Why was I in Topeka testifying in front of the Kansas legislators today? HB 2557. Kansas now has this bill in the Local Government Committee being discussed to make amendments to the Kansas Uniform Common Interest Owners Bill of Rights Act.
The bill needs a lot of work but the legislators were all ears today. Some were very open about how they are hearing from more and more of their constituents that are having HOA problems.
As a lifetime broadcast journalist, I sometimes did some odd things as I negotiated my way through the low ranks of radio journalism into the top ranks of TV journalism. One odd thing that became a habit was ‘snooping’ on the reading habits of my supervisors. Really! Whenever I was called into the office of a supervisor I would carefully note which books I saw on his or her desk. When a book is recommended by upper management you can usually see copies on the desks of each of your managers. I used to carry a tiny notepad into the boss’s office and write down the names of books and authors that various managers were reading. It seemed a clever and calculated thing to do, just to track what management was thinking at any given time. It’s how I came across, “Winning through Intimidation” by Robert Ringer and “How To Stop Worrying and Start Living” by Carnegie. I ALWAYS bought and read copies of the books I saw on the boss’s desk.
We hear it all too often on this website: How come HOAs don’t have to follow the law like all other debt collection agencies?
The only answer I have is that legislators are either crooked, or stupid, flat-out don’t care or a combination of any of the three. Believe me, your message is getting through to a handful of them. They occasionally contact me. But overall, lawmakers are feigning ignorance of this growing national scandal.
Colorado Springs Town Hall Meeting: let us know how you can help get the word out about this meeting on Feb 13: contact legislators, post flyer at your HOA, local media, etc.
Construction Defects Legislation: here we go again with the Denver Post exclusively contacting the Community Associations Institute (CAI) to represent homeowners’ interests in how homeowners’ money is used in litigation. Below is our letter to the editor of the Denver Post and copied to legislators:
Finally, I’ve found something written by reporter Jeff German to be dead wrong. You’ll think it’s a minor point, but I think it’s huge. However, I still think it would be a sin not to award this journalist the Pulitzer for his stories on the massive organized crime network that stole more than 60 million dollars from Las Vegas Homeowners.
German will think his error is small, but he might even end up agreeing with me. The misstatement is contained in the fourth paragraph linked below. The story is about the last criminal in the HOA swindle being sentenced to three years in prison after the prosecutor asked for 21 years in prison. More horrible sentencing by a Federal Judge.
