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HOA Inquiry Stalls Trash Bill on Floor of the Colorado House

By Lawrence B. Leff, Mark K. Payne, Suzanne M. Leff, Stan V. Jezierski

As noted in our March 1^st blog posting, Representative Libby Szabo introduced House Bill 11-1116 ('HB 1116') in the Colorado House which would regulate the ability of local governments to require citizens to pay for and utilize residential waste services provided for by the municipality in which they live.

Yesterday an amended version of HB 1116 was considered by the full House which provided that local governments (after the effective date of the new law) that plan to require citizens to pay for and utilize their residential waste services – must first provide the electorate with an opportunity to vote on whether the local government may take such action. 

 

During deliberations in the House, Representative Brown introduced an amendment to the bill where local governments would not be required to provide the electorate with an opportunity to vote on the issue "if a resident is allowed the option of not using such services at any time without penalty. . .' 

This amendment was passed by the House and certainly provided a 'chin scratching' moment. How – you might ask – could a municipality possibly enter into a contract with a provider for waste removal services if they don't have any idea how many citizens will utilize the service? How will the costs be passed along to the citizens utilizing the service if a resident can opt out of using the service at any time?  Would the charges have to be prorated?   

 

While I was pondering these questions, Representative Balmer inquired on the floor about whether the amendment would permit HOAs to opt out of using trash removal services mandated by local governments. This was a great question to ask since many HOAs are required under the governing documents to provide trash removal services for members. The answer to this question was 'no.' 

 

Following the HOA inquiry, debate on the bill ground to a halt and the bill was laid over for further action by the House until today.  The House once again laid over HB 1116 today – which means they declined to act on the bill. 

 

This legislation seems to be in some trouble and we will provide you with relevant updates as they become available.   

Full post as published by Colorado Homeowners Association Law Blog on March 18, 2011 (boomark / email).