Florida Senate - 2011                                    SB 1132
       
       
       
       By Senator Margolis
       
       
       
       
       35-01202-11                                           20111132__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to cooperatives; amending s. 719.103,
    3         F.S.; defining the term “immediate family member”;
    4         amending s. 719.106, F.S.; prohibiting immediate
    5         family members residing in the same unit from serving
    6         concurrently on the board of administration of a
    7         cooperative; providing an effective date.
    8  
    9  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   10  
   11         Section 1. Present subsections (19) through (28) of section
   12  719.103, Florida Statutes, are renumbered as subsections (20)
   13  through (29), respectively, and a new subsection (19) is added
   14  to that section, to read:
   15         719.103 Definitions.—As used in this chapter:
   16         (19) “Immediate family member” means a parent, child,
   17  spouse, sibling, grandparent, grandchild, uncle, aunt, niece,
   18  nephew, great-uncle, great-aunt, great-nephew, great-niece,
   19  first cousin, or second cousin by blood, marriage, or adoption,
   20  including half and step relatives.
   21         Section 2. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section
   22  719.106, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
   23         719.106 Bylaws; cooperative ownership.—
   24         (1) MANDATORY PROVISIONS.—The bylaws or other cooperative
   25  documents shall provide for the following, and if they do not,
   26  they shall be deemed to include the following:
   27         (a) Administration.—
   28         1. The form of administration of the association shall be
   29  described, indicating the titles of the officers and board of
   30  administration and specifying the powers, duties, manner of
   31  selection and removal, and compensation, if any, of officers and
   32  board members. In the absence of such a provision, the board of
   33  administration shall be composed of five members, except in the
   34  case of cooperatives having five or fewer units, in which case
   35  in not-for-profit corporations, the board shall consist of not
   36  fewer than three members. Two or more immediate family members
   37  who reside in the same unit may not serve on the board
   38  concurrently. In the absence of provisions to the contrary, the
   39  board of administration shall have a president, a secretary, and
   40  a treasurer, who shall perform the duties of those offices
   41  customarily performed by officers of corporations. Unless
   42  prohibited in the bylaws, the board of administration may
   43  appoint other officers and grant them those duties it deems
   44  appropriate. Unless otherwise provided in the bylaws, the
   45  officers shall serve without compensation and at the pleasure of
   46  the board. Unless otherwise provided in the bylaws, the members
   47  of the board shall serve without compensation.
   48         2. When a unit owner files a written inquiry by certified
   49  mail with the board of administration, the board shall respond
   50  in writing to the unit owner within 30 days of receipt of the
   51  inquiry. The board’s response shall either give a substantive
   52  response to the inquirer, notify the inquirer that a legal
   53  opinion has been requested, or notify the inquirer that advice
   54  has been requested from the division. If the board requests
   55  advice from the division, the board shall, within 10 days of its
   56  receipt of the advice, provide in writing a substantive response
   57  to the inquirer. If a legal opinion is requested, the board
   58  shall, within 60 days after the receipt of the inquiry, provide
   59  in writing a substantive response to the inquirer. The failure
   60  to provide a substantive response to the inquirer as provided
   61  herein precludes the board from recovering attorney’s fees and
   62  costs in any subsequent litigation, administrative proceeding,
   63  or arbitration arising out of the inquiry. The association may,
   64  through its board of administration, adopt reasonable rules and
   65  regulations regarding the frequency and manner of responding to
   66  the unit owners’ inquiries, one of which may be that the
   67  association is obligated to respond to only one written inquiry
   68  per unit in any given 30-day period. In such case, any
   69  additional inquiry or inquiries must be responded to in the
   70  subsequent 30-day period, or periods, as applicable.
   71         Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2011.