If so, those dreams are now reality.

This session, the Washington legislature passed the Electronic Notice Bill amending the HOA Act to allow homeowners associations subject to RCW 64.38 to give notice of association meetings by email. Click HERE for a link to SHB 1370.

Effective just a little over two weeks ago, on July 28, 2013, the amendment to RCW 64.38.035 allows “electronic transmission” of meeting notice to “an address, location, or system designated in writing by the owner.” Importantly, the notice is only effective if the owner has already consented to receive electronic notice in a written record delivered to the secretary of the association or other officer designated in the Bylaws to receive such consents. So if you want to provide e-mailed notices to owners for meetings, your community should solicit these requests by providing owners with a simple form containing boilerplate language consenting to receive email notices of meetings.

The change mirrors the requirements already contained in the Washington Nonprofit Corporations Act at RCW 24.03.009, which was enacted in 2004, although it is somewhat more limited in that it does not explicitly allow the electronic “posting” of notice contained in the Nonprofit Corporations Act.

As with the Nonprofit Corporations Act, this provision is limited only to notices to owners in non-condominium homeowners associations and only for member meetings. The statute does not cover notices to board members of board meetings. Nor does it cover voting by email or other electronic means. Those changes are yet to come.

So, while it might not be everything of which your community dreamed, the statute is a first step towards keeping up with modern communication technology and the realities of community governance.

For our Oregon clients, please see an article we posted last year on “Association Meeting Notices in the Digital Age” (click here to view that article).

As ever, if you have specific questions, please do not hesitate to call me or one of my Partners here at the Barker Martin office.

Best regards,

Marlyn Hawkins