Notes from Charlotte County, Florida

Crist officially signed Senate Bill 1196 on June 1 but is in town to shake hands and hobnob with some of the people instrumental in getting the measure approved.

The governor was scheduled to appear at the Beach Community Center in Fort Lauderdale, Century Village East in Deerfield Beach and the Hagen Ranch Road Library in Delray Beach.

The bill is meant to help condo boards hammered by financial problems caused the housing meltdown. It requires lenders that foreclose on condo units to cover 12 months of unpaid homeowner association assessments or 1 percent of the original mortgage debt, whichever is less. Previously, lenders had to pay six months of assessments or 1 percent of mortgage debt.

The bill also makes it easier for condo associations to opt out of expensive fire sprinkler, smoke detector and elevator upgrades that must be completed by 2014. In addition, it adds protections for bulk buyers of condo units and suspends voting rights for condo owners who are 90 days delinquent.