QUESTION: Under the new law regarding conference calls, our president believes we cannot have meetings with call-in by the board members without allowing members to speak during the meeting. Is this true?

ANSWER: The new law does not change how meetings are conducted. The revised Open Meeting Act allows directors to call into the meeting via teleconference if at least one member of the board is at a physical location where homeowners can attend. Civ. Code §1363.05(k)(2)(B). Your president may think that new rights are being conferred because of language that is a little misleading: “Participation…constitutes presence at that meeting as long as all board members…are able to hear one another and members of the association speaking on matters before the board.” Civ. Code §1363.05(k)(2)(B). The italicized language is not giving members the right to speak on matters as they are raised during the course of the meeting, it is referring to the Open Forum. Board members attending via conference phone must be able to hear homeowners who are addressing the board during the Open Forum portion of the meeting (and owners must be able to hear the board as it conducts the meeting).

Adrian J. Adams, Esq.
ADAMS & KESSLER LLP