HB 0547 2003
1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to real property reform; creating the
3	Mandated Property Reform Task Force; providing for
4	appointment of members and organization; specifying
5	duties; providing for termination; providing an
6	appropriation; providing an effective date.
7
8	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
9
10	Section 1. Mandated Property Reform Task Force;
11	membership; duties.--
12	(1) The Mandated Property Reform Task Force is established
13	and shall review and recommend appropriate changes to the laws
14	of this state affecting land sales, exemptions, and mandatory
15	homeowners’ and condominium associations and disclosure laws
16	related to adult and residential subdivisions. The task force
17	shall issue recommendations in its preliminary and final reports
18	to the Governor and the Legislature by the dates specified in
19	subsection (5). The Senate Regulated Industries Committee and
20	the House Judiciary Committee shall provide administrative staff
21	for the task force. The task force shall consist of the
22	following members, who shall be appointed by July 1, 2003:
23	(a) Eleven members to be appointed by the Governor.
24	(b) Five members to be appointed by the President of the
25	Senate.
26	(c) Five members to be appointed by the Speaker of the
27	House of Representatives.
28	(d) A representative from the Attorney General’s office.
29	(e) Five members of the Legislature who shall be ex
30	officio, nonvoting members of the task force, appointed as
31	follows:
32	1. Three Senators, to be appointed by the President of the
33	Senate, one of whom is a member of the Senate Agriculture
34	Committee, one of whom is a member of the Senate Judiciary
35	Committee, and one of whom is a member of the Senate Regulated
36	Industries Committee.
37	2. Two Representatives to be appointed by the Speaker of
38	the House of Representatives, one of whom is a member of the
39	House Committee on Business Regulation and one of whom is a
40	member of the House Committee on Judiciary.
41	(f) Twelve members representing homeowners’ rights and
42	consumer interests who shall be selected from a pool of
43	candidates solicited for appointment by the Governor, the
44	President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of
45	Representatives, six of whom shall be appointed by the Governor,
46	three of whom shall be appointed by the President of the Senate,
47	and three of whom shall be appointed by the Speaker of the House
48	of Representatives.
49	(2) Selection of task force members shall be made in a
50	manner which ensures a fair and balanced representation from the
51	industry sector and consumer advocates with a substantial public
52	record of endeavors on behalf of homeowners’ rights and consumer
53	interests.
54	(a) Each appointed member of the task force shall serve at
55	the pleasure of the appointing official. A vacancy on the task
56	force shall be filled in the same manner as the original
57	appointment.
58	(b) The task force shall elect a chair from among its
59	members.
60	(c) Members of the task force shall serve without
61	compensation but are entitled to reimbursement for per diem and
62	travel expenses incurred in the performance of their duties as
63	provided in s. 112.061, Florida Statutes.
64	(3) The task force shall hold its organizational meeting
65	by August 1, 2003, and thereafter shall meet as scheduled at the
66	time and place designated by the chair. A majority of the
67	members of the task force constitutes a quorum, and a quorum is
68	necessary for the purpose of conducting official business of the
69	task force. The task force shall use accepted rules of
70	procedure to conduct its meetings and shall keep a complete
71	record of each meeting.
72	(4) The task force shall evaluate the changes and
73	additions, if any, to those laws which may be appropriate to
74	protect the interests of consumers and property owners on
75	matters including, but not limited to, control of the
76	homeowners’ association’s operations, management and
77	maintenance, disclosure of financial reports by developers or
78	owners, disclosure of all governing documents governing the real
79	property, penalties for noncompliance, oversight and funding for
80	such protection of interests, alternative dispute resolution,
81	and assistance in the formulation of rules to implement
82	enforcement.
83	(5)(a) By February 1, 2004, the task force shall submit a
84	preliminary report to the Governor, the President of the Senate,
85	and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
86	(b) By February 1, 2005, the task force shall submit a
87	final report to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and
88	the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
89	(6) This act is repealed and the task force is terminated
90	on June 30, 2005.
91	Section 2. The sum of $50,000 is appropriated from the
92	General Revenue Fund to the Office of Legislative Services for
93	the purposes of paying administrative expenses and funding
94	contracts necessary to carry out the provisions of this act.
95	Section 3. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.