Bill Text: HI SR17 | 2021 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Requesting The Department Of Commerce And Consumer Affairs To Convene A Task Force To Develop And Recommend Legislation Or Rules To Increase Condominium Unit Owner Access To And Representation In Real Estate Commission Hearings And Meetings.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2021-02-16 - Referred to CPN, WAM. [SR17 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2021-SR17-Introduced.html

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THE SENATE	S.R. NO.	17
THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2021
STATE OF HAWAII

SENATE RESOLUTION

 

 

requesting the department of commerce and consumer affairs to convene a task force to develop and recommend legislation or rules to increase condominium UNIT owner ACCESS TO and REPRESENTATION in real estate commission hearings and meetings.

 

 

     WHEREAS, one-third of Hawaii residents live in association-governed communities; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Real Estate Commission is responsible for administering the condominium management education fund, which includes education and research in the field of condominium management, improvement and more efficient administration of condominium associations, and the expeditious and inexpensive resolution of association-related disputes; and

 

     WHEREAS, the funds for the condominium education trust fund are contributed largely by condominium unit owners of state-registered condominiums; and

 

     WHEREAS, despite the financial contributions that condominium unit owners make to support the Real Estate Commission, they are not recognized as stakeholders by the Real Estate Commission and are thereby unable to participate in the Commission's meetings and hearings; and

 

     WHEREAS, it has been reported that the Real Estate Commission recognizes only those stakeholders with commercial interests, such as condominium managing agents, property managers, association legal counsel, and organizations that claim to represent the governing boards of associations, rather than the individual owner-members of condominium units; and

 

     WHEREAS, although the Real Estate Commission has two commissioners designated as representatives of the public, they are not accessible to condominium unit owners and owners who have attended Real Estate Commission meetings report that they have been told that they are not allowed to have direct communication with these public commissioners, but rather must address the Real Estate Commission as a whole; and

 

     WHEREAS, it is necessary to determine why condominium unit owners are not considered stakeholders by the Real Estate Commission and to determine the criteria for them to become a stakeholder in order to recognize the importance of condominium unit owners' participation in decisions that affect their residences and lives; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirty-first Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2021, that the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs is requested to convene a task force to determine the reason that condominium unit owners are not considered to be stakeholders by the Real Estate Commission and to recommend laws and regulations providing for the representation and involvement of condominium unit owners in Real Estate Commission meetings and hearings; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force is requested to include the following:

 

     (1)  The Chairperson of the Real Estate Commission, or the Chairperson's designee, who is additionally requested to serve as the chairperson of the task force;

 

     (2)  A representative from an organization that advocates for condominium unit owners, as selected by the chairperson;

 

     (3)  A member of the Senate to be appointed by the Senate President; and

 

     (4)  A member of the House of Representatives to be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the initial meeting of the task force be convened no later than July 1, 2021; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force is requested to submit a report of its findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2022; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force be dissolved on June 30, 2022; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Director of the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Chairperson of the Real Estate Commission, President of the Senate, and Speaker of the House of Representatives.

 

 

 

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title:

DCCA; Real Estate Commission; Condominiums; Task Force