Great news. AB 1360 (Torres) – the HOA Electronic Balloting bill – passed through the Assembly Housing Committee with a 7-0 vote thanks to the phone calls you made in response to CAI-CLAC’s call-to-action. As reported by CLAC, this bill is now headed to the Assembly floor! And then over to the Senate. We will keep you updated as more calls may be necessary.
AB 1360 is a bill to make electronic balloting an option for common interest developments (CIDs). It was introduced into the California Assembly, authored by Assemblymember Norma Torres and sponsored by the California Legislative Action Committee (CLAC).
CLAC’s website states that current law requires community associations to follow a double-envelope process for elections. AB 1360 would permit the use of electronic voting, adding an additional option to election procedures, reducing costs for community associations, and helping to increase voter participation.
Currently, common interest development association elections are subject to specific procedures, which are more restrictive than other non-profit corporations. In 2006, SB 1560 passed and although it was designed to improve the way elections were performed, it also dramatically increased costs, as the entire election process must be now be repeated until a quorum is achieved. This forces associations to spend thousands of dollars each year to conduct elections, which could instead be used to help maintain properties and the interests of community members.
We previously posted an article about this legislation that will allow electronic voting by members of California Community Associations. Follow this link to read that post. Follow this link to read the text of AB 1360.