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CAN ALERT: Your Annual Corporate Report is Due May 1st/Final Report of CALSC!

Your association must file an annual corporate report with the Florida Division of Corporations no later than May 1st each year. The annual report is not a financial statement. This report allows the Division of Corporations to update or confirm their records. You will be able to add, delete or change the names and/or addresses of the officers and directors; change your Registered Agent and Registered Office address and/or change the association's principal office address and mailing address. 
 
The filing fee for not-for-profit Florida corporations is $61.25. Not-for-profit corporations are not subject to a late fee if the report is not filed by the May 1st deadline but you can be administratively dissolved if the report and fee are not submitted for a period of time. 
 
If your association is unfortunate enough to be administratively dissolved, the following occurs: 
 
1.  You may not conduct any business except that which is necessary to wind up your affairs and liquidate the association's assets; 
2.  Lenders are not required to add the association as an additional defendant on their foreclosure actions; 
3.  A director, officer or agent of a corporation that has been dissolved who purports to act on behalf of that dissolved corporation is personally liable for the debts, obligations and liabilities of the corporation arising from such action if he or she has actual notice of the administrative dissolution and the actions occur subsequent to the dissolution; and 
4.  If your administrative dissolution status continues for one year or longer, your association name may be used by another corporation. 
 
In addition to the laundry list above, once your corporation has been dissolved, the fees to reinstate can be very costly. Please confirm that your property manager or the board member in charge of this function has filed your corporate report and annual fee by May 1st. 
 
For complete instructions on filing your association's annual report online, please click the link below: 
 
<a title="https://efile.sunbiz.org/sbs_ar_instr.html" href="https://efile.sunbiz.org/sbs_ar_instr.html">https://efile.sunbiz.org/sbs_ar_instr.html</a> 
 
On a separate note, the Community Association Living Study Council has released its Final Report dated March 31, 2009 to the Florida Legislature. 
 
The Council was created in 2008 by the Florida Legislature with the mandate to "review, evaluate and advise the Legislature concerning revisions and improvements to the laws relating to condominiums, cooperatives and homeowners' associations". The Council was to receive input from the public, either in person at hearings or via the Council's website at http://www.myflorida.com/dbpr/lsc/division/StudyCouncil.html. 
 
Meetings were held in three cities: Tampa (March 13); Tallahassee (March 16, March 23 and March 30) and Miami Beach (March 27).  50 people attended the Council's Tampa meeting and 40 people attended the Miami Beach meeting. The email responses were a little more successful with over 400 comments received. 
 
After receiving this input and meeting internally, the Council made the following recommendations, many of which were based on a review of Representative Julio Robaina's HB 1397: 
 
1.   Consider legislation to assist associations with the foreclosure crisis; 
2.   Remove commercial condominiums from the purview of Chapter 718 and place them within Chapter 721, F.S.; 
3.   Support the Division's creation of an educational booklet for boards which would be available on the Division's website; 
4.   Review and consider whether the Division is currently adequately staffed to properly process and enforce complaints; 
5.   Expand jurisdiction of small claims court to handle some association disputes; 
6.   Consider regulating all types of community associations under a single common interest ownership statute; 
7.   Encourage the appointment of a permanent Ombudsman with appropriate staffing; 
8.   Oppose any requirement that the actual amount of a special assessment must be provided on the meeting notice; an estimated amount will suffice; 
9.   Support certain limitations on a board's authority to borrow funds or obtain a line of credit; if a loan or line of credit exceeds 25% of the annual budget then approval of a majority of the unit owners present and voting should be necessary; 
10.  Support the requirement that a candidate's certification form be submitted before the election; 
11.  Oppose legislatng mandatory qualifications for board members such as unit ownership or limitations if owned by a trust; 
12.  Support removing email addresses from unit owner rosters; 
13.  Support the use of electronic or digital communication to facilitate association business; 
14.  Support the deletion of language in HB 1397 which would prevent any member of the Council from being a registered lobbyist; 
15.  Oppose the language in HB 1397 which would authorize the mandatory revocation of a CAM license upon the fifth finding and remove the word "firm" which ties the manager's revocation to the entire management firm; 
16.  Establish a 3-year pilot program for a task force to investigate economic crimes in community associations; 
17.  Oppose language that would allow wholesale examination of a private companies "books" without probable cause; and 
18.  Expand the role of the Regulatory Council of Community Association Managers by making it a "Board" rather than a "Council". 
 
For the complete Final Report, please click the link below: 
 
<a href="http://www.canfl.com/Documents/Final%20Report%20of%20Community%20Association%20Living%20Study%20Council%20-%203-31-09.pdf">http://www.canfl.com/Documents/Final%20Report%20of%20Community%20Association%20Living%20Study%20Council%20-%203-31-09.pdf</a> 
 
Lastly, so many of you have been taking advantage of the Capitol Connection to let your legislators know how you feel about various community association bills this session. Please continue taking advantage of this unique opportunity afforded to you as a member of CAN. If you do not remember your association's password, please contact Diane Schick at once at <a href="mailto:dschick@canfl.com">dschick@canfl.com</a>.  
 
Best Regards,
Donna D. Berger, Esq. 
Executive Director of the Community Advocacy Network (CAN) 
Telephone: 954.315.0372 
Facsimile: 954.315.0373 
Web: <a href="http://www.canfl.com">www.canfl.com</a> 
Email: <a href="mailto:dberger@canfl.com">dberger@canfl.com</a> 
 
If you no longer wish to receive CAN alerts, please hit Reply and type Unsubscribe in the subject line. You can also contact Diane Schick at <a href="mailto:dschick@canfl.com">dschick@canfl.com</a> to unsubscribe.  Thank you.

For more information, please contact Donna Berger at (954) 315-0372 or via email at dberger@canfl.com