http://www.hawaiicondolaw.com/blog Hawaii condominiums, planned communities, co-ops and the laws that govern them. Wed, 10 Sep 2008 06:16:43 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en The Hawaii Real Estate Commission is revising, editing and rewriting its 1991 brochures entitled “Condominium Owners Rights and Responsibilities” and “Condominium Board Members Powers and Duties“. The brochures will be updated to be consistent with the current condominium laws (Hawaii Revised Statutes Chapters 514A and 514B) and other related ... http://www.hawaiicondolaw.com/blog/2008/09/09/rewrite-of-hawaii-real-estate-commission-booklets/ On June 17, 2008, the U.S. Justice Department (”DOJ”) published a notice of proposed rulemaking on the Americans with Disabilities Act (”ADA”). Title III of the ADA provides protections to disabled individuals in places of public accommodations. The ADA requires, among other things, that public accommodations remove ... http://www.hawaiicondolaw.com/blog/2008/06/22/proposed-new-ada-regulations/ I realize that I’ve been remiss in posting anything for this legislative session. We’ve been extremely busy, but we’ll be making up for that by posting some of the new laws that affect community associations. Act 13 (SB 1809) was signed by the Governor and became effective on April 15, ... http://www.hawaiicondolaw.com/blog/2008/06/18/condominium-special-meeting-law-changed/ The big news of the day (with the possible exception of the announcement of Greg McMackin as the warrior’s football coach) is that the 2008 Hawaii Legislature opens today. As usual, we will be providing information about legislation that affects community associations, including commentary on the impact of bills ... http://www.hawaiicondolaw.com/blog/2008/01/16/here-we-go-again/ If you haven’t seen it yet, Ian Lind has an article in the Honolulu Weekly “Honolulu Diary” sectionentitled, Smoke gets in you lives about the State Department of Health’s and the Coalition for a Tobacco Free Hawaii’s initiative to prevent smoking in living units. I’ll post a link to ... http://www.hawaiicondolaw.com/blog/2007/12/14/smoking-story-in-honolulu-weekly/ A lot of the laws about community associations exist because of Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are Government Sponsored Enterprises created by the U.S. Congress. Although they are government sponsored, they are privately-owned corporations without government guarantees or protections. They purchase ... http://www.hawaiicondolaw.com/blog/2007/11/08/what-is-fannie-mae-and-freddie-mac-and-why-do-they-make-a-difference-to-my-association/ As most of you know, I have been involved with CAI’s National’s efforts to represent community associations in issues before the Federal Communications Commission (”FCC”). This summer, CAI submitted testimony on whether the FCC should consider prohibiting exclusive contracts for larger cable operators. CAI’s position was the same as ... http://www.hawaiicondolaw.com/blog/2007/10/31/fcc-bans-exclusive-cable-contracts-for-multiple-dwelling-units/ Until the new condominium law, there was no formal statutory definition of a conflict of interest. HRS §514B-125(f) now defines: “Conflict of interest”, as used in this subsection, means an issue in which a director has a direct personal or pecuniary interest not common to other members of the association. http://www.hawaiicondolaw.com/blog/2007/10/29/conflict-of-interest-defined/ Until the new condominium law, there was no formal statutory definition of a fiduciary duty. HRS §514B-106(a) now states: In the performance of their duties, officers and members of the board shall owe the association a fiduciary duty and exercise the degree of care and loyalty required of an officer ... http://www.hawaiicondolaw.com/blog/2007/10/28/fiduciary-duty-defined/ Most of you are aware that the Hawaii State Legislature is in session to consider the super ferry bill. In addition, by law, the Senate is required to consider any appointments by the Governor to judgeships, cabinet positions and commissions. However, since no action involving community associations is ... http://www.hawaiicondolaw.com/blog/2007/10/25/legislature-in-special-session/