440
must be sent by mail, hand delivered, or electronically 441
transmitted to each unit owner. An officer of the association 442
must provide an affidavit or United S tates Postal Service 443
certificate of mailing, to be included in the official records 444
of the association, affirming that notices of the association 445
meeting were mailed, hand delivered, or electronically 446
transmitted, in accordance with this provision, to each unit 447
owner at the address last furnished to the association. 448
1. The board of administration shall be elected by written 449
ballot or voting machine. A proxy may not be used in electing 450
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the board of administration in general elections or elections to 451
fill vacancies caused by recall, resignation, or otherwise 452
unless otherwise provided in this chapter. 453
a. At least 60 days before a scheduled election, the 454
association shall mail, deliver, or transmit, whether by 455
separate association mailing, delivery, or elect ronic 456
transmission or included in another association mailing, 457
delivery, or electronic transmission, including regularly 458
published newsletters, to each unit owner entitled to vote, a 459
first notice of the date of the election. Any unit owner or 460
other eligible person desiring to be a candidate for the board 461
of administration must give written notice to the association at 462
least 40 days before a scheduled election. Together with the 463
written notice and agenda as set forth in this section, the 464
association shall ma il, deliver, or electronically transmit a 465
second notice of election to all unit owners entitled to vote, 466
together with a ballot that lists all candidates. Upon request 467
of a candidate, the association shall include an information 468
sheet, no larger than 8 1/2 inches by 11 inches, which must be 469
furnished by the candidate at least 35 days before the election, 470
to be included with the mailing, delivery, or electronic 471
transmission of the ballot, with the costs of mailing, delivery, 472
or transmission and copying to be borne by the association. The 473
association is not liable for the contents of the information 474
sheets provided by the candidates. In order to reduce costs, the 475
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association may print or duplicate the information sheets on 476
both sides of the paper. The division shall by rule establish 477
voting procedures consistent with this subparagraph, including 478
rules establishing procedures for giving notice by electronic 479
transmission and rules providing for the secrecy of ballots. 480
Elections shall be decided by a plurality of those ballots cast. 481
There is no quorum requirement. However, at least 20 percent of 482
the eligible voters must cast a ballot in order to have a valid 483
election. A unit owner may not permit any other person to vote 484
his or her ballot, and any such ballots impro perly cast are 485
invalid. A unit owner who needs assistance in casting the ballot 486
for the reasons stated in s. 101.051 may obtain assistance in 487
casting the ballot. Any unit owner violating this provision may 488
be fined by the association in accordance with s. 719.303. The 489
regular election must occur on the date of the annual meeting. 490
This subparagraph does not apply to timeshare cooperatives. 491
Notwithstanding this subparagraph, an election and balloting are 492
not required unless more candidates file a notice of in tent to 493
run or are nominated than vacancies exist on the board. Any 494
challenge to the election process must be commenced within 60 495
days after the election results are announced. 496
b. Within 90 days after being elected or appointed to the 497
board, each new director shall do both of the following: 498
(I) Certify by affidavit in writing to the secretary of 499
the association that he or she has read the association's 500
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bylaws, articles of incorporation, proprietary lease, and 501
current written policies; that he or she wil l work to uphold 502
such documents and policies to the best of his or her ability; 503
and that he or she will faithfully discharge his or her 504
fiduciary responsibility to the association's members. Within 90 505
days after being elected or appointed to the board, in lieu of 506
this written certification, the newly elected or appointed 507
director may 508
(II) Submit to the secretary of the association a 509
certificate of having satisfactorily completed the educational 510
curriculum administered by an education provider as approved by 511
the division pursuant to the requirements established in chapter 512
718 within 1 year before or 90 days after the date of election 513
or appointment. 514
515
The affidavit and educational certificate are is valid and do 516
does not have to be resubmitted as long as the director serves 517
on the board without interruption. A director who fails to 518
timely file the affidavit and written certification or 519
educational certificate is suspended from service on the board 520
until he or she comp lies with this sub-subparagraph. The board 521
may temporarily fill the vacancy during the period of 522
suspension. The secretary of the association must shall cause 523
the association to retain a director's affidavit and written 524
certification or educational certificate for inspection by the 525
