HF 2235 (LSB 5435YH (6) 90)

HOUSE FILE 2235

BY  JUDGE and NORDMAN

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to the election of a unit owners association executive board.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  NEW SECTION.  499C.3  Executive board members.
   1.  If an executive board appoints a board member to fill a vacancy on the board, the appointed board member shall stand for election for the remaining length of the term for which the member was appointed at the next annual meeting of the unit owners association.
   2.  If, at any given time, a majority of the board members of an executive board are either serving by appointment or by extension of the board member’s term through the distribution of unserved time from other board members vacating their board positions, a petition bearing the signatures of one-fourth of all unit owners shall force an open election for all executive board seats occupied by an appointed member or a member serving an extended term. An election required under this subsection shall be held no more than sixty days after the filing of the petition. A petition may not force an election less than sixty days prior to a regular election.
   3.  An executive board shall provide written notice, in the form and manner as may be established by the bylaws, to all unit owners no more than thirty calendar days prior to an election pursuant to subsection 1 or 2. All unit owners shall be eligible to vote in such an election in the form and manner established by the bylaws.
   4.  An executive board’s refusal or failure to hold an election in compliance with this section shall be grounds for any unit owner to bring an action in small claims court if the small claims court has jurisdiction based on the amount in controversy pursuant to section 631.1 or, if the amount is unknown or the small claims court does not have jurisdiction, in the district court in the county where the unit owners association is located to request that the court order the executive board and the unit owners to mediate, and that the court appoint the mediator.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with

the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   This bill relates to the appointment and election of an executive board (board).
   The bill requires an election for a board member who has been appointed to fill a vacancy on the board. The appointed board member must stand for election at the next annual meeting of the unit owners association in order to serve the remaining length of the appointed board member’s term.
   The bill permits one-fourth of the unit owners to petition the board to hold an election when a majority of the board members currently serve either by appointment or through the extension of the board member’s term by the distribution of unserved time for a vacated board position. The election shall be for all board members currently serving by appointment or by the extension of the board member’s term. The election shall be held no more than 60 days after the filing of the petition. A petition may not force an election less than 60 days prior to a regular election.
   The bill requires the board to provide written notice, in the form and manner required by the bylaws, to all unit owners prior to an election no more than 30 days prior to the election. All unit owners shall be eligible to vote in an election required under the bill in the form and manner established by the bylaws.
   If a board refuses or fails to comply with the requirements of the bill, the bill permits a unit owner to bring an action in small claims court or, if the amount in controversy is unknown or the small claims court does not have jurisdiction, in the district court in the county where the unit owners association is located to request that the court order the board and the unit owners to mediate with a court-appointed mediator.