James Magid, CMCA, LSM, PCAM – Wentworth Property Management Corp., AAMC
Chair, CAI-NJ Legislative Action Committee
The New Jersey chapter continues to coordinate efforts to expand FEMA assistance to common interest communities that most recently suffered catastrophic hardship from Super Storm Sandy. Dawn Bauman, Senior Vice President of Government & Public Affairs for CAI National, and her team, have been meeting with legislative leadership in Washington, D.C. and the New Jersey chapter has requested meetings with key leaders in their New Jersey district offices as well. You can assist these efforts by completing a survey sponsored by CAI National which will enable us to compile important statistics and present them to federal decision makers. The survey can be found at www.surveymonkey.com/s/7TTDH89. If you have specific questions related to this initiative or the survey, please contact Michael Hedge, Senior Director of Government & Public Affairs, Grassroots, at CAI National at mhedge@caionline.org.
Representatives of the New Jersey Legislative Action Committee (LAC), along with our lobbyists, will be meeting with Assemblyman Herb Conaway on his bill, A-3497, which revises the residential property mortgage foreclosure process; requires documentation of the right to foreclose, and consultation on foreclosure alternatives. A-3497 also provides an expedited process for foreclosing abandoned properties. We look forward to working with the Sponsor to further strengthen the legislation. Assemblyman Conaway is also a Co-Sponsor of the manager licensing bill.
The LAC is also working with the sponsors of A-3706 and S-2553, which, for a period of 12 months, prohibits enforcement of a homeowners’ association bylaws, prohibiting domesticated animals, if an owner is designated by FEMA as a “displaced individual” following an emergency declaration by the President or Governor. We do not agree that community associations should be mandated by the government to suspend enforcement of their communities’ rules. While we are sensitive to the desire of our community association homeowners to assist displaced family members and friends and their pets, we believe that best approach would be for homeowners to request leniency from the community association boards on an individual basis.
We continue to see the introduction of bills requiring the installation of emergency power supply systems in case of emergency. S-2462, sponsored by Senator Brian Stack, requires newly-constructed multiple dwellings, with six or more residential units, to install standby generators to provide electricity in case of emergency. Senator James Holzapfel introduced S-2491, which requires the installation of emergency power supply systems to certain common areas of new planned real estate developments, and provides for tax incentives. The LAC remains opposed to these mandates. The decision should be left to each community association; however, we strongly encourage every community association to have an emergency preparedness policy and disaster/evacuation plan.
