(1)(a) Within 90 days after being elected or appointed to the board, each director shall certify in writing to the secretary of the association that he or she has read the association’s declaration of covenants, articles of incorporation, bylaws, and current written rules and policies; that he or she will work to uphold such documents and policies to the best of his or her ability; and that he or she will faithfully discharge his or her fiduciary responsibility to the association’s members. Within 90 days after being elected or appointed to the board, in lieu of such written certification, the newly elected or appointed director may submit a certificate of having satisfactorily completed the educational curriculum administered by a division-approved education provider within 1 year before or 90 days after the date of election or appointment.

Terms Used In Florida Statutes 720.3033

  • association: means a Florida corporation responsible for the operation of a community or a mobile home subdivision in which the voting membership is made up of parcel owners or their agents, or a combination thereof, and in which membership is a mandatory condition of parcel ownership, and which is authorized to impose assessments that, if unpaid, may become a lien on the parcel. See Florida Statutes 720.301
  • Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
  • Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
  • Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
  • declaration: means a recorded written instrument or instruments in the nature of covenants running with the land which subject the land comprising the community to the jurisdiction and control of an association or associations in which the owners of the parcels, or their association representatives, must be members. See Florida Statutes 720.301
  • Developer: means a person or entity that:
    (a) Creates the community served by the association; or
    (b) Succeeds to the rights and liabilities of the person or entity that created the community served by the association, provided that such is evidenced in writing. See Florida Statutes 720.301
  • Embezzlement: In most states, embezzlement is defined as theft/larceny of assets (money or property) by a person in a position of trust or responsibility over those assets. Embezzlement typically occurs in the employment and corporate settings. Source: OCC
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
  • Indictment: The formal charge issued by a grand jury stating that there is enough evidence that the defendant committed the crime to justify having a trial; it is used primarily for felonies.
  • Member: means a member of an association, and may include, but is not limited to, a parcel owner or an association representing parcel owners or a combination thereof, and includes any person or entity obligated by the governing documents to pay an assessment or amenity fee. See Florida Statutes 720.301
  • Nolo contendere: No contest-has the same effect as a plea of guilty, as far as the criminal sentence is concerned, but may not be considered as an admission of guilt for any other purpose.
  • Parcel: means a platted or unplatted lot, tract, unit, or other subdivision of real property within a community, as described in the declaration:
    (a) Which is capable of separate conveyance; and
    (b) Of which the parcel owner, or an association in which the parcel owner must be a member, is obligated:
    1. See Florida Statutes 720.301
  • Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
  • person: includes individuals, children, firms, associations, joint adventures, partnerships, estates, trusts, business trusts, syndicates, fiduciaries, corporations, and all other groups or combinations. See Florida Statutes 1.01
  • Plea: In a criminal case, the defendant's statement pleading "guilty" or "not guilty" in answer to the charges, a declaration made in open court.
  • Remainder: An interest in property that takes effect in the future at a specified time or after the occurrence of some event, such as the death of a life tenant.
  • Uphold: The decision of an appellate court not to reverse a lower court decision.
  • writing: includes handwriting, printing, typewriting, and all other methods and means of forming letters and characters upon paper, stone, wood, or other materials. See Florida Statutes 1.01
(b) The written certification or educational certificate is valid for the uninterrupted tenure of the director on the board. A director who does not timely file the written certification or educational certificate shall be suspended from the board until he or she complies with the requirement. The board may temporarily fill the vacancy during the period of suspension.
(c) The association shall retain each director’s written certification or educational certificate for inspection by the members for 5 years after the director’s election. However, the failure to have the written certification or educational certificate on file does not affect the validity of any board action.
(2) If the association enters into a contract or other transaction with any of its directors or a corporation, firm, association that is not an affiliated homeowners’ association, or other entity in which an association director is also a director or officer or is financially interested, the board must:

