CAI-NJ Dec. 2018 (w)

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE

GEORGE GREATREX, ESQ. PARTNER, SHIVERS, GOSNAY & GREATREX, LLC LEGISLATIVE ACTION COMMITTEE CHAIR

I reported in last month’s Community Trends ® Legislative Update column that your Legislative Action Committee-NJ (LAC) had voted to continue to pursue mandatory man- ager licensing with the state legislature. The LAC members believe that with the significant infrastructure community associations must maintain and for which substantial sums of money must be appropriated via their budgets, it is warranted for an association’s property manager to be a licensed and trained professional. This is just one piece of legislation that the LAC continues to work pursue. For a number of years now, the LAC has engaged the services of professional lobbyists to assist the NJ Chapter of CAI with its messaging and education efforts with our leg- islators and state regulators. Over the years, by employing lobbyists, and along with the work of many LAC members testifying at legislative and administrative hearings, the LAC has thwarted many pieces of legislation that may have proven burdensome or otherwise harmful to common inter- est community associations. Examples include amending the Predatory Towing Prevention Act to remove the provi- sion that would have required property managers to be present when a vehicle is being towed, and most recently, stopping legislation that would have given snow removal vendors immunity from any harm or damage caused by their actions while working in community associations. Preventing bad legislation and regulations that affect community associations is a major component of the LAC’s mandate. The other is promoting legislation that has a pos- itive effect upon community associations such as foreclosure reform, requiring local municipal utilities authorities to prop- erly maintain fire hydrants in community associations with

private roads, and working with the New Jersey Builders Association on defining “adequate reserves” and “benefits derived”, and reinstating bonding requirements for private infrastructure, just to name a few. These legislative efforts cost money, both to employ our lobbyists, and to gain the audience with legislators and state regulators so the LAC can educate them on commu- nity association issues and provide them technical support.

"Preventing bad legislation and regulations that affect community associations is a major component of the LAC’s mandate."

During this holiday season of giving, we ask all community associations, their members and vendors who provide community association services, to consider donating to CA-PAC, NJ CAI’s Political Action Committee. It’s easy to do! Just contact the CAI-NJ office. Your LAC continues its work to help provide all common interest community associations with the best environment in which to live, work and thrive. Please help us help you. Wishing you all a wonderful holiday season. See you here next year! n

P.S. Thanks to Chris Florio, Esq., the Vice-Chair of the NJ LAC, for his contributions to this month’s Legislative Update column.

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