April 23, 2004
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Its official – Governor calls special session on school finance
Governor Rick Perry has called a special session to begin on April 20^th to address the issue of public school funding also known as “Robin Hood." The Governor’s “Educational Excellence and Equity Plan” proposes to eliminate “Robin Hood”, cut school property taxes for homeowners and spend more money on education.

Revenue would be replaced by instituting a number of "sin" taxes, including installing video lottery terminals at horse and dog race tracks and Indian reservations, increasing fees on cigarettes, and establishing fees on “adult entertainment."  In addition Perry has proposed to speed collection of sales and franchise taxes from businesses and allow private firms to collect state taxes. The plan also calls for capping residential appraisals at 3 percent, capping taxes at the local level, closing the loopholes in the franchise tax and reforming the appraisal process by requiring mandatory sales price disclosure of real property and establishing an elected appraisal board. The legislature has been actively working on a plan of their own during the last several months. The Joint Select Committee on Public School Finance has met several times and devised an outline of how they think the state should fund public schools. Some of the options that were discussed include a business activity tax, sales tax increase, increased motor sales tax and a statewide property tax with a constitutional cap. You can be assured at this point that all available options are on the table. The TLTA Lobby Team will be actively monitoring committee meetings and floor debates as the Special Session commences. To read more about the Governor’s plan and to download a copy of his “Educational Excellence and Equity Plan”, please click here, http://www.governor.state.tx.us
/priorities/education .

TLTA Legislative Committee meets to discuss taxes
The TLTA Legislative Committee met by teleconference on April 1^st to discuss possible changes to the tax structure and how those would affect the title insurance industry in Texas. The Governor and the Joint Select Committee on Public School Finance have both laid out their proposals to cut property taxes and change the way we fund public schools. Any changes in the current tax system could potentially have negative affects on the title insurance industry. The Legislative Committee decided the most harmful options at this point were a mandatory sales price disclosure and a school impact fee. Both would place greater liability and responsibility on the title company. When presented to the TLTA Board of Directors, the board felt that we should oppose any tax that would place additional burdens on a title company such as the responsibility of collecting and remitting any new taxes or fees on real estate transactions.

Place your order now for updates to the Basic Manual
All updates to the Texas Title Insurance Basic Manual resulting from the 2002 Rule Hearing and newly approved Home Equity items have been mailed.  If you have not ordered updates for your Basic Manual, you need to do so now. Updates will not automatically be mailed to you.

Please note: A decision has not yet been announced regarding RATE Hearing Items. As a result, a second shipment of updates pertaining to the RATE portion of the 2002 Hearing will occur separately. To order your copy of the Basic Manual Updates, click here.

2004 Texas Title Insurance Agent Statistical Call for Information
It's that time of year again.  The Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) has issued a bulletin requesting information for the year ending on December 31, 2003.

TDI encourages you to submit your experience electronically using the TACS. Use of this program significantly reduces errors. Agents who have used the system in prior years have provided very positive feedback about the quality of the program. As an added incentive, you have an extra 2 weeks to complete the call if you use the program. Copies of the TACS program and manual are being mailed to newly licensed title agents only. If you need help in completing the TDI statistical report using TACS, register today for the TLTA Statistical Teleconference, April 28.

April 13^th runoff election summary
It proved to be another tough night for two more democratic incumbents. Six-term incumbent Roberto Gutierrez (D-McAllen) and freshman Gabi Canales (D-Alice) lost their re-election bid to the House of Representatives.  In the March issue of Dateline Austin we reported that five democratic incumbents were defeated in the March primary. So what does this mean to TLTA? We will have seven new members we will need to get to know. Republican Mike McCaul of Austin is on his way to Congress since he has no opponent in November. Former State Representative Arlene Wohlgemuth, R-Burleson won her race and will face a tough election against incumbent Chet Edwards (D-Waco).

