End of Session Legislative Update for Washington
Friday, March 7 was the last day to consider opposite house bills in the legislature, so any bills that have been voted on by both houses will not pass this year. Of the numerous condo and HOA-related legislation introduced this year, only two bills passed both houses and now await signature by the governor. The governor has five days, excluding Sundays, to take action on bills passed by the Legislature unless adjournment occurs within those five days, in which case the governor has 20 days to sign or veto (excluding Sundays.)
The second bill to pass this year is SB 6215 relating to reserve accounts for condominium associations. After passing the senate, SB 6215 was amended by the House Committee on Judiciary to include a few clarifying terms and to require disclosure of the lack of reserve study if none has been undertaken.
The bill creating a cause of action for negligent construction, SSB 6385, amended in the Senate committee to exclude condominiums, passed the senate in that form and was passed out of the House Judiciary Committee on February 28. On February 29, it was passed to Rules for a second reading, but never made it to the House floor.
ESB 6745, which was the bill recommended by the HOA task force, was substantially amended on the floor of the senate, including amendments to make its application retroactive, to add numerous clarifying definitions, to remove the “open meetings” provision for board meetings, and to reduce the quorum requirement for association meetings. Another amendment disallowed the use of liens against a person’s homes for failure to pay fines as opposed to assessments. The engrossed bill passed the Senate unanimously. It was then referred to the House Judiciary Committee on February 20, but inexplicably never made it out of committee.
