Maryland HB 1117: Montgomery County - Common Ownership Communities - Disputes, Payments, and Elections MC 11-25

Bill Text

EXPLANATION: CAPITALS INDICATE MATTER ADDED TO EXISTING LAW.
[Brackets] indicate matter deleted from existing law.
*hb1117*

HOUSE BILL 1117
N1, C1 5lr1035

By: Montgomery County Delegation
Introduced and read first time: February 5, 2025
Assigned to: Environment and Transportation

A BILL ENTITLED

AN ACT concerning 1

Montgomery County – Common Ownership Communities – Disputes, Payments, 2
and Elections 3

MC 11–25 4

FOR the purpose of establishing, for cooperative housing corporations, condominiums, and 5
homeowners associations in Montgomery County, certain requirements for the 6
production of certain records relating to the governing body of the cooperative 7
housing corporation, condominium, or homeowners association for a member or an 8
owner; establishing certain requirements for the acceptance of payment of dues, fees, 9
costs, and other member or owner expenses to the cooperative housing corporation, 10
condominium, or homeowners association and for the production of certain payment 11
records by the cooperative housing corporation, condominium, or homeowners 12
association for a member or an owner; establishing certain requirements for elections 13
of the governing body and for accommodating certain member or owner organizing 14
activities relating to the governance of the cooperative housing corporation, 15
condominium, or homeowners association; establishing certain procedural 16
requirements for a dispute and the resolution of a dispute between a member or an 17
owner and a cooperative housing corporation, condominium, or homeowners 18
association and prohibiting a cooperative housing corporation, condominium, or 19
homeowners association from taking certain actions against a member or an owner 20
during a dispute; and generally relating to cooperative housing corporations, 21
condominiums, and homeowners associations in Montgomery County. 22

BY renumbering 23
Article – Real Property 24
Section 11B–118 25
to be Section 11B–119 26
Annotated Code of Maryland 27
(2023 Replacement Volume and 2024 Supplement) 28

2 HOUSE BILL 1117

BY adding to 1
Article – Corporations and Associations 2
Section 5–6B–19.1, 5–6B–19.2, 5–6B–29.1, and 5–6B–30.1 3
Annotated Code of Maryland 4
(2014 Replacement Volume and 2024 Supplement) 5

BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments, 6
Article – Corporations and Associations 7
Section 5–6B–30 and 5–6B–32(a) 8
Annotated Code of Maryland 9
(2014 Replacement Volume and 2024 Supplement) 10

BY adding to 11
Article – Real Property 12
Section 11–109.5, 11–109.6, 11–110.1, 11–113.1, 11B–111.11, 11B–113.7, and 13
11B–118 14
Annotated Code of Maryland 15
(2023 Replacement Volume and 2024 Supplement) 16

BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments, 17
Article – Real Property 18
Section 11–113, 11–122(b), 11B–111.4, and 11B–111.10 19
Annotated Code of Maryland 20
(2023 Replacement Volume and 2024 Supplement) 21

SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF MARYLAND, 22
That Section(s) 11B–118 of Article – Real Property of the Annotated Code of Maryland be 23
renumbered to be Section(s) 11B–119. 24

SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That the Laws of Maryland read 25
as follows: 26

Article – Corporations and Associations 27

5–6B–19.1. 28

(A) THIS SECTION APPLIES ONLY IN MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 29

(B) ON REQUEST, A COOPERATIVE HOUSING CORPORATION SHALL 30
PROMPTLY PROVIDE A MEMBER WITH AGENDAS, BACKGROUND MATERIALS, AND 31
MINUTES OF A MEMBERSHIP MEETING OR A MEETING OF THE GOVERNING BODY OF 32
THE COOPERATIVE HOUSING CORPORATION. 33

(C) UNLESS A PAPER COPY IS REQUESTED BY THE MEMBER, MATERIALS 34
PROVIDED UNDER SUBSECTION (B) OF THIS SECTION MAY BE PROVIDED 35
ELECTRONICALLY. 36

HOUSE BILL 1117 3

5–6B–19.2. 1

(A) THIS SECTION APPLIES ONLY IN MONTGOMERY COUNTY. 2

(B) (1) ELECTIONS, INCLUDING THE COLLECTION AND COUNTING OF 3
BALLOTS AND THE CERTIFYING OF RESULTS, FOR OFFICERS, COMMITTEE MEMBERS, 4
OR OTHER MEMBERS OF THE GOVERNING BODY OF A COOPERATIVE HOUSING 5
CORPORATION SHALL BE CONDUCTED BY INDEPENDENT PARTIES WHO: 6

(I) ARE NOT CANDIDATES IN THE ELECTION; AND 7

(II) DO NOT HAVE A CONFLICT OF INTEREST REGARDING ANY 8
CANDIDATE IN THE ELECTION. 9

(2) A MEMBER IS AN INDEPENDENT PARTY IF THE MEMBER: 10

(I) COMPLIES WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF THIS SUBSECTION; 11

(II) DOES NOT ELECTIONEER FOR ANY CANDIDATE; AND 12

(III) IS NOT SUBJECT TO AN OBJECTION BY MORE THAN 25% OF 13
THE ELIGIBLE VOTING MEMBERS OF THE COOPERATIVE HOUSING CORPORATION. 14

(3) REPRESENTATIVES OF THE COOPERATIVE HOUSING 15
CORPORATION’S PROPERTY MANAGEMENT ARE NOT INDEPENDENT PARTIES. 16

(C) THE COOPERATIVE HOUSING CORPORATION MAY RETAIN A 17
THIRD–PARTY VENDOR OR EMPLOY A COMMERCIAL TECHNOLOGY PLATFORM TO 18
CONDUCT THE ELECTION. 19

(D) INDIVIDUALS CONDUCTING AN ELECTION SHALL MAKE REASONABLE 20
EFFORTS TO ENSURE THAT THE ELECTION IS FAIR AND THAT THERE IS 21
ACCOUNTABILITY FOR THE PROCESS AND THE RESULTS OF THE ELECTION. 22

(E) A MEMBER DESIGNATED TO CONDUCT AN ELECTION WHO ACTS IN GOO