WCCO-TV’s Esme Murphy ran a story on her 10:30 a.m. Sunday show today in the Twin Cities, covering “HOA Reform” and its rationale in the state legislature. The bill that is currently proceeding through its paces is SF1750, a Senate File bill that is headed to the floor of the Senate for debate in St. Paul. Murphy opted to interview House Representative Kristin Bahner (D-Maple Grove), the author of the now stalled House companion bill that was launched earlier this year when the Senate bill was also introduced.

The report featured the typical talking points associated with this legislation and did not shed any new light on the bill’s prospects. Bahner made it a point to say that most HOAs are “doing a good job,” while repeating the very false story of a woman who was foreclosed on by her big bad HOA for just $56. This story is oft repeated by those making a point about HOAs, ignoring the fact that the homeowner in question was actually in arrears for thousands of dollars, forcing the HOA to begin foreclosure proceedings. By the time all was said and done, a balance under $100 remained as proceedings continued; hence the convenient story that is perpetuated by legislators and stated as fact on this program.

The HOA Leadership Network issued a statement on Friday (at Murphy’s request) and the statement was featured. I took a snapshot of it while it ran on my TV this morning, so forgive the reflection from my HOA kitchen window. We’ll post the whole interview here once WCCO gets around to posting it on their site.  — Mark Foster

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Update: WCCO posted the entire report that aired this morning. You can watch the report HERE.