SB 1151

Overview

SB 1151 materially constrains how community associations, boards of directors, and management conduct business by broadly defining “meetings” to include any quorum-level discussion of association matters, whether in person or through technological means. Control over the conduct of membership meetings is shifted away from the board, with boards and management relegated to a facilitative role and procedural decisions placed in the hands of the members present. The bill extends full open-meeting and notice requirements to board-appointed committees, significantly reducing the ability of boards and management to delegate or preliminarily vet issues outside a public forum. Executive sessions are narrowly limited to discussion only, prohibiting any action in closed session and requiring all decisions to occur in open meetings. Any action taken in violation of these requirements is deemed void as a matter of law, materially increasing compliance risk and exposure for associations, directors, and management.

Key Changes

• Amending A.R.S. 33-1202 and 33-1802 to define “meeting” as “any gathering or interaction, in person or through technological means, of a quorum of the board of directors, a designated committee or the [unit owners / association members] at which they propose, discuss, deliberate or take legal action on association business.”
• Amending A.R.S. 33-1243 and 33-1813 to remove the statutory quorum requirement for membership meetings at which members will vote on the removal of one or more board members, and to specify that any directors appointed or elected to fill vacancies caused by removal shall serve for the remainder of the removed director’s original term.
• Amending A.R.S. 33-1248 / 33-1804 as follows:
  • to require all board, membership, common element management committee (for condos), design control committee (for planned communities) or financial advisory committee meetings, however denominated, to be held open to all members or their designated representatives;
  • to expressly allow associations from establishing rules preventing the distribution of any recording of any association meeting to non-residents and non-owners, except for when used as evidence;
  • to exempt any recording made by the board, a committee, or any board agents from being considered a record of the association subject to a member’s right to request association records;
  • to clarify the reasons why the board may close portions of its meetings, to include both the board and any committee receiving legal advice; to include the review of records relating to the personal, health, or financial information of individual members or employees of association contractors; to exclude cited or contemplated citations for violations and the penalties imposed; to exclude the disposition of a member’s appeal of any violation; and to include the review, negotiation, and consideration of proprietary bid proposals from potential contractors or financing options from any financial institution; to require final approval of any contract to take place in open session.
  • to expressly provide that an association’s annual meeting is for purposes of electing directors and conducting other association business;
  • to allow for notice of an association’s annual meeting to be sent to a member’s email address if authorized and designated in writing by the member;
  • to require the notice of an association’s annual meeting to include the “method” of the meeting (e.g., zoom, in person, hybrid)
  • to add specific requirements for an association’s annual meeting, to include the following:
    • to provide that the unit owners of the association present or participating in the annual meeting shall control and conduct the meeting with the board facilitating the meeting and providing the minutes;
    • to defer to A.R.S. 33-1249 (for condominiums) or A.R.S. 33-1804.01 (for planned communities) for quorum for the annual meeting;
    • to require an annual meeting during which directors will be elected to be reconvened within 14 days of the prior meeting if quorum is not met;
    • to allow for a voice vote of show of hands of the unit owners present to decide any matters of meeting conduct;
    • to require all ballot actions to be conducted pursuant to A.R.S. 33-1250 and to allow all unit owners an opportunity to speak before any vote;
    • when annual meetings are conducted by remote meeting technology, associations must identify any eligible unit owners present who have not submitted absentee ballots and allow them an opportunity to vote in person by roll call, show of hands, or other appropriate means, and associations must create “a true written record of the votes cast without names attached;”
    • to require boards to provide a report on the status of the Association’s finances, the budget for the upcoming fiscal year, and the significant achievements and challenges from the last year and to then open the floor to the unit owners present to ask questions or raise concerns;
    • for special meetings of the association called by the requisite number of unit owners, the petition calling for the meeting shall specify the meeting agenda;
  • to specify that associations must provide advance notice of and agendas for open meetings of “designated committees” (similar to the notice and agenda requirements for board meetings);
  • with respect to open board, designated committee, or member meetings:
    • to expressly allow for emergency meetings to be conducted in any format determined by the board;
    • to expressly allow for meetings in person, by voice, video, or remote meeting technology, or any combination, provided a speaker is available that allows all parties participating to hear all other parties speaking;
    • to establish the following requirements for when remote meeting technology is used:
      • associations must provide all unit owners the access link in the meeting notice that is posted on a website or emailed to each unit owner, or provide the link upon request, and must allow any unit owner or the unit owner’s designated representative the opportunity to speak at the appropriate times;
      • association must allowed unit owners (or their designated representatives) to control their own microphones, but may ask that all microphones be muted until the unit owner (or a designated representative) requests to speak; unit owners (or their designated representatives) may speak on an issue when recognized by the presiding officer;
      • meeting hosts must enable individual recording capabilities;
    • for motions brought forth in open session that are related to closed session matters, the topic of the motion need not be included on the agenda, shall be made in a manner that does not disclose any privileged or confidential information, and unit owners present shall be provided an opportunity to speak on the issue;
    • to exempt from the meeting notice requirements, “casual discussion of association issues in social or personal gatherings, training sessions, condominium walkdowns, informal meetings of unit owners acting simply as unit owners or communications to establish meeting agendas,” even if a quorum of the board participates;
    • to require board meeting minutes to represent “a true and accurate record of all actions taken .. and the vote tally on those actions;”
    • to post or make available draft minutes of any board or committee meeting;
    • to void any action taken by a board in violation of the State’s open meeting policy with respect to community associations
• Amending A.R.S. 33-1249 to allows for board and committee members to attend their respective meetings in person, remotely, or by proxy held by another board or committee member who is present at the beginning of the meeting and to provide that any vacancy on a board or committee does not alter quorum requirements.
• Adding A.R.S. 33-1804.01 to:
  • set quorum for planned community member meetings as at least 25% of the votes in the association, unless the community documents specify a lower percentage;
  • set quorum for board or committee meetings at 50% of the votes on the board or committee, unless the bylaws specify a larger percentage
  • allow for board and committee members to attend their respective meetings in person, remotely, or by proxy held by another board or committee member who is present at the beginning of the meeting; and
  • to provide that any vacancy on a board or committee does not alter quorum requirements.
• Amending A.R.S. 33-1813

Legislative Timeline

• January 20, 2026 – Senate Second Reading
• January 15, 2026 – Introduced; Senate First Reading; Assigned to Senate Government and Rules Committees

Impact

Overall, SB 1151 aims to increase transparency, member participation, and accountability in the governance of community associations in Arizona. It also introduces specific rules for remote meetings and strengthens members’ rights to access information and participate in decision-making processes.