meetings
Is it legal for an HOA Board of Directors to vote in executive session
About Post Author
3 Responses
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Is it legal for an HOA Board of Directors to vote in executive session
You must be logged in to post a comment.
No never has been legal since the open meeting laws were first introduced in 1994. The law says explicitly that associations can only “consider” any of 5 types of issues in closed session. The definition of the word “consideration” does not include any voting or taking of any action. In 2010 the statute was revised again to include a clear policy statement requiring any interpretation of any aspect of the open meeting statute to favor open meetings. Any association that interprets the word “consideration” to include the taking of actions applies that interpretation in favor of closed sessions and not open sessions and directly violates the clearly stated policy. Every HOA attorney and every Community manager has told these HOA boards for the last 31 years that they can take any action they want in direct violation of the law in executive sessions. What is the purpose of an open meeting law if board are free to take any action is secret in these executive sessions. I’ve seen association attorneys tell their boards that if they pay to have the attorney attend their closed meeting that can do whatever they want in closed sessions under the legal advice exception. Who do you thing this favors? The lawyer of course. He get to charge the association $500/hour to sit around in a meeting and then use that fact to directly violate the law.
Don’t ever believe that any HOA attorney or Community manager cares anything about compliance with the law and true guidance to these association boards, all they care about is easy money or making their work easier on them .
Dennis
Marla, see the brand new (April 28, 2026) APPELLATE court ruling — that makes it perfectly clear. I’m sure Dennis will be posting that to this portal very soon, if he hasn’t already. It’s a doozie!
Maria,
It is now Case Law for Arizona that these association cannot take any action on any issue in executive session, which I have always argued was the statutory law for the last 31 years. Every HOA attorney and Community manager has denied that truth and told boards that they can take any action they want in closed sessions. The case was decided yesterday and is A Z N H v. Sunland Springs HOA, and will be posed under Resources & tools later today. Beyond that case we also have a bill that has passed the house and awaiting Senate approval that will also codify in Statute that the association can take no actions in executive sessions. That bill is SB-1290.
It is time that we end the lies promoted by the trade organization CAI and AACM denying the total transparency all homeowners deserve and are entitled to under the law.
Dennis