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members for 5 years after a director's election or the duration 526
of the director's uninterrupted tenure, whichever is longer. 527
Failure to have such affidavit and written certification or 528
educational certificate on file does not aff ect the validity of 529
any board action. 530
2. Any approval by unit owners called for by this chapter, 531
or the applicable cooperative documents, must be made at a duly 532
noticed meeting of unit owners and is subject to this chapter or 533
the applicable cooperative d ocuments relating to unit owner 534
decisionmaking, except that unit owners may take action by 535
written agreement, without meetings, on matters for which action 536
by written agreement without meetings is expressly allowed by 537
the applicable cooperative documents o r law which provides for 538
the unit owner action. 539
3. Unit owners may waive notice of specific meetings if 540
allowed by the applicable cooperative documents or law. Notice 541
of meetings of the board of administration, shareholder 542
meetings, except shareholder me etings called to recall board 543
members under paragraph (f), and committee meetings may be given 544
by electronic transmission to unit owners who consent to receive 545
notice by electronic transmission. A unit owner who consents to 546
receiving notices by electronic transmission is solely 547
responsible for removing or bypassing filters that may block 548
receipt of mass emails sent to members on behalf of the 549
association in the course of giving electronic notices. 550
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4. Unit owners have the right to participate in meetings 551
of unit owners with reference to all designated agenda items. 552
However, the association may adopt reasonable rules governing 553
the frequency, duration, and manner of unit owner participation. 554
5. Any unit owner may tape record or videotape meetings of 555
the unit owners subject to reasonable rules adopted by the 556
division. 557
6. Unless otherwise provided in the bylaws, a vacancy 558
occurring on the board before the expiration of a term may be 559
filled by the affirmative vote of the majority of the remaining 560
directors, even if the remaining directors constitute less than 561
a quorum, or by the sole remaining director. In the alternative, 562
a board may hold an election to fill the vacancy, in which case 563
the election procedures must conform to the requirements of 564
subparagraph 1. unless the association has opted out of the 565
statutory election process, in which case the bylaws of the 566
association control. Unless otherwise provided in the bylaws, a 567
board member appointed or elected under this subparagraph shall 568
fill the vacancy for th e unexpired term of the seat being 569
filled. Filling vacancies created by recall is governed by 570
paragraph (f) and rules adopted by the division. 571
572
Notwithstanding subparagraphs (b)2. and (d)1., an association 573
may, by the affirmative vote of a majority of the total voting 574
interests, provide for a different voting and election procedure 575
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in its bylaws, which vote may be by a proxy specifically 576
delineating the different voting and election procedures. The 577
different voting and election procedures may provide for 578
elections to be conducted by limited or general proxy. 579
Section 4. Subsection (1) of section 720.3033, Florida 580
Statutes, is amended to read: 581
720.3033 Officers and directors. — 582
(1)(a) Within 90 days after being elected or appointed to 583
the board of a homeowners' association with at least 10 parcels , 584
each director shall do both of the following: 585
1. Certify by affidavit in writing to the secretary of the 586
association that he or she has read the association's 587
declaration of covenants, articles of incorporat ion, bylaws, and 588
current written rules and policies; that he or she will work to 589
uphold such documents and policies to the best of his or her 590
ability; and that he or she will faithfully discharge his or her 591
fiduciary responsibility to the association's mem bers. Within 90 592
days after being elected or appointed to the board, in lieu of 593
such written certification, the newly elected or appointed 594
director may 595
2. Submit to the secretary of the association a 596
certificate of having satisfactorily completed the educ ational 597
curriculum administered by a division -approved education 598
provider within 1 year before or 90 days after the date of 599
election or appointment. 600
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(b) The affidavit and written certification or educational 601
certificate are is valid and do not have to be resubmitted for 602
the uninterrupted tenure of the director on the board. A 603
director who does not timely file the affidavit and written 604
certification or educational certificate is shall be suspended 605
from the board until he or she complies with the requiremen t. 606
The board may temporarily fill the vacancy during the period of 607
suspension. 608
(c) The association must shall retain each director's 609
affidavit and written certification or educational certificate 610
for inspection by the members for 5 years after the direct or's 611
election. However, the failure to have the affidavit and written 612
certification or educational certificate on file does not affect 613
the validity of any board action. 614
Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2022. 615