(a) Notwithstanding any other law or the association’s governing documents, a board meeting or meeting of the members may be conducted entirely by teleconference, without any physical location being held open for the attendance of any director or member, if all of the following conditions are satisfied:
(1) The notice for each meeting conducted under this section includes, in addition to other required content for meeting notices, all of the following:
(A) Clear technical instructions on how to participate by teleconference.
(B) The telephone number and electronic mail address of a person who can provide technical assistance with the teleconference process, both before and during the meeting.
(C) A reminder that a member may request individual delivery of meeting notices, with instructions on how to do so.
(2) Every director and member has the same ability to participate in the meeting that would exist if the meeting were held in person.
(3) Any vote of the directors shall be conducted by a roll call vote.
(4) Any person who is entitled to participate in the meeting shall be given the option of participating by telephone.
(b) Subdivision (a) does not apply to a meeting at which ballots are counted and tabulated pursuant to Section 5120.
Related Links
AB 648 Signed! Virtual HOA Meetings
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Civil Code Section 4955. Enforcement of Open Meeting Act.
(a) A member of an association may bring a civil action for declaratory or equitable relief for a violation of this article by the association, including, but not limited to, injunctive relief, restitution, or a combination thereof, within one year of the date the cause of action accrues.
(b) A member who prevails in a civil action to enforce the member’s rights pursuant to this article shall be entitled to reasonable attorney’s fees and court costs, and the court may impose a civil penalty of up to five hundred dollars ($500) for each violation, except that each identical violation shall be subject to only one penalty if the violation affects each member equally. A prevailing association shall not recover any costs, unless the court finds the action to be frivolous, unreasonable, or without foundation.
Civil Code Section 4950. Minutes of Meetings.
(a) The minutes, minutes proposed for adoption that are marked to indicate draft status, or a summary of the minutes, of any board meeting, other than an executive session, shall be available to members within 30 days of the meeting. The minutes, proposed minutes, or summary minutes shall be distributed to any member upon request and upon reimbursement of the association’s costs for making that distribution.
(b) The annual policy statement, prepared pursuant to Section 5310, shall inform the members of their right to obtain copies of board meeting minutes and of how and where to do so.
Civil Code Section 4935. Executive Session Meetings.
(a) The board may adjourn to, or meet solely in, executive session to consider litigation, matters relating to the formation of contracts with third parties, member discipline, personnel matters, or to meet with a member, upon the member’s request, regarding the member’s payment of assessments, as specified in Section 5665.
(b) The board shall adjourn to, or meet solely in, executive session to discuss member discipline, if requested by the member who is the subject of the discussion. That member shall be entitled to attend the executive session.
(c) The board shall adjourn to, or meet solely in, executive session to discuss a payment plan pursuant to Section 5665.
(d) The board shall adjourn to, or meet solely in, executive session to decide whether to foreclose on a lien pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 5705.
(e) Any matter discussed in executive session shall be generally noted in the minutes of the immediately following meeting that is open to the entire membership.
Civil Code Section 4930. Limitations on Board Meetings.
(a) Except as described in subdivisions (b) to (e), inclusive, the board may not discuss or take action on any item at a nonemergency meeting unless the item was placed on the agenda included in the notice that was distributed pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 4920. This subdivision does not prohibit a member or resident who is not a director from speaking on issues not on the agenda.
(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), a director, a managing agent or other agent of the board, or a member of the staff of the board, may do any of the following:
(1) Briefly respond to statements made or questions posed by a person speaking at a meeting as described in subdivision (b) of Section 4925.
(2) Ask a question for clarification, make a brief announcement, or make a brief report on the person’s own activities, whether in response to questions posed by a member or based upon the person’s own initiative.
(c) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), the board or a director, subject to rules or procedures of the board, may do any of the following:
(1) Provide a reference to, or provide other resources for factual information to, its managing agent or other agents or staff.
(2) Request its managing agent or other agents or staff to report back to the board at a subsequent meeting concerning any matter, or take action to direct its managing agent or other agents or staff to place a matter of business on a future agenda.
(3) Direct its managing agent or other agents or staff to perform administrative tasks that are necessary to carry out this section.
(d) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), the board may take action on any item of business not appearing on the agenda distributed pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 4920 under any of the following conditions:
(1) Upon a determination made by a majority of the board present at the meeting that an emergency situation exists. An emergency situation exists if there are circumstances that could not have been reasonably foreseen by the board, that require immediate attention and possible action by the board, and that, of necessity, make it impracticable to provide notice.
(2) Upon a determination made by the board by a vote of two-thirds of the directors present at the meeting, or, if less than two-thirds of total membership of the board is present at the meeting, by a unanimous vote of the directors present, that there is a need to take immediate action and that the need for action came to the attention of the board after the agenda was distributed pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 4920.
(3) The item appeared on an agenda that was distributed pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 4920 for a prior meeting of the board that occurred not more than 30 calendar days before the date that action is taken on the item and, at the prior meeting, action on the item was continued to the meeting at which the action is taken.
(e) Before discussing any item pursuant to subdivision (d), the board shall openly identify the item to the members in attendance at the meeting.
Civil Code Section 4925. Rights to Attend Open Meetings; Open Forum.
(a) Any member may attend board meetings, except when the board adjourns to, or meets solely in, executive session. As specified in subdivision (b) of Section 4090, a member of the association shall be entitled to attend a teleconference meeting or the portion of a teleconference meeting that is open to members, and that meeting or portion of the meeting shall be audible to the members in a location specified in the notice of the meeting.
(b) The board shall permit any member to speak at any meeting of the association or the board, except for meetings of the board held in executive session. A reasonable time limit for all members of the association to speak to the board or before a meeting of the association shall be established by the board.
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Homeowner Attorneys at your HOA’s Board Meetings? This Could Become the New Normal – Published on HOA Lawyer Blog (January 29, 2016)
Civil Code Section 4923. Emergency Board Meetings.
An emergency board meeting may be called by the president of the association, or by any two directors other than the president, if there are circumstances that could not have been reasonably foreseen which require immediate attention and possible action by the board, and which of necessity make it impracticable to provide notice as required by Section 4920.
Civil Code Section 4920. Notice of Board Meetings.
(a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), the association shall give notice of the time and place of a board meeting at least four days before the meeting.
(b)
(1) If a board meeting is an emergency meeting held pursuant to Section 4923, the association is not required to give notice of the time and place of the meeting.
(2) If a nonemergency board meeting is held solely in executive session, the association shall give notice of the time and place of the meeting at least two days prior to the meeting.
(3) If the association’s governing documents require a longer period of notice than is required by this section, the association shall comply with the period stated in its governing documents. For the purposes of this paragraph, a governing document provision does not apply to a notice of an emergency meeting or a meeting held solely in executive session unless it specifically states that it applies to those types of meetings.
(c) Notice of a board meeting shall be given by general delivery pursuant to Section 4045.
(d) Notice of a board meeting shall contain the agenda for the meeting.
Civil Code Section 4910. No Board Action Outside of Meeting.
(a) The board shall not take action on any item of business outside of a board meeting.
(b)
(1) Notwithstanding Section 7211 of the Corporations Code, the board shall not conduct a meeting via a series of electronic transmissions, including, but not limited to, electronic mail, except as specified in paragraph (2).
(2) Electronic transmissions may be used as a method of conducting an emergency board meeting if all directors, individually or collectively, consent in writing to that action, and if the written consent or consents are filed with the minutes of the board meeting. These written consents may be transmitted electronically.