Frantic pace requires vigilance! House Bill 203

One-third of the legislative session is now complete and the dual tracks of policy and budgeting are ramping up. This week, legislative committees continued a breakneck pace of hearings on proposed legislation, while the various Appropriations Subcommittees released initial budget recommendations. The substantive committees are racing to hear legislation because the House and Senate Rules require committee action in order for a bill to proceed to the floor. Without a hearing, a bill dies.

In the House, policy subcommittees are scheduled to meet only one more time – this week. Concurrently, Appropriations Subcommittee recommendations will move to each of the respective full Appropriations Committees and then to the floor of each chamber. Ultimately, the House and Senate will conference on the budget to develop a single product, expected to be somewhere north of $80 billion before gubernatorial vetoes.

Expect a frantic next few weeks as these dual tracks begin to converge and we move toward the final weeks of session. This is also the time of year when amendments begin to fly - which can be in an effort to reflect compromise, preserve the ability for proposed language to advance, or effectively kill proposals. Now is the time we need to be most vigilant.

House Bill 203, by Rep. John Wood, is scheduled to be heard on Tuesday February 2 in the House Business and Professions Subcommittee. House Bill 203 is listed on a jam-packed and controversial schedule for that committee hearing, which is unlikely to meet again during the 2016 Legislative Session. We continue to face opposition from the Community Association Managers, management companies and other opponents on specific provisions included within House Bill 203 as drafted. As I am writing this email, amendments to House Bill 203 are being proposed and will be heard tomorrow.

Estoppel is the bill grabbing much of our focus this week but be assured that we are staying on top of other issues. Stay tuned for more information as the Legislative Session proceeds.

Best Regards,

Melissa Jay Murphy
Senior Vice President and
General Counsel