[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 145 (Friday, October 7, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: October 7, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
 REFERENCE SECTION 309 OF H.R. 5116, BANKRUPTCY AMENDMENTS ACT OF 1994.

  Mr. THURMOND. Mr. President, I wish to congratulate the chairman of 
the Judiciary Committee's Courts and Administrative Practices 
Subcommittee on passing H.R. 5119, the Bankruptcy Amendments Act of 
1994, in the Senate last night. I wish to ask the distinguished 
chairman one question relating to the amendment which I offered on the 
bankruptcy bill relating to the exception from discharge of certain 
fees and assessments which become due to condominium, cooperative and 
similar membership associations. Mr. Chairman, is it not correct, that 
although section 309 of H.R. 5116 as passed in the House and the Senate 
refers in particular to condominium and cooperative housing, that the 
section is broad enough to cover and intended to cover a variety of 
residential housing community associations?
  Mr. HEFLIN. You are correct, Senator Thurmond. As long as the 
residential housing community association has the attributes of 
condominium and cooperative associations, including mandatory 
membership and mandatory assessments for maintaining common areas, 
which run with the land, section 309 would apply to the members of the 
association. The type of housing association makes no difference to the 
underlying purpose of section 309, which is to avoid the unfair burden 
on the other members of the association which results from discharging 
the debtor's assessments in the situations specified in section 309.

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