Latest news with #ReportforAmericaStatehouseNewsInitiative
23-06-2025
- Business
Florida condo owners will get financial relief under a new law
Florida condominium residents grappling with the steep cost of building improvements will get some financial relief under a new bill signed into law by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday. The new measure gives condo homeowner associations more flexibility in how to build up their reserve funds and eases some requirements for safety assessments. Approval came the day before the fourth anniversary of the partial collapse of Champlain Towers South, which killed 98 people in Surfside in 2021. The new law goes into effect July 1 and is aimed at reforming a condo safety law passed in 2022 in the wake of that disaster. Speaking at Monday's bill signing in Clearwater, Republican state Sen. Ed Hooper said the 2022 law was meant to ensure there was never another collapse like Surfside. In retrospect, he said some of the requirements enacted were probably an overreaction, which lawmakers are now hoping to correct. 'Now it's time to make the change,' Hooper said. 'Elderly people are losing their condos because they could not afford to make the increase in their monthly HOA fees. That's just wrong.' Condo owners in Florida faced rising costs under the 2022 law, which requires condo associations to have sufficient reserves to cover major repairs. In the aftermath of the Surfside disaster, some residents were caught off guard by hefty fees levied to cover years of deferred maintenance expenses required to bring their buildings into compliance with the 2022 legislation. The mounting costs to cover renovations and build up reserve funds have strained residents in the condo haven of South Florida, especially retirees and those living on fixed incomes. Condo owners along the state's southwest coast have taken the extra hit of last year's back-to-back hurricanes, which clobbered waterfront communities in the Tampa Bay area and forced additional renovations and repairs. 'It's a full-time job for me keeping track of this,' condo owner Earle Cooper said of the repairs to his building in Belleair. 'Hurricanes just multiply the problems.' The new measure allows certain condo associations to fund their reserves through a loan or line of credit. It also gives residents greater flexibility to pause payments into their reserve funds while they prioritize needed repairs and extends the deadline for associations to complete structural integrity studies. Some smaller buildings will be exempt from having to do those analyses. 'I think that this will provide relief,' DeSantis said. 'But to the extent that there needs to be some cleanup next year when the legislature reconvenes, we got to be willing to do that.' ___ Kate Payne is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
San Francisco Chronicle
23-06-2025
- Business
- San Francisco Chronicle
Florida condo owners will get financial relief under a new law
Florida condominium residents grappling with the steep cost of building improvements will get some financial relief under a new bill signed into law by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday. The new measure gives condo homeowner associations more flexibility in how to build up their reserve funds and eases some requirements for safety assessments. Approval came the day before the fourth anniversary of the partial collapse of Champlain Towers South, which killed 98 people in Surfside in 2021. The new law goes into effect July 1 and is aimed at reforming a condo safety law passed in 2022 in the wake of that disaster. Speaking at Monday's bill signing in Clearwater, Republican state Sen. Ed Hooper said the 2022 law was meant to ensure there was never another collapse like Surfside. In retrospect, he said some of the requirements enacted were probably an overreaction, which lawmakers are now hoping to correct. 'Now it's time to make the change,' Hooper said. 'Elderly people are losing their condos because they could not afford to make the increase in their monthly HOA fees. That's just wrong.' Condo owners in Florida faced rising costs under the 2022 law, which requires condo associations to have sufficient reserves to cover major repairs. In the aftermath of the Surfside disaster, some residents were caught off guard by hefty fees levied to cover years of deferred maintenance expenses required to bring their buildings into compliance with the 2022 legislation. The mounting costs to cover renovations and build up reserve funds have strained residents in the condo haven of South Florida, especially retirees and those living on fixed incomes. Condo owners along the state's southwest coast have taken the extra hit of last year's back-to-back hurricanes, which clobbered waterfront communities in the Tampa Bay area and forced additional renovations and repairs. 'It's a full-time job for me keeping track of this,' condo owner Earle Cooper said of the repairs to his building in Belleair. 'Hurricanes just multiply the problems.' The new measure allows certain condo associations to fund their reserves through a loan or line of credit. It also gives residents greater flexibility to pause payments into their reserve funds while they prioritize needed repairs and extends the deadline for associations to complete structural integrity studies. Some smaller buildings will be exempt from having to do those analyses. 'I think that this will provide relief,' DeSantis said. 'But to the extent that there needs to be some cleanup next year when the legislature reconvenes, we got to be willing to do that.' ___ Kate Payne is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
Yahoo
23-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Florida condo owners will get financial relief under a new law
Florida condominium residents grappling with the steep cost of building improvements will get some financial relief under a new bill signed into law by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday. The new measure gives condo homeowner associations more flexibility in how to build up their reserve funds and eases some requirements for safety assessments. Approval came the day before the fourth anniversary of the partial collapse of Champlain Towers South, which killed 98 people in Surfside in 2021. The new law goes into effect July 1 and is aimed at reforming a condo safety law passed in 2022 in the wake of that disaster. Speaking at Monday's bill signing in Clearwater, Republican state Sen. Ed Hooper said the 2022 law was meant to ensure there was never another collapse like Surfside. In retrospect, he said some of the requirements enacted were probably an overreaction, which lawmakers are now hoping to correct. 'Now it's time to make the change,' Hooper said. 