Bylaws question

We have a small HOA in WA St with 32 lots. The original owners are now selling to new owners causing all kinds of questions (which is all good and shows how boards can be lulled into a sense of ‘don’t rock the boat’ and forget we have stay current).

Past board members decided to file the Bylaws with the county as they did the CCRs. They filed the Bylaws three times, each time stating they had a ‘majority’ of votes needed. Where the CCR amendments say they have the requisite 65% vote of lot owners.

When I asked members what the majority meant, the presiding board president at the time said they couldn’t get a 65 % majority of lot owners to approve so they counted the spouses votes at the meetings to approve the bylaws.

I have a few questions on our Bylaws. (Not covered in our CCRs)

1. Do bylaws need a 65 % vote to be enforceable/valid?

2. May bylaws be kept at the HOA without registering with the county?

3. How do you delete documents not filed legally? (Didn’t have the requisite majority vote of 65%) shouldn’t be there to confuse lot owners.

Thanks!

Usually bylaws state, often near the end, what must happen to amend them. Often it's an vote of owners with a simple majority of owners approving the amendments. But we've seen some at this site which may be amended only by a board vote.

What do you bylaws say?

Usually bylaws don't need to be recorded.

BTW, the last set of Bylaws that either were properly voted on or the original are now your Bylaws. Any actions taken using the incorrect Bylaws are invalidated.

I love it.

Seriously though, like Kerry asked, what do your Bylaws say about what percentage of owners it takes to pass an amendment; who is an owner; and how many votes per lot are allowed?

From what you quoted subsequently, no.From looking at Washington's HOA statute and Washington's Secretary of State-Corporations site, I think yes. See
https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=64.38
and
https://www.sos.wa.gov/corps/faq---how-do-i-get-copies-.aspx

If you are talking about not having the required majority vote (including counting spouses such that some lots had more than one vote per lot), your board could do it. Else if you cannot get your board to do it, then you could maybe (1) call the county clerk and see if they have any thoughts; or (2) consult an attorney. This really is a big deal, as owners new to the HOA are operating on the assumption that certain Bylaws are valid when in fact it appears they may not be.