2015 Connecticut General Statutes
Title 47 - Land and Land Titles
Chapter 828 - Common Interest Ownership Act
Section 47-250 - Meetings. Rules.

(a) The following requirements apply to unit owner meetings:

(1) An association shall hold a meeting of unit owners annually at a time, date and place stated in or fixed in accordance with the bylaws;

(2) An association shall hold a special meeting of unit owners if its president, a majority of the executive board, or unit owners having at least twenty per cent, or any lower percentage specified in the bylaws, of the votes in the association request that the secretary call the meeting. If the association does not notify unit owners of a special meeting within fifteen days after the requisite number or percentage of unit owners request the secretary to do so, the requesting members may directly notify the unit owners of the meeting. Only matters described in the meeting notice required by subdivision (3) of this subsection may be considered at a special meeting;

(3) An association shall notify unit owners of the time, date and place of each annual and special meeting of unit owners not less than ten days or more than sixty days before the meeting date. Notice may be by any means described in section 47-261c. The notice of any meeting shall state the time, date and place of the meeting and the items on the agenda, including (A) a statement of the general nature of any proposed amendment to the declaration or bylaws, (B) any budget changes, and (C) any proposal to remove an officer or member of the executive board;

(4) Unit owners shall be given a reasonable opportunity at any meeting to comment regarding any matter affecting the common interest community or the association; and

(5) The declaration or bylaws may allow for meetings of unit owners to be conducted by telephonic, video or other conferencing process if the alternative process is consistent with subdivision (7) of subsection (b) of this section.

(b) The following requirements apply to meetings of the executive board and committees of the association authorized to act for the association:

(1) Meetings shall be open to the unit owners and to a representative designated by any unit owner except during executive sessions. The executive board and those committees may hold an executive session only during a regular or special meeting of the board or a committee. No final vote or action may be taken during an executive session. An executive session may be held only to: (A) Consult with the association’s attorney concerning legal matters; (B) discuss existing or potential litigation or mediation, arbitration or administrative proceedings; (C) discuss labor or personnel matters; (D) discuss contracts, leases and other commercial transactions to purchase or provide goods or services currently being negotiated, including the review of bids or proposals, if premature general knowledge of those matters would place the association at a disadvantage; or (E) prevent public knowledge of the matter to be discussed if the executive board or committee determines that public knowledge would violate the privacy of any person.

(2) For purposes of this section, a gathering of board members at which the board members do not conduct association business is not a meeting of the executive board. The executive board and its members may not use incidental or social gatherings of board members or any other method to evade the open meeting requirements of this section.

(3) Notwithstanding any actions taken by not less than two-thirds consent of the entire executive board pursuant to subdivision (8) or (9) of this subsection, during and after the period of declarant control, the executive board shall meet at least two times a year at the common interest community or at a place convenient to the community. Those meetings, and after termination of the period of declarant control, all executive board meetings, shall be at the common interest community or at a place convenient to the community unless the bylaws are amended to vary the location of those meetings.

(4) At each executive board meeting, the executive board shall provide a reasonable opportunity for unit owners to comment regarding any matter affecting the common interest community and the association.

(5) Unless the meeting is included in a schedule given to the unit owners or the meeting is called to deal with an emergency, the secretary or other officer specified in the bylaws shall give notice of each executive board meeting to each board member and to the unit owners. The notice shall be given at least five days before the meeting and shall state the time, date, place and agenda of the meeting, except that notice of a meeting called to adopt, amend or repeal a rule shall be given in accordance with subsection (a) of section 47-261b. If notice of the meeting is included in a schedule given to the unit owners, the secretary or other officer specified in the bylaws shall make available an agenda for such meeting to each board member and to the unit owners not later than forty-eight hours prior to the meeting.

(6) If any materials are distributed to the executive board before the meeting, the executive board at the same time shall make copies of those materials reasonably available to unit owners, except that the board need not make available copies of unapproved minutes or materials that are to be considered in executive session.

(7) Unless prohibited by the declaration or bylaws, the executive board may meet by telephonic, video or other conferencing process if (A) the meeting notice states the conferencing process to be used and provides information explaining how unit owners may participate in the conference directly or by meeting at a central location or conference connection; and (B) the process provides all unit owners the opportunity to hear or perceive the discussion and offer comments as provided in subdivision (4) of this subsection.

(8) The minutes of all executive board meetings shall contain a record of how each board member cast his or her vote on any final action proposed to be taken by the executive board, unless such action was approved either by unanimous consent of the board members or without objection by any board member.

(9) Instead of meeting, the executive board may act by not less than two-thirds consent of all executive board members as documented in a record authenticated by its members, noting the consent or nonconsent of each executive board member. The secretary promptly shall give notice to all unit owners of any action taken by not less than two-thirds consent of all executive board members.

(10) Even if an action by the executive board is not in compliance with this section, it is valid unless set aside by a court. A challenge to the validity of an action of the executive board for failure to comply with this section may not be brought more than sixty days after the minutes of the executive board of the meeting at which the action was taken are approved or the record of that action is distributed to unit owners, whichever is later.

(c) Meetings of the association shall be conducted in accordance with the most recent edition of Roberts’ Rules of Order Newly Revised unless (1) the declaration, bylaws or other law otherwise provides, or (2) two-thirds of the votes allocated to owners present at the meeting are cast to suspend those rules.

(P.A. 83-474, S. 51, 96; P.A. 09-225, S. 25; P.A. 10-186, S. 10, 25; P.A. 13-289, S. 2; P.A. 14-215, S. 1; P.A. 15-211, S. 26, 27.)

History: P.A. 09-225 designated existing provisions as Subsec. (a) and amended same by adding requirements for unit owner meetings, added Subsec. (b) re executive board and committee meetings and added Subsec. (c) re conduct of meetings, effective July 1, 2010; P.A. 10-186 made technical changes in Subsec. (a)(2) and (3) and amended Subsec. (b)(5) to require notice at least 5 days, rather than 10 days, before meeting and add exception that notice to adopt, amend or repeal a rule shall be given in accordance with Sec. 47-261b(a), effective July 1, 2010; P.A. 13-289 amended Subsec. (b)(5) by adding provision re secretary or other officer to make meeting agenda available not later than 48 hours prior to the meeting if meeting notice is included in schedule given to unit owners; P.A. 14-215 amended Subsec. (b) by replacing “of subsection (b) of this section” with “or (9) of this subsection” in Subdiv. (3), adding new Subdiv. (8) requiring minutes of executive board meetings to contain record of how each board member cast his or her vote and redesignating existing Subdivs. (8) and (9) as Subdivs. (9) and (10); P.A. 15-211 amended Subsec. (b) by substituting “not less than two-thirds consent of the entire executive board” for “unanimous consent” in Subdiv. (3), and by substituting “not less than two-thirds consent of all executive board members” for “unanimous consent”, adding provision re authenticated record noting the consent or nonconsent of each executive board member and making a technical change in Subdiv. (9).