Florida Senate - 2013                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. CS for CS for SB 436
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Barcode 562282                          
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
                  Comm: RCS            .                                
                  04/18/2013           .                                
                                       .                                
                                       .                                
                                       .                                
       —————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————




       —————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
       The Committee on Appropriations (Bean) recommended the
       following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
    2  
    3         Delete lines 1074 - 1152
    4  and insert:
    5         (b) The official records of the association must shall be
    6  maintained within the state for at least 7 years. The records of
    7  the association shall be made available to a unit owner within
    8  45 miles of the cooperative property or within the county in
    9  which the cooperative property is located within 5 working days
   10  after receipt of written request by the board or its designee.
   11  This paragraph may be complied with by having a copy of the
   12  official records of the association available for inspection or
   13  copying on the cooperative property, or the association may
   14  offer the option of making the records available to a unit owner
   15  electronically via the Internet or by allowing the records to be
   16  viewed in an electronic format on a computer screen and printed
   17  upon request. The association is not responsible for the use or
   18  misuse of the information provided to an association member or
   19  his or her authorized representative pursuant to the compliance
   20  requirements of this chapter unless the association has an
   21  affirmative duty not to disclose such information pursuant to
   22  this chapter.
   23         (c) The official records of the association are shall be
   24  open to inspection by any association member or the authorized
   25  representative of such member at all reasonable times. Failure
   26  to permit inspection of the association records as provided
   27  herein entitles any person prevailing in an enforcement action
   28  to recover reasonable attorney’s fees from the person in control
   29  of the records who, directly or indirectly, knowingly denies
   30  access to the records for inspection. The right to inspect the
   31  records includes the right to make or obtain copies, at the
   32  reasonable expense, if any, of the association member. The
   33  association may adopt reasonable rules regarding the frequency,
   34  time, location, notice, and manner of record inspections and
   35  copying. The failure of an association to provide the records
   36  within 10 working days after receipt of a written request
   37  creates a rebuttable presumption that the association willfully
   38  failed to comply with this paragraph. A unit owner who is denied
   39  access to official records is entitled to the actual damages or
   40  minimum damages for the association’s willful failure to comply
   41  with this paragraph. The minimum damages are shall be $50 per
   42  calendar day for up to 10 days, beginning the calculation to
   43  begin on the 11th working day after receipt of the written
   44  request. The failure to permit inspection entitles any person
   45  prevailing in an enforcement action to recover reasonable
   46  attorney fees from the person in control of the records who,
   47  directly or indirectly, knowingly denied access to the records.
   48  Any person who knowingly or intentionally defaces or destroys
   49  accounting records that are required by this chapter to be
   50  maintained during the period for which such records are required
   51  to be maintained, or who knowingly or intentionally fails to
   52  create or maintain accounting records that are required to be
   53  created or maintained, with the intent of causing harm to the
   54  association or one or more of its members, is personally subject
   55  to a civil penalty pursuant to s. 719.501(1)(d). The association
   56  shall maintain an adequate number of copies of the declaration,
   57  articles of incorporation, bylaws, and rules, and all amendments
   58  to each of the foregoing, as well as the question and answer
   59  sheet as described provided for in s. 719.504 and year-end
   60  financial information required by the department, on the
   61  cooperative property to ensure their availability to unit owners
   62  and prospective purchasers, and may charge its actual costs for
   63  preparing and furnishing these documents to those requesting the
   64  same. An association shall allow a member or his or her
   65  authorized representative to use a portable device, including a
   66  smartphone, tablet, portable scanner, or any other technology
   67  capable of scanning or taking photographs, to make an electronic
   68  copy of the official records in lieu of the association
   69  providing the member or his or her authorized representative
   70  with a copy of such records. The association may not charge a
   71  member or his or her authorized representative for the use of a
   72  portable device. Notwithstanding the provisions of this
   73  paragraph, the following records shall not be accessible to unit
   74  owners:
   75         1. Any record protected by the lawyer-client privilege as
   76  described in s. 90.502 and any record protected by the work
   77  product privilege, including any record A record that was
   78  prepared by an association attorney or prepared at the
   79  attorney’s express direction which; that reflects a mental
   80  impression, conclusion, litigation strategy, or legal theory of
   81  the attorney or the association, and which; or that was prepared
   82  exclusively for civil or criminal litigation or for adversarial
   83  administrative proceedings, or which was prepared in
   84  anticipation of such imminent civil or criminal litigation or
   85  imminent adversarial administrative proceedings, until the
   86  conclusion of the litigation or adversarial administrative
   87  proceedings.
   88         2. Information obtained by an association in connection
   89  with the approval of the lease, sale, or other transfer of a
   90  unit.
   91         3. Personnel records of association or management company
   92  employees, including, but not limited to, disciplinary, payroll,
   93  health, and insurance records. For purposes of this
   94  subparagraph, the term “personnel records” does not include
   95  written employment agreements with an association employee or
   96  management company, or budgetary or financial records that
   97  indicate the compensation paid to an association employee.
   98         4.3. Medical records of unit owners.
   99         5. Social security numbers, driver license numbers, credit
  100  card numbers, e-mail addresses, telephone numbers, facsimile
  101  numbers, emergency contact information, addresses of a unit
  102  owner other than as provided to fulfill the association’s notice
  103  requirements, and other personal identifying information of any
  104  person, excluding the person’s name, unit designation, mailing
  105  address, property address, and any address, e-mail address, or
  106  facsimile number provided to the association to fulfill the
  107  association’s notice requirements. Notwithstanding the
  108  restrictions in this subparagraph, an association may print and
  109  distribute to parcel owners a directory containing the name,
  110  parcel address, and telephone number of each parcel owner.
  111  However, an owner may exclude his or her telephone number from
  112  the directory by so requesting in writing to the association.
  113  The association is not liable for the inadvertent disclosure of
  114  information that is protected under this subparagraph if the
  115  information is included in an official record of the association
  116  and is voluntarily provided by an owner and not requested by the
  117  association.
  118         6. Electronic security measures that are used by the
  119  association to safeguard data, including passwords.
  120         7. The software and operating system used by the
  121  association which allow the manipulation of data, even if the
  122  owner
  123  
  124  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
  125         And the title is amended as follows:
  126         Delete lines 69 - 74
  127  and insert:
  128         providing requirements for the maintenance of the
  129         official records of the association; authorizing
  130         records to be made available to unit owners in an
  131         electronic format; providing a civil penalty for the
  132         denial of a request to view records; requiring an
  133         association to allow a member or the member’s
  134         authorized representative to use certain portable
  135         devices to make electronic copies of association
  136         records; prohibiting the association from charging the
  137         member or authorized representative for using the
  138         portable device; authorizing a cooperative association
  139         to print and distribute a member directory under
  140         certain conditions; specifying additional records that
  141         are not