ORLANDO, FLORIDA (PRWEB) JANUARY 24, 2016
“CAI’s Florida Legislative Alliance has been advocating for strong public policy in Florida’s communities for decades and this partnership is part of our grassroots advocacy efforts to educate legislators on the negative implications HB 203 and SB 722 would have on the 9 million residents living in Florida condominiums and homeowners associations,” said Dawn Bauman, Senior Vice President, Government and Public Affairs, Community Association Institute. “We recognized the incredible tool CAN created in the petition campaign and we knew collaborating it would be an excellent complement to our advocacy efforts.”

Why sign the Vote No on HB 203 and SB 722 Petition? As a homeowner in a community association, these bills will increase your fees and assessments: (1) forcing your Association to become a debt collector instead of being paid at the time your Association renders its services- just like everyone else; (2) arbitrarily limiting how much title companies should pay your Association for its services – if the actual costs are higher, then you and your Association would pay the difference; and (3) if a potential sale doesn’t occur, then your Association would not get paid – your fees and assessments would have to be raised to pay for someone else’s attempted home purchase.

Last year, CAN wrangled Florida’s disparate coalition groups, representing community associations and leaders from the entire state, and quickly coordinated a monumental email and relentless telephone grassroots campaign educating Legislators and millions of Floridians owning property in Florida’s community associations. It worked. The bills died. But this year, they’re back again.

“CAN’s network of members and committed partners stepped up big time, traveling to Tallahassee, meeting with Legislators to help educate, delay, amend, and redraft terrible bills which ultimately led to their defeat,” said Alan Garfinkel, Katzman Garfinkel Founding Partner and CAN Chairman, ” Last year we were taken by complete surprise, out maneuvered, and out funded by millions of dollars by lobbyists representing title companies, but we still managed to win with the help of our members, partners, and friends. Now CAN’s partnership with CAI brings even more attention and ensures one unified community voice in Tallahassee.”

Please click the following link to sign the “Vote No on HB 203 and SB 722” Petition, https://www.change.org/p/vote-no-on-hb-203-and-sb-722#petition-letter. Every signature counts.

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The Community Advocacy Network (CAN) is Florida’s leading voice for the interests of 60,000 community associations statewide, leading the fight against over-regulation of private residential communities by state and local governments. Each year since its inception in 2007, CAN spearheads important State legislative reforms designed to protect and enhance Florida Community association living, CAN continues to foster financial stability and operational integrity to all common-interest ownership communities statewide. For additional information please contact info@CANFL.COM.
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Community Associations Institute (CAI) is an international organization with more than 33,000 members and 60 chapters dedicated to fostering vibrant, competent, harmonious community associations. For more than 40 years, CAI has been the leader in providing education and resources to the volunteer homeowners who govern community associations and the professionals who support them. Our members include community association volunteer leaders, professional managers, community management firms and other professionals and companies that provide products and services to associations. http://www.caionline.org