Legislative Developments

The Texas Legislature will consider changing the definition of “instrument” in its statute relating to personal information that may be omitted from certain property records. Read on for more details.

The Illinois General Assembly on Nov. 5 introduced legislation that would allow the secretary of financial and professional regulation to refuse to grant, and suspend or revoke a certificate of authority, registration or license issued under the act if the holder of or applicant for a certificate of authority, registration or license is both a holder of a registration as a title agent and a licensed real estate agent or licensed real estate broker; or is both a holder of a registration as a title agent and a loan originator, mortgage loan originator, loan officer or a Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry license holder. Read on for more details.

The California Legislature adopted two bills regarding Blockchain. One requires the appointment of a Blockchain working group to define Blockchain and define the uses, risk and benefits of using Blockchain technology. The other bill would authorize corporations to adopt provisions of their articles of incorporation to allow the use of Blockchain in its records. Read on for more details.

In advance of a Senate Banking Committee hearing – which now has been postponed indefinitely – Sens. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) wrote to ask the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to study the impact of Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) laws on the real estate sector. Read on for more details.

California Gov. Jerry Brown recently signed into law a bill which provides requirements to be satisfied before the exercise of a power of sale under a mortgage or deed of trust in connection with foreclosure. The bill, SB 818, was sponsored by state Sen. Jim Beall (D-15) and passed the Assembly and Senate by unanimous votes. Among the provisions is a liability to borrowers for material violations of the provisions which would permit a court to award the greater of treble actual damages or specified statutory damages in cases of intention or reckless violations. Read on for more.

During its legislative session, the Alabama Legislature enacted a bill that amends the foreclosure statute by changing the provision regarding the right-of-redemption period as well as the notice provision. Read on for more details.

Maine Gov. Paul LePage signed legislation designed to protect homeowners affected by tax lien foreclosure. Read on for more details.

Calif. Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation that would require supervised financial organizations that negotiate the modification of any of the terms of a loan or extension of credit secured by residential real property primarily in one of several languages and offers a final loan modification in writing, to deliver to the borrower, at the time of the final loan modification, a specified form summarizing the modified term in the same language as the negotiation. Read on for more details.

Modifications to the Connecticut foreclosure mediation statute, passed during the 2018 session, are set to go into effect Oct. 1. Read on for more details.

Days after the House Financial Services Committee passed a companion bill, Sens. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and James Lankford (R-Okla.) introduced S. 3443, the Give Useful Information to Define Effective Compliance Act. The act is designed to enhance transparency and predictability to the rulemaking process of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Read on for more details.