March 27, 2003

Mindy Carr
Director of Government Affairs

The morning started with the lobby team and Legislative Committee Chairman Bickford Shaw providing updates on legislative and industry issues and hot tips on communicating effectively with the legislators. Senator Jeff Wentworth, R-San Antonio, gave the group an inside view of the legislative process and an update of the session. After lunch, everyone headed up to the Capitol and spent the afternoon meeting with legislators. Obviously, the excitement of the capitol during the session was contagious, since many who attended were willing to take on additional appointments for those who were unable to arrive for the event.

I've received a great deal of positive feedback regarding our members' visits with the legislators and their staff. Many who attended commented on the importance of meeting regularly with their elected officials to discuss the many issues that affect the title industry. I can assure you, this event helped give TLTA and the title industry more presence in the legislature and will help to positively impact public policy in the future. Just as an example, as a result of these visits Allen Place (TLTA Legislative Consultant) and I have encountered a number of legislators and staff who are well aware of our concerns regarding SB 453 by Senator Hinojosa that requires county clerks to charge $1 per page for public records regardless of the format.

As I've said before, nothing can replace the impact of face-to-face meetings with lawmakers when tough issues are being debated. It's up to us to keep the lines of communication open with our legislators as we continue to bring our concerns to the table. If you didn't participate on February 19, you can still call or write your legislator to voice your concerns and opinions.

We are looking forward to the next TLTA Day at the Capitol. With the success of this first event we have set the stage for an increased level of participation in the legislative process in the future.

TLTA's Grass Roots Effort 
Needs You!

Here's another opportunity for you to communicate with your legislators. Building Legislative Opportunities and Contacts (BLOC) is TLTA's grassroots program to develop relationships and build effective communication between our members and Texas and Federal elected officials. Be sure to fill out a BLOC form and return it to TLTA as soon as possible. Now that the legislature is in full swing and bills are beginning to move rapidly, we need to know who you know. It is very important for legislators to hear from their constituents back in the district on how they feel about a particular piece of legislation. Your opinion can have a huge impact on whether or not they will continue to support or oppose a bill. Please click here to download a BLOC form and return it to TLTA today!

Federal News
 
The National Association of Realtors (NAR) has been working diligently on a way to keep large banking conglomerates from entering real estate brokerage. For now, they have succeeded by including a provision in the $397 billion spending bill, a 3,000 page document that will fund every area of the U.S. government except the Pentagon. The provision prohibits the Department of Treasury from finalizing the rule banks proposed before the Federal Reserve Board on Treasury that would allow federally chartered banks to enter real estate brokerage and property management. The budget provision specifically prevents the Treasury Department from using any funds to implement the rule in fiscal year 2003, which ends Sept 30. In the meantime, NAR is working on passing a HR111 also known as the Community Choice in Real Estate Act. This bill would prohibit financial holding companies and national banks from engaging, directly or indirectly, in real estate brokerage or real estate management activities. The bill has been referred to the House Committee on Financial Services for review.

Make Your Donation to the TLTA Second Annual PAC Silent Auction! 

Last year's first PAC silent auction was such a huge success that we're doing it again this year! Help us make this year an even bigger success! The auction will be held in conjunction with the TLTA Annual Conference June 6-8, 2003 at The Woodlands Resort and Conference Center. While you enjoy the beautiful surroundings at The Woodlands, join in on the fun and fierce competition of this year's silent auction.  Don 't miss the chance to donate an item – and come prepared to bid on a wide array of sought-after products and services.  Click here for Silent Auction Information and a Donation Form.

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Legislative Session Update

Friday, March 14^th was the deadline for filing bills other than local bills, emergency appropriations, and bills that have been declared an emergency by the governor. There were 3,650 bills filed in the House and 1,921 in the Senate. Legal counsel and the legislative lobby team have spent the last week reviewing the newly filed bills and analyzing the impact they have on the title insurance industry. The Legislative committee met on March 26 to discuss positions of support, oppose and amend on specific bills. They will then send recommendations to the TLTA Board for their approval. Click here if you would like to review a list of bills we are currently tracking. 

