Recording Amendments

I am wondering if a HOA has a time limit to record an amendment to their documents. Until the amendment is recorded in the County records in the county that HOA is located, can the association use that amendment to their document, or do they have to stay with their documents as written until the filing? This Homeowners Assn. is located in Florida.

You might also read your bylaws on how they are amended, repealed or changed. In a nutshell our bylaws allow our board to make, amend or repeal the bylaws with unanimous written consent of the directors at a board meeting. However there is a checks and balance on this action. The Bylaw further states 'any bylaw made, amended or repealed by the board must be approved by a 2/3 vote of the members present at an annual general meeting or special meeting provided a quorum is present, providing notice of intention to make, amend or repeal the bylaws at such a meeting shall have been given in accordance.......'

Our annual general meeting is in June and at that time our membership might offer a direction to the board during the open forum discussion or in presenting a new business item that may require us to review the particular bylaw governing this area over the next year. This review may result in an amendment the board would send to the bylaw comm. and act on and then take to the membership at the next AGM to ratify if the action was successful.
Example: our construction permit process required a member to attend a board meeting or mail their permits and plans by registered mail. Costly in time and money to the member and the board when building activity increased. We revised the amendment to simplify it for our members and upon review by the bylaw comm. to make sure it was not in conflict with any county, or state mandates, or other CCR's of ours we started using the simplified amendment. The bylaw amendment is before our membership for ratification at our June AGM.
(Quite honestly and in my humble opinion, this should never have been a bylaw amendment in the first place.)

Hello SwanB;
You posted some interesting information about amending documents. I'm not sure where you live, but I'm thinking it must be required in most states that all documents and any amendments must be recorded with the county clerks office in the county that is home to your HOA, before the amendments become valid. I was wondering what kind of time frame we are dealing with. Thanks for your input.