State Attorney Office for SC

I have spoken of this before:

History.
It occcured to me that the State would have some responsibility to Condo andd Hoas in regard to how our association is governed. Long story short, I posed the question, finally, to our SAO (States Attorney Offfice); What is the law concerning open meetings in association under the Law, Horizontal Property Act of SC, this law allows the association to be listed as a business and allows for the Regim to be Incorporated and also has a great deal of detail of the responsibility of the State. Our Documents discribe this Law as the top of our Hierarchy Level. They firsst responded they could not provide a private citizen with legal information and I should consult an attorney for an opinion. I stated I have an opinion I want to know what the Law says.
Then they say I will need to haave an elected representative to request this information from the SAO. So, I got my county councilman to request on my behalf. Then I hear that is not good enough, but they will not reply in writing to me, they have to have the question posed by the entire council (11 members). My ccouncilman says he doesn't think this is a Countty Council function and gave me the phone # of contact person in SAO. She says I could get a State Senator to ask the question for me, but she advised that even iff I do the SAO will not respond.

None of this is made up and aside from the newest conversation I had with SAO I have a an e-mail thread that verifies what I am saying. Conversation with the SAO revealed that the State of South Carolina considers all Condo and HOA government to be outside (OUTSIDE)the laws of the state and they have no power for enforcing or controlling any CC7R's devised by these associations.

Paul, Joe, Roger, Gloria, Judith and all the rest of you smart folks, give this considerable thought and see if there is anything I can do but hire a lawyer. Our Board lawyer was instrumental in writing our CC&R's and transferring the property to the association in 1981. Would his opinion be unbiased? The rule to hold open meetings was not included when our documents were written, there is no mention of it, they were not addressed when they were fully amended, all by the same attorney that we pay for advice today.
Our Board for the last 17 years will not ccnsider any question into the lagality of closed meeting, they just do it.

RobertR1: Sad, sad, sad...but I'm not surprised at the position they are taking (or not taking...) of a total lack of responsibility. So, it sounds like you may be ready to fight City Hall?...You are not deterred yet? You are a force to be reckoned with, me thinks!!!

The SC Horizontal Property Act states... SECTION 27-31-160. Provisions required in bylaws; modification of system of administration.
The bylaws must necessarily provide for at least the following:
(a) Form of administration, indicating whether this shall be in charge of an administrator or of a board of administration, or otherwise, and specifying the powers, manner of removal and, where proper, the compensation thereof;

(b) Method of calling or summoning the co-owners to assemble; that a majority of at least fifty-one percent is required to adopt decisions; who is to preside over the meeting and who will keep the minutes book wherein the resolutions shall be recorded;

Therefore, based on (b) above, what can we glean from this statement?

Melissa,
I can't imagine this is confusing, but, to simplify.

Our condo has had closed regular meeting for years and years. 99% of our board members have been from out of town or out of state. They hold board
meeting by conference call, no notice is given, no invitations are extended. We are incorporated and formed under the Horizontal Property act of the State of SC. The state of SC decrees that HOA and CONDO asssociation business is OUTSIDE of the Laws of SC, therefore they will not provide a legal opinion about "closed" meetings.
I disagree aand feel the state has a responsibility as most states do.

Now let me say this Melissa. I have noticed you keep going over and over about how people can not understand what it is like to serve on a Board unless they have done it. In my case, that is utter nonsense. I know that I know as much about Board requirements and certainly about Condo CC&R's than than anyone I have met in the 17 years that I lived here. I played cop around here for 15 years and I spent countless hours, more than any Board member here in learning how this place operates. I am not completely dumb and ignorant, I have a keen interest about the place I live in and I care for this place as much if not more than any other. In my condo, I am respected by nearly all and I have disagreed with nearly all, but heart of hearts this place is getting their monies worth because I live here. So please, no sad song about the sudden acquirement of intelligence or dedication, about how being on the board elevates this p-erson to some exulted status and degards all the innate intelligence of folks not on the board. I know from where you are coming and you are right in some areas about how apathic and non-appreciative of Board members It is a tough job but so is walking the back alleys of Iraq, it's just a matter of degrees.

Paul,
I, like the Attorney General, glean nothing of substance from your quote.
Seems to me it would be a simple thing to add in there somewhere, "All regular meeting of the board will require notification to all owners and each owner shall be given access to participate at some specific time and speak for say three minutes and have his comments recorded into the minutes. I bet it wouldn't take up 15 minutes, our Board Meeting by telephone with five BOD and Manager can go on for hours. Our Annual meeting is open and scripted by the Board and it can go on for 4-5 hours.
And our Board president says that is all the communiocation the members need along with the Managers feel good, doing great reports and the Presidents letters he sends around when people start to get too close the nitty gritty.

Joe,
Very sober advice, Chianti or not, and much appreciated along with your promise to give this some thought. I really think we will be able to add a resolution to our By-laws that will dictate open meetings in our Condo and our HOA has always had open meetings.

As a Homeowner I think the practice of closed General Meetings is unacceptable, but Rome was not built in a day. I am very concerned with the position of our States Attorney and his position that the Law bestows his office no authority to oversee the governance of HOA's and Condo Associations. I wonder now if it is possible for the Enforcement authorities to actually take to trial violations such as fraud and crimes of this sort within the Associations. I am probably way off base here for a number of reasons, and need to direct my efforts to this open/closed meetings problem, as I see it.

South Carolina is one of those states that because of climate, Coast line, mountains and lots of beautiful rural areas, have, in the past twenty years realized a complete change in the demographics of the state, good and bad. The coast is now about wall to wall people, but still room for more, the mountain and lake areas and areas surrounding the largest cities are blooming like the flowers in a greenhouse. No one, at any State Government level could have planned for this explosive growth. But a few groups had the vision and set the building blocks for the state for the last twenty years and the next fifty years. Those groups were the ones that saw financial gain. The developers, the lawyers, the real estate people, the construction companies, the utilities, the bankers, the investors, mortgage companies, and some politicians. I am not debating the merits of any of them, just saying the growth was too fast, has created more problems than it solved, and the worst is yet to come.

In my opinion, the most serious effect this will have on this state is the overwhelming presence of absentee property owners (oxymoron?). What does it matter? XXXXXXXXXXXX It matters because these absentee property owners for the most part will never contribute their children to the communities XXXXXXXXXX.

From learning on this site and other places and methods it becomes clear that for South Carolina a very critical look by the legislatures is in order. We are way behind the curve at the state level. When I read of some states requirements as they pertain to HOA's and Condo's and then look at our State Statute I am mystified. I am acutely aware I have tunnel vision and a severe deficiet in knowledge to understand all the legal provisions of this total issue.

I am a windmill tilter to the core.