GOVERNOR'S VETO

Pursuant to Article V, Section 6, of the Constitution of Virginia, I veto House Bill 423, which would require the Common Interest Community Board to develop and publish best practices and model declarations.

Virginia law already defines and outlines the minimum components required for declarations, those legal documents establishing the contract between members and their condominium, real estate cooperative, or property owners' association.  Declarations are specific to each community, and associations should rely on attorneys and other real estate professionals in creating those governing documents, rather than relying on a model declaration from a state government board.  While perhaps well intentioned, this bill increases the Common Interest Community Board's workload without any discernible benefit.

Accordingly, I veto this bill.