THE COLUMNS Vol. 26 No. 8 941-349-0194
Tara Woods Homeowners Association – www.twha.us
October 2015
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TWHA NEWS ALERT On July 1, 2015, Governor Scott signed into law legislation that was passed unanimously by the Florida State Legislature. The new law includes revisions to Florida Statutes Chapter 723, also known as The Florida Mobile Home Act, the law that governs Tara Woods and similar communities. The 3 most important changes for members of the Tara Woods Homeowners Association are contained in 723.078 and are described below: 1) Election of Directors and Officers During the annual meeting of the Homeowners Association, members in good standing may vote only for the TWHA directors seeking office, not for officers. TWHA has eight directors serving on the Board of Directors. Five of the eight directors are also officers, namely: President, Vice President, Recording Secretary, Membership Secretary and Treasurer. After the annual meeting has been concluded and voting for directors has been completed, the eight TWHA directors are required by law to determine which directors will fill each of the five officer positions. 2) Nomination of Directors Seeking Office Nominations for directors seeking office must be completed at least 30 days prior to membership voting. Historically, we have allowed nominations from the floor up to and including the night of the annual meeting in January. By law, this is no longer permissible. Anyone interested in seeking an open director position must be nominated during or prior to the December Homeowners’ Association meeting.
3) Authorized Use of Proxies Proxies may be used for establishing a quorum and voting on administrative matters such as the annual budget and revisions to the by-laws. However, proxies may not be used to vote for directors seeking office. This is a significant change that may evoke strong feelings; however, it is the law and compliance is mandatory. Simply put, if a member in good standing wishes to vote for a director seeking office, you must be physically present at the annual meeting in order to cast your vote. Voting by absentee ballot or by proxy is specifically unlawful under the revised Chapter 723.078. TWHA Board of Directors
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