The lobby team has already spent a considerable amount of time working with legislators on bills dealing with access to public records. There have been more attempts this session to exempt names, addresses and social security numbers for selected individuals (such as former Department of Corrections employees) from real property records and appraisal records. Also, we are currently reviewing bills that increase fees for preservation, restoration and management of county records and a bill that expands this fee to include documents filed with the district clerk. Another bill would expand the current Records Archive fee to include all 254 counties instead of those counties adjacent to an international border. If you would like to submit comments regarding these bills, please e-mail Mindy Carr at mindy@tlta.com.

RESPA Reform Update

HUD’s RESPA reform proposal is now a “hot” topic on Capitol Hill since a number of committees have met to discuss the impact this issue will have on affected parties. The House Financial Services Housing Subcommittee held a hearing on February 25 giving representatives from several industry groups the opportunity to testify on the proposal. (Go to www.alta.org  to view submitted testimony.) ALTA testified in favor of a two-package approach with one package being the “loan package”, including the interest rate and any separate settlement charges imposed by the lender, such as loan origination or loan processing or underwriting fees. The second package would be the “settlement package”, which presumably would include the remaining settlement costs, such as the title insurance, closing attorney, survey, etc. There are concerns this approach could potentially put small title companies and independent agents at a significant disadvantage.

On the same subject, the TLTA Board of Directors recently voted to engage Piper Rudnick, one of the largest and most diverse Federal Affairs and Legislative practices in the country, to represent TLTA in its opposition to the HUD proposal. Piper Rudnick is currently working on a strategy to help us educate Texas U.S. Senators and Congressmen on the impact this proposal would have on small business and on the impact that pre-emption of our state laws and regulations would have on the industry. Unfortunately, Texas does not have representation on the subcommittee, however, we need to keep those Texas members informed who serve on the full committee and urge them to talk to their colleagues regarding Texas’ unique position. The following are members from Texas: Republicans Ron Paul and Jeb Hensarling and Democrats Max Sandlin, Charles Gonzales and Ruben Hinojosa. If you live in one of these Congressional districts, please contact your representative and let them know your concerns. Click here for a list of talking points that may be helpful in discussing this issue with elected officials and other industry leaders.

On March 11, the House Small Business Committee, Chaired by Congressman Manzullo (R-IL), held a hearing to discuss how the proposed changes to RESPA would impact small business. Testimony was presented by HUD Secretary Mel Martinez, along with Assistant Secretary John Weicher and other industry representatives. Martinez's best argument was that bundling was taking place anyway (vertically within a company), and by changing the rules, small providers could be part of packaging.  There were a number of negative comments made by committee members about the proposed rule. Chairman Manzullo clearly was upset with HUD’s analysis on the impact this rule would have on small business and demanded to know where HUD's cost estimates came from. As for title insurance, Asst. Secretary Weicher said consumers could save $1.8 billion from this rule, believing that over $1 billion of it would come from title insurance savings. There are two members of Congress on this committee, Larry Combest, a Republican from Lubbock and Charlie Gonzalez, a Democrat from San Antonio . Again, please contact these committee members and let them know your concerns. Please visit the ALTA website www.alta.org to review submitted testimony.

On March 20, the Senate Banking Committee which is chaired by Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL), held its meeting on HUD’s RESPA reform proposal.  Chairman Shelby expressed his concern, and noted the concerns of other groups opposed to the proposed rule, including the National Federation of Independent Businesses, America's Community Bankers, Small Business Association, National Association of Realtors and National Association of Homebuilders. Chairman Shelby repeatedly asked Secretary Martinez to ensure that the final rule provides for full and complete disclosure of every aspect of the settlement transaction.  Chairman Shelby also urged the Secretary not to rush to promulgate a final rule until the Committee has held at least 1 - 2 more hearings on the issue. We do not have any Texans serving on this committee, however a senator from Maryland commented that he had sent a letter to HUD expressing his concern that the rule not preempt state law.