http://www.localnewsonly.com/areanews/0510cox03.htm
Since we have discussed HOA's before on Towertalk the above story,
although not ham or tower related, is interesting about HOA's gone
amuck. The original HOA board, in another subdivision near me in the
Dallas/Fort Worth area approves a change years ago allowing an outside
lawn storage building and 10 years later another board of the same HOA
decides no and files suit against a family that had just bought the
house and wasn't a party to the original approval process. It cost the
second family who bought the house nearly $10,000 in legal fees.
Also, the Texas Senate Bill to reign in some of the power of HOA's in
Texas received a favorable report out of a state senate committee and
may come up before the end of the session in two weeks.
However, with the recent flight of all but one Democoratic state rep. in
the Texas House to Oklahoma, because of a dispute with GOP lawmakers
over Congressional redistricting, a lot of bills will have to be
considered in a special 30 day session of the legislature. In Texas,
only the governor can name what will be discussed in a special session
and I have a feeling the HOA bill won't be one of those items.
A quirky thing in Texas law allows the speaker of the state house of
representatives to order the "arrest" of any house member who is absent
from a legislative session without an excused absence, kind of like the
truant officer or police catching you when you skipped school. So all
51 Democratic state reps fled , 50 went to a Holiday Inn in Ardmore
Okla., denying a quorum to conduct business in the house and out of the
jurisdiction of Texas Rangers and State Troopers who eventually went to
Oklahoma to first find them and then ask them to return, after first
issuing state wide arrest warrants in Texas for every missing house
member.
One Democratic state rep. who didn't flee the state but was still in
hiding was "caught", "arrested" and physically returned to Austin. As
an aside, the house speaker kept all the GOP state reps on the house
floor all day, every day, and wouldn't even let them leave the house
floor for natural functions, unless they had his permission.
To say the Texas and national news media had a field day with this story
is an understatement. The truant state reps. returned on Thursday to
all kinds of cheering in Austin, but probably cost Texas taxpayers
several hundred thousand $$$$. It still doesn't bode too well for the
HOA bill getting passed this session.
Tom, WW5L
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