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Special session
ends with no results
The 4th Special Session ended with lawmakers unable to
find a replacement for public school financing known as "Robin Hood." It is expected that the Governor
will call another special session in the near future. In the meantime, TLTA will be working with other building trades groups to address our
concerns regarding the mandatory sales price disclosure issue. After
meeting with staff from the offices of the Governor, Lt. Governor and
various legislators, we feel that TLTA will be able to work out a
solution that will have minimal impact on the home buying process. We
will continue to keep you informed of any further developments on this
issue and thank all of you who contacted your state legislators.
Don’t forget to
register for the PAC Breakfast
Paul Burka, Executive Editor of Texas
Monthly magazine will be this year’s speaker at the Annual PAC
Breakfast held in conjunction with the TLTA Annual Conference. You'll enjoy
hearing Paul's perspective on the 2005 Legislative session, as well as
other political "tidbits." Proceeds from this event will go to support
the PAC's legislative efforts.
Click here to register.
HUD Secretary says
he will move forward on RESPA reform
HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson testified before the House
Financial Services Committee on Thursday, May 20 and told members that
he will move forward on RESPA reform following an internal review and
consideration of some questions that the Office of Management and
Budget had proposed in their review of the proposed rule. He said that
he had pulled the rule down after critical review of the process and
the concern that the proposal had not had necessary consensus to move
it forward. Jackson plans to have meetings with interested parties and
Congress before re-proposing the rule. TLTA is working on meeting with
Jackson in the near future. We ask that you continue to visit with
your Congressmen and U.S. Senators so that they will stay informed and
active on this issue.
Looking for
answers to your RESPA questions?
The Department of Housing and Urban Development website has a
section designed to answer questions regarding the Real Estate
Settlement Procedures Act. Log on to
http://www.hud.gov
and look on the right hand side of the link for “Lenders” then click
on RESPA. You will find general information on RESPA, recent
enforcement actions, FAQ’s and rules and regulations.
P-53 Update
The Texas Department of Insurance has announced a new
feature on their Web site addressing questions about the recently
adopted P-53 Rule. As reported in the April 23 Dateline Austin,
due to the continuing need for clarification regarding implementation
of P-53 TLTA had urged TDI to provide this resource to members of our
industry. We believe this new tool will be very useful
to you and your employees. TDI will update the page as needed and we
will make every effort to send out a Breaking News when we become
aware that the page has been revised.
CLICK HERE to go to the
P-53 FAQs page on the TDI Web site.
Reminders for 2004
statistical reports
This is a reminder to all Texas title insurance agents to submit
information relating to title experience to TDI by the deadline.
Electronic (TACS) reports must be postmarked by June 1, 2004. Hard
copy statistical reports need to be postmarked by May 17, 2004. For more
information, click on
http://www.tdi.state.tx.us/commish/bulletins/b-0012-4.html
Texas title insurance
companies are required to submit their information by June 25, 2004.
For more information, please click on
http://www.tdi.state.tx.us/commish/bulletins/b-0022-4.html.
Come one, come all
and have a ball – Support the TLTA PAC
For those lucky members attending the TLTA Annual Conference in
Corpus you will have the opportunity to bid on some great items at our
3rd Annual TLTA PAC Silent Auction. We have baseball
tickets (awesome seats), vacation get-a-ways, collector’s items,
popular electronics, and much much more. The auction will be held in
conjunction with the opening night party at the Texas State Aquarium.
This is a fun way to support the PAC and get something BACK!
For more information,
click here.
Changes made to
overtime eligibility rules
The
Department of Labor has issued final pro-business regulations
governing overtime eligibility for “white collar” workers under the
Fair Labor Standards Act. The rule increases the threshold for
overtime to roughly $23,660 per year, and, in general, eliminates
overtime for “highly compensated” employees who earn $100,000 on an
annual basis. Although the rule is scheduled to go into effect in
July, Congress may push to overturn the rule because of concerns about
the increases in the thresholds and new exemptions. If you are
interested in learning more about the new regulations, be sure to
attend this year’s Annual Conference to hear Ted Smith, with the labor
and employment firm of Cornell Smith, explain how and when your
employees may qualify for overtime pay.
Texas Land Title Association
1717 W. 6th St. Suite 120
Austin, Texas 78703 |