Recording Meeting?

as a business, you have a right to restrict cameras and recording devices on your property. When holding a meeting of (most) any kind for your business, the meeting room becomes your business property, at least for the duration of the meeting. thus, you can restrict recording devices, if you have a firm, written statement to the effect, and it's known/posted.

However, I can't say that is the smart thing to do. In general, i am all for transparency, and see nothing wrong with allowing a recording to occur. I think it would improve, eventually, the meetings/process. Besides that, in every state except California, someone can secretly record the meeting anyway, for personal reasons, without too much trouble from the law. It would violate the HOA policy, but honestly, what's the punishment for that?

FL statute 720.303(2)for Homeowners Associations states:
2) BOARD MEETINGS.--

(a) A meeting of the board of directors of an association occurs whenever a quorum of the board gathers to conduct association business. All meetings of the board must be open to all members except for meetings between the board and its attorney with respect to proposed or pending litigation where the contents of the discussion would otherwise be governed by the attorney-client privilege. The provisions of this subsection shall also apply to the meetings of any committee or other similar body when a final decision will be made regarding the expenditure of association funds and to meetings of any body vested with the power to approve or disapprove architectural decisions with respect to a specific parcel of residential property owned by a member of the community.

(b) Members have the right to attend all meetings of the board and to speak on any matter placed on the agenda by petition of the voting interests for at least 3 minutes. The association may adopt written reasonable rules expanding the right of members to speak and governing the frequency, duration, and other manner of member statements, which rules must be consistent with this paragraph and may include a sign-up sheet for members wishing to speak. Notwithstanding any other law, the requirement that board meetings and committee meetings be open to the members is inapplicable to meetings between the board or a committee and the association's attorney, with respect to meetings of the board held for the purpose of discussing personnel matters.

I'm not sure if you are in a Homeowners Assoc. or Condo Assoc. If it is a Condo you can check FL 718, but I believe it is much the same.
I will send a second reply to copy the statute on videotaping.

FL statute 720.306 (10)states
(10) RECORDING.--Any parcel owner may tape record or videotape meetings of the board of directors and meetings of the members. The board of directors of the association may adopt reasonable rules governing the taping of meetings of the board and the membership.
You can find the FL statutes by going to the Community Assoc. Network link from this site. Then go to the State Info on the left side and pick the state. Then on the right side you will find the link to all of the statutes. Select either Condo or Homeowners.

Folks from Arizona - we have VERY open laws here in Florida.
Wish Donna would come back........she knows both condo and HOA laws!

This Q & A recently appeared in a FL newspaper........
Q. What constitutes a meeting? Our condominium board has been using task force meetings and roundtable discussions to circumvent the requirement of posting the time and place of such events and keep them closed to the residents. Should they be posted and open to all? It seems just a facade to keep the residents out. — M.I., St. Petersburg

A. This is a subject that is frequently asked. They use the pretence of these closed meetings to avoid the name board meeting by using names like workshop, roundtables, discussion groups or study groups. Condominiums and HOAs have the same answer found in their respective statutes (FS 718.112 and FS 720.303). Anytime a quorum of directors meet to discuss association business it is considered a board meeting and must be noticed, open to the members and minutes taken along with other meeting requirements. Any other name used does not skirt around the statute requirements. Meetings and communications, where less than a quorum of directors are present, do not fall under the open meeting requirements. The key is a quorum of director meeting to discuss association business.

Thanks for all the replys on this issue.Welcome Bob to this site. I am sure you will learn alot good and bad things about HOA's Yes, recording is OK for Florida i don't agree with it but all meeting can be recorded.This is one statue i would likie to see updated.

In Michigan, the Board would have to vote to give anyone permission to record a Board meeting. The minutes of the meeting suffice as the "official record" of what happened at the meeting. (I am talking about homeowner associations. Someone else can speak on condo board recording)

By the way . . . behavior does NOT get better when meetings are televised or recorded. You should see our televised municipal board and/or committee meetings. It's a disgrace!!

Susan, i mostly agree with you... the board would need to officially give permission for open recording in the situation you mentioned (it is their company meeting). If they didn't, the owner could "wear a wire" and do it quietly. The board would have very little legal standing to penalize the person, if caught (ie, not doing what the board asks isn't much of a crime). They could require the offending HO to leave, generally...

John,

Do you know of, or are you a member of, Jan Bergeman's FL group, CCFJ?