CAI-NJ September 2021

Wish You Were Here – Pending Legislation Regarding Participation in Meetings Via Remote Means By Thomas C. Martin, Esq., Price Meese Shulman & D’Arminio, P.C

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“I love Zoom meetings! Because they are online, we don’t have to allow time to get from one meeting to the next! We can just have meeting after meeting after meeting!” — Twitter Post. W e all love meetings but logistics and the global COVID-19 pandemic have radical- ly changed the landscape of expectations among all of us, and in particular among community associations. In New Jersey, as in most states, community associations are non-profit corporate entities. Currently, there are certain amendments to the New Jersey Non-Profit Corporation Act, which, if adopted into law, would allow for the option to hold required meetings of the board of directors via remote means. The proposed legislation would allow members to partic- ipate in meetings by means of remote communications and permits nonprofit corporations to hold members’ meetings

in part or solely through remote communication. Under the proposed bill, remote communication of members would be permitted during a state of emergency declared by the Governor. A meeting of members may be held solely by means of remote communication to the extent the board authorizes and adopts guidelines and procedures govern- ing such a meeting. Now you may be thinking the Governor lifted every- thing but that is not quite the case. Although the Governor rescinded the Public Health Emergency and has eased other pandemic-related requirements, the State of New Jersey is still under a State of Emergency. The bill also provides that members participating in a meeting by means of remote communication are deemed to be present in person and are entitled to vote at the meet- ing, regardless of whether the meeting is held at a desig- nated place or solely by means of remote communication. This bill would apply to community association entities and provide boards with realistic flexibility in how they hold their meetings. Remote meetings can offer communities broader accessibility to members and increase member CONT I NU E S ON PAGE 34

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