'Elderly people are losing their condos because they could not afford to make the increase in their monthly HOA fees. That's just wrong.' Condo owners in Florida faced rising costs under the 2022 law, which requires condo associations to have sufficient reserves to cover major repairs. In the aftermath of the Surfside disaster, some residents were caught off guard by hefty fees levied to cover years of deferred maintenance expenses required to bring their buildings into compliance with the 2022 legislation. The mounting costs to cover renovations and build up reserve funds have strained residents in the condo haven of South Florida, especially retirees and those living on fixed incomes. Condo owners along the state's southwest coast have taken the extra hit of last year's back-to-back hurricanes, which clobbered waterfront communities in the Tampa Bay area and forced additional renovations and repairs. 'It's a full-time job for me keeping track of this,' condo owner Earle Cooper said of the repairs to his building in Belleair. 'Hurricanes just multiply the problems.' The new measure allows certain condo associations to fund their reserves through a loan or line of credit. It also gives residents greater flexibility to pause payments into their reserve funds while they prioritize needed repairs and extends the deadline for associations to complete structural integrity studies. Some smaller buildings will be exempt from having to do those analyses. 'I think that this will provide relief,' DeSantis said. 'But to the extent that there needs to be some cleanup next year when the legislature reconvenes, we got to be willing to do that.' ___ Kate Payne is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Kate Payne, The Associated Press
Winnipeg Free Press
23-06-2025
- Business
- Winnipeg Free Press
Florida condo owners will get financial relief under a new law
Florida condominium residents grappling with the steep cost of building improvements will get some financial relief under a new bill signed into law by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday. The new measure gives condo homeowner associations more flexibility in how to build up their reserve funds and eases some requirements for safety assessments. Approval came the day before the fourth anniversary of the partial collapse of Champlain Towers South, which killed 98 people in Surfside in 2021. The new law goes into effect July 1 and is aimed at reforming a condo safety law passed in 2022 in the wake of that disaster. Speaking at Monday's bill signing in Clearwater, Republican state Sen. Ed Hooper said the 2022 law was meant to ensure there was never another collapse like Surfside. In retrospect, he said some of the requirements enacted were probably an overreaction, which lawmakers are now hoping to correct. 'Now it's time to make the change,' Hooper said. 'Elderly people are losing their condos because they could not afford to make the increase in their monthly HOA fees. That's just wrong.' Condo owners in Florida faced rising costs under the 2022 law, which requires condo associations to have sufficient reserves to cover major repairs. In the aftermath of the Surfside disaster, some residents were caught off guard by hefty fees levied to cover years of deferred maintenance expenses required to bring their buildings into compliance with the 2022 legislation. Wednesdays Columnist Jen Zoratti looks at what's next in arts, life and pop culture. The mounting costs to cover renovations and build up reserve funds have strained residents in the condo haven of South Florida, especially retirees and those living on fixed incomes. Condo owners along the state's southwest coast have taken the extra hit of last year's back-to-back hurricanes, which clobbered waterfront communities in the Tampa Bay area and forced additional renovations and repairs. 'It's a full-time job for me keeping track of this,' condo owner Earle Cooper said of the repairs to his building in Belleair. 'Hurricanes just multiply the problems.' The new measure allows certain condo associations to fund their reserves through a loan or line of credit. It also gives residents greater flexibility to pause payments into their reserve funds while they prioritize needed repairs and extends the deadline for associations to complete structural integrity studies. Some smaller buildings will be exempt from having to do those analyses. 'I think that this will provide relief,' DeSantis said. 'But to the extent that there needs to be some cleanup next year when the legislature reconvenes, we got to be willing to do that.' ___ Kate Payne is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
Winnipeg Free Press
23-06-2025
- Business
- Winnipeg Free Press
Texas governor vetoes bill that would ban all THC products
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott vetoed a bill Sunday to ban all THC consumables, allowing the booming market flush with THC-infused vapes, gummies and other products to continue to be sold across the state. Abbott, a Republican, waited until the final moment to veto the bill in what would have been one of the most restrictive THC bans in the country and a significant blow to the state's billion-dollar industry. The law would have made it a misdemeanor to own, manufacture or sell consumable THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, products and was the latest push by states to regulate THC after a 2018 federal law allowed states to regulate hemp, a similar plant to marijuana that can be synthetically processed to produce THC, the compound giving marijuana its psychoactive properties. Loopholes in existing law have allowed many THC-infused goods to enter the market across the country, including states with strict marijuana laws. Texas has some of the strictest marijuana laws in the country, prohibiting all recreational use and providing a limited medical marijuana program. The consumables market has allowed residents to legally access goods giving a similar high to marijuana. Republican lawmakers have criticized the products as dangerous due to a lack of federal oversight in how the goods are manufactured. Texas' ban is one of the more far-reaching among states that have taken similar steps. Several states, including California, have imposed age limits and restrictions on the potency of THC products. Critics of the Texas bill say it allows people who cannot access marijuana through the state's medical marijuana program to acquire goods that can provide a similar relief. Many retailers across the state also pointed to the thousands of jobs and millions in revenue the industry brings each year. Last year, Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed a bill that would have put age restrictions on THC consumables, claiming it would hurt small businesses. ___ Lathan is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
