HOA president wants to participate in legislative process

Q: I have been trying to figure out how homeowners association boards can get involved in legislation. We have been trying to get squatters out and it seems all roads lead to squatters rights. I was elected to our board in January and the president and I would like to get involved so our HOA and homeowners have rights. Who do I write or call to find out how to get involved?

A: Let’s start with the basics. Find out which state senator and assembly member represents your district. You may have to wait until the November elections, but you can start by contacting all of the candidates and discussing the important association’s issues, particularly the nonjudicial versus judicial foreclosures and the ninemonth superior lien laws.

Second, create a standing legislative committee. Find interested homeowners who have a knack for writing or who are articulate and apt organizers. You’ll need homeowners with all of these skills. You may have homeowners who know legislators personally and can serve as your ambassadors.

Organize your community into sections, with a legislative captain for each who disseminates information about the proposed laws. It will be important for homeowners to know when and whom to call or to write and whether proposed laws are in your association’s best interest. The Legislature also sponsors online surveys to let the public cast opinions on proposed laws.

Be prepared to carpool homeowners to the Sawyer Building on Las Vegas Boulevard North, where they can testify before the Assembly or Senate Judiciary committee or subcommittees. The more homeowners who can attend, the better. Even if they all cannot speak, they can sign the sheet and say whether they favor, oppose or are neutral on the laws proposed for that session.

If your association belongs to Community Associations Institute’s Nevada chapter, let it know that you would like a member of your committee to serve on its legislative committee. If your association is not a member, join.

If your homeowners are members of the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors, find out if they’re involved with the Realtors legislative committees. Realtors need to understand how the loss of current laws on nonjudicial foreclosure and nine-month superior liens will greatly affect future sales and financing and impact their compensation.

Finally, contact your association community management company and find out what legislative actions they will take. Association management companies hold sessions with their boards and schedule trips to Carson City to meet with legislators.

As we discussed in a previous article, Assembly Bill 386, which took effect Oct. 1, 2015, made it not just a civil matter but a criminal offense to break into a home. But the law didn’t go far enough; it still requires homeowners to act. If the HOA cannot find the owner to initiate the process, it can’t do anything unless someone catches the squatters doing something illegal. Offenders can face misdemeanor to felony penalties.