In the U.S. House, a recount in Laredo changed the outcome of CD 28. Former Texas Representative and Secretary of State Henry Cuellar had barely lost (by 151 votes) to Congressman Ciro Rodriguez (D-San Antonio). After a recount was conducted, Cuellar was declared the winner. However, Rodriguez has since filed a lawsuit and the matter will now be decided in a court of law.

P-53 Update
Due to the continuing need for clarification regarding implementation of this rule, we have urged TDI to provide access to any written correspondence and other explanations of interpretations that they have provided to industry members and the public in response to questions. This information may be provided in the form of a Frequently Asked Questions page that could be posted on the TDI Web site in the near future. We hope that this will be a helpful compliance tool for your company. 

As previously reported, TLTA has dedicated a page on our Web site to Procedural Rule P-53. We have added new information and will continue to keep the page updated with current information and resources as they become available.  If you missed the TLTA Teleconference regarding P-53, we have a limited amount of audiotapes available for purchase. Click here to purchase an audiotape of the March 23^rd Teleconference.

HUD withdraws RESPA reform rule
Score one for the industry! HUD submitted a letter on March 22 withdrawing the proposed RESPA regulation from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) which was reviewing the rule as a precursor to finalizing it. After one year of visiting with members of Congress, activating our grassroots contacts and hiring a DC lobbyist, we have finally won more time to work out our differences with HUD and other proponents of the rule. TLTA feels that we could not have accomplished our goal without the incredible participation from our membership and other real estate industry representatives. We owe many thanks to those Members of Congress who stepped up to the plate to convince HUD and the White House that making overreaching changes to RESPA at this time was not in the best interest of the consumer. However, we must not let this victory make us complacent in our efforts to reinforce the message to all these entities that such radical changes to RESPA are not necessary. We must now begin an “offensive” strategy and develop a core message while we have their undivided attention and the momentum to build support in Texas to preserve state law. We have won the battle but not the war. Please help us continue to spread the message by staying in contact with your Congressmen. Click here to view HUD’s letter to the OMB and here to view OMB’s letter to HUD.

Alphonso Jackson confirmed
HUD Acting Secretary Alphonso Jackson was confirmed March 31^st as housing secretary by a unanimous vote in the Senate. Alphonso, a friend and former neighbor of President Bush in North Dallas, spent the last three years as deputy secretary of housing and urban development.  Jackson’s nomination was placed in jeopardy when Sen. Wayne Allard withdrew his support during a Senate Banking Committee hearing in which Jackson was challenged on his support of RESPA reform. Once the RESPA rule was pulled from consideration at OMB on March 22^nd, the Senator moved quickly to approve Jackson.

Board adopts recommendation to continue contract with DC firm
The TLTA Board of Directors has approved the continuation of our contract with DC lobby firm, Piper Rudnick, based on the assumption we will continue to face adversarial issues on the federal level. Although RESPA reform has been tabled for now, we feel that a rule will be re-proposed in the near future. Jim Hyland's outstanding efforts in regards to the RESPA issue have helped us accomplish many of our goals and we are excited that he will continue to represent TLTA in Washington D.C.

Federal Issues Task Force meets to discuss strategy
The task force met in late March to discuss strategy regarding RESPA reform, how to increase our key contacts and the possibility of creating a Federal PAC. Task Force Chairman Jack Rogers lead the charge to outline a strategy now that we have the lawmaker’s undivided attention. We should develop a position to support small, necessary changes to RESPA but oppose any major overhaul or preemption of state law and regulation. We should meet with key players in DC such as HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson, White House staff and key members of Congress. We should continue to keep the Texas Congressional Delegation informed about our position and maintain our alliances with other real estate industry groups. The task force discussed the need to make our grassroots program more effective since there could be other federal issues that could affect the title insurance industry. The task force encourages anyone who knows their local Congressman, U.S. Senator or their state lawmakers to fill out a BLOC form and send back to TLTA so we can call upon you to help your industry when an issue arises.