The 79^th Legislature adjourns
The 79^th Legislature ended its regular 140-day session on May 30. Lawmakers accomplished some of the major items on their agenda and sent more than 760 bills to the governor’s desk for consideration. Although they did not succeed in passing school finance reform and property tax relief, they did approve important measures relating to overhauling the Texas Child Protective Services agency and also approved a new worker’s compensation system. Fortunately, the one job they are constitutionally required to do – which is to pass a state budget  - was accomplished near the end of the session.  

The title insurance industry dodged a number of bills that could have impacted TLTA member's day-to-day operations. We will have a complete report on all the bills affecting the industry available in July.

Governor Perry calls special session
Governor Perry has called legislators back to Austin for a 30-day special session to continue discussions on school finance reform and property tax relief. The governor began this process by vetoing $35.3 billion in the Texas Education Agency budget. Perry’s use of his line-item veto authority means legislators will have 30 days to complete the task that was left unfinished in the regular legislative session. Although the Governor’s proclamation is limited to school finance and local property tax relief, he has suggested that he might be open to adding more issues (such as telecomm reform) to the session agenda, once the other issues are resolved.

Campaign 2006 has begun
Several candidates have announced their intention of running for statewide office in 2006. Agricultural Commissioner Susan Combs formally announced her candidacy for state comptroller in next year's Republican primaries. Combs is a lawyer and fourth-generation rancher who owns a cattle operation in West Texas. She was a Dallas prosecutor, served in the Texas House of Representatives for two terms and worked for U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison before being elected as Agricultural Commissioner in 1998. Current State Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn has announced she will challenge Governor Rick Perry in next year’s GOP primary. Strayhorn has been the state’s chief financial officer since 1999, after serving on the Texas Railroad Commission. In a surprise announcement last week, U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison has decided not to run in the GOP primary for Governor, but will seek re-election to the U.S. Senate. Senator Todd Staples (R-Palestine) has declared his intent to run for Agricultural Commissioner. Staples earned a BS in agricultural economics from Texas A&M and is a rancher and real estate appraiser.

New PAC Board of Trustees elected an annual meeting
Members who attended the TLTAPAC Annual Meeting held in conjunction with the 2005 Annual Conference elected 36 volunteers to serve on the PAC Board of Trustees. This is one of the first major steps in the PAC restructuring process that was undertaken earlier this year.

Attendees also voted to approve changes to the PAC bylaws and articles of incorporation as follows:

• Changed the name from PAC Board of Directors to PAC Board of Trustees

• Increased size of Board from 9 to 48 

• Allow for email ballots when necessary.

The newly elected Trustees will be meeting in Austin in the near future for an orientation meeting. The trustees will be responsible for educating industry members in their geographical area about the importance of investing in the PAC, helping with fundraising efforts and approving and assisting with the distribution of PAC contributions. We still need PAC Trustees to cover some areas of the state. If you are interested in serving as a Trustee, please contact Mindy Carr (mindy@tlta.com ) or Andrea Hutlock (andrea@tlta.com ). Click here to view 2005-2006 TLTAPAC Board of Trustees.

TLTAPAC  wins big at conference
TLTAPAC  set record numbers at this year’s Annual Conference held at the Gaylord Texan Resort in Grapevine. Ballpark figures show the TLTAPAC  brought in close to $33,000! The premier fundraising event this year was the PAC Golf Tournament, held at the magnificent Cowboys Golf Club. Over 100 golfers participated in the event and netted almost $19,000 for the TLTAPAