This session, the Legislature passed the fewest bills since 1998, however, considerable attention was paid to legislation regarding community associations, which I know is of great interest to those who live in communities with a homeowner or condominium association.
Surprisingly, Senate Bill 714 was the only community association bill that passed both the House and Senate. SB 714 fixes a glitch that was created last year that required owners to purchase an additional insurance policy that included $2,000 of loss assessment coverage.

The new law now states that hazard insurance policies (“HO-6”) issued or renewed after July 1, 2009 must include at least $2,000 of loss assessment coverage, and eliminates the need to have two insurance policies. The bill also allows incumbent board members to be “eligible” for reappointment when no one runs for the seat instead of automatically reappointing them, allows co-owners to serve on the board if they own more than one unit and are not co-occupants of a unit, and eliminates the requirement for pre-election candidate certification forms to instead require the forms within 90 days of being elected with the option of completing a Division-approved educational curriculum. Additionally, the bill moves the sprinkler retrofitting requirement deadline from 2014 to 2025, and exempts one to two story condos from having to install a manual fire alarm system.

I was able to pass legislation in the House that would have allowed unit co-owners to serve on the association board at the same time if no one else expressed an interest in running, and also would have created a “Florida Condominium Handbook” to help residents easily understand the condo laws of Chapter 718, but unfortunately, that legislation did not pass the Senate. These are two very important issues that I will attempt to pass again next session.
Operation “Medicine Cabinet:” The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office will be conducting Operation “Medicine Cabinet” on May 30th from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in an effort to increase public awareness of pharmaceutical diversion and collect and safely destroy unneeded prescription drugs.

You can receive a $5 gift card to CVS, Walgreens or Walmart by dropping off your unneeded prescription drugs at any of the following six Operation “Medicine Cabinet” locations in Palm Beach County:
• Boca Raton Town Center Mall (by the main entrance off of Glades Rd. in the north parking lot)
• Boynton Beach Mall (in front of the food court, enter off of Congress Ave.)
• CVS at 10th and Congress in Palm Springs
• CVS at PGA & Military Trail in Palm Beach Gardens
• Walgreens at the Wellington Mall
• Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office Sub-Station in Belle Glade
For more information visit www.pbso.org or call the Operation “Medicine Cabinet” Hotline at 561-688-3804.

As always, I appreciate the opportunity to be of service to you. Please do not hesitate to contact me or my staff if you have any questions or concerns. Our district office number is (561) 470-6593.
All the best, Kelly Skidmore State Representative, District 90.
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To read my story in Sunday's Sun-Sentinel CLICK HERE.

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