(a) Comply with the requirements of s. 617.0832.
(b) Enter the disclosures required by s. 617.0832 into the written minutes of the meeting.
(c) Approve the contract or other transaction by an affirmative vote of two-thirds of the directors present.
(d) At the next regular or special meeting of the members, disclose the existence of the contract or other transaction to the members. Upon motion of any member, the contract or transaction shall be brought up for a vote and may be canceled by a majority vote of the members present. If the members cancel the contract, the association is only liable for the reasonable value of goods and services provided up to the time of cancellation and is not liable for any termination fee, liquidated damages, or other penalty for such cancellation.
(3) An officer, a director, or a manager may not solicit, offer to accept, or accept any thing or service of value for which consideration has not been provided for his or her benefit or for the benefit of a member of his or her immediate family from any person providing or proposing to provide goods or services to the association. An officer, a director, or a manager who knowingly solicits, offers to accept, or accepts any thing or service of value or kickback for which consideration has not been provided for his or her own benefit or that of his or her immediate family from any person providing or proposing to provide goods or services to the association is subject to monetary damages under s. 617.0834. If the board finds that an officer or a director has violated this subsection, the board shall immediately remove the officer or director from office. The vacancy shall be filled according to law until the end of the officer’s or director’s term of office. However, an officer, a director, or a manager may accept food to be consumed at a business meeting with a value of less than $25 per individual or a service or good received in connection with trade fairs or education programs.
(4)(a) A director or an officer charged by information or indictment with any of the following crimes must be removed from office:

1. Forgery of a ballot envelope or voting certificate used in a homeowners’ association election as provided in s. 831.01.
2. Theft or embezzlement involving the association’s funds or property as provided in s. 812.014.
3. Destruction of or the refusal to allow inspection or copying of an official record of a homeowners’ association which is accessible to parcel owners within the time periods required by general law, in furtherance of any crime. Such act constitutes tampering with physical evidence as provided in s. 918.13.
4. Obstruction of justice as provided in chapter 843.
(b) The board shall fill the vacancy as provided in s. 720.306(9) until the end of the period of the suspension or the end of the director’s term of office, whichever occurs first. If such criminal charge is pending against the officer or director, he or she may not be appointed or elected to a position as an officer or a director of any association and may not have access to the official records of any association, except pursuant to a court order. However, if the charges are resolved without a finding of guilt or without acceptance of a plea of guilty or nolo contendere, the director or officer shall be reinstated for any remainder of his or her term of office.
(5) The association shall maintain insurance or a fidelity bond for all persons who control or disburse funds of the association. The insurance policy or fidelity bond must cover the maximum funds that will be in the custody of the association or its management agent at any one time. As used in this subsection, the term “persons who control or disburse funds of the association” includes, but is not limited to, persons authorized to sign checks on behalf of the association, and the president, secretary, and treasurer of the association. The association shall bear the cost of any insurance or bond. If annually approved by a majority of the voting interests present at a properly called meeting of the association, an association may waive the requirement of obtaining an insurance policy or fidelity bond for all persons who control or disburse funds of the association.
(6)(a) Directors and officers of an association who are appointed by the developer must disclose to the association their relationship to the developer each calendar year in which they serve as a director or an officer. Directors and officers appointed by the developer must disclose any other activity that may reasonably be construed to be a conflict of interest pursuant to paragraph (b). A developer’s appointment of an officer or director does not create a presumption that the officer or director has a conflict of interest with regard to the performance of his or her official duties.
(b) Directors and officers must disclose to the association any activity that may be reasonably construed to be a conflict of interest at least 14 days before voting on an issue or entering into a contract that is the subject of the conflict. A rebuttable presumption of a conflict of interest exists if any of the following acts occur without prior disclosure to the association:

1. A director or an officer, or a relative of a director or an officer, enters into a contract for goods or services with the association.
2. A director or an officer, or a relative of a director or an officer, holds an interest in a corporation, limited liability company, partnership, limited liability partnership, or other business entity that conducts business with the association or proposes to enter into a contract or other transaction with the association.
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