Colorado’s HB 1200,[i] brought to my attention by journalist Ruthy Wexler, is an outstanding bill that provides for the long ignored, not my job, state oversight of HOA violations. It is a measure that provides the constitutional protections against depriving “a person of property without due process of law” and against denying “the equal protection of the laws.” These protections have been denied by the HOA “constitution,” its CC&Rs. Although a private contract, these protections cannot be waived.
HB 1200 is a much more protective bill of homeowner rights and freedoms as was introduced in Arizona in 2006 and adopted in the face of stringent opposition by CAI. CAI then proceeded in 3 court cases over 4 years to have the statute declared unconstitutional and have the ruling applied to all Arizona HOAs. It almost won but the Arizona Supreme Court denied it precedent value and in 2011 the statute was amended to handle CAI’s claims of unconstitutionality. It is in operation today under Arizona’s real estate department.
I was actively involved in the creation of this Office of Admin. Hearings adjudication of HOA disputes and in the defense of its constitutionality.[ii]
The role of CAI, as presented above, should not be taken lightly. Strong and active homeowner support will be necessary to carry this bill to law. I commented on former Colorado Senate President Morgan Carroll’s book:
Yes, there have been champions of HOA reform, but advocates fail to realize that these legislators must buck the powers that be at the legislature and win over the votes of a majority of other legislators. And this takes outcries by many people, not with gripes of “I wuz wronged!” but with valid arguments as to why HOAs are wrong for the state and the general public well-being. And how to fix these wrongs.[iii]
Take heed Coloradans and get behind the sponsors today!
Notes
[ii] See AZ Supreme Court accepts advocate’s amicus brief in challenge to HOA statute.
[iii] See Why HOA reform advocates fail at legislative reforms (2011).
HOA Constitutional Government 
They have something similar in Florida but it has so many exceptions it is basically ineffective. In 2017 a grand jury found the agency to be inept. “In a scathing report released this month, grand jurors said the agency’s Bureau of Compliance has too few investigators —- just 33 for all of Florida — and shows a “breathtaking” failure to adequately train them, as evidenced by two investigators who grudgingly appeared before the panel.
“We learned that there was no requirement of prior investigative experience and no formal investigative training was offered,” the grand jury said. “The investigators learned ‘on the job’ and appeared completely dependent upon their supervisors. The investigators expressed no eagerness to root out corruption or solve problems, and did not seem empowered to make any independent decisions.”