Having been stalled in the Assembly in last year’s legislative session, SB 561 has risen from the ashes like a phoenix, but this time with completely different content due to recent amendments. The bill number is the same, but that’s about the only part of it that hasn’t changed.
Kathy Mills, Esq.
SB 561 was the bill opposed by CAI because it tied the hands of homeowners associations when collecting delinquent assessments by requiring that collection agencies get paid last after the association was paid all monies due. It was a good thing that the bill languished in the Assembly last session because it would have effectively eliminated the use of debt collectors by homeowners associations as a method of collecting overdue assessments. Debt collectors would not have been willing to do the collection work for associations if they were the last to be paid.
The good news is that the new content in SB 561 has nothing to do with homeowners associations and is no longer a source of concern for association boards. On June 6, 2012, the bill was amended and re-referred to the Assembly Judiciary Committee. SB 561 now permits certain law enforcement agencies to collect statistical data on arrests or prosecutions involving private information gleaned from the Internet that was used in the commission of a crime, which is a far cry from the prior version.
– Katherine Mills, Esquire, is a member of the CAI-CLAC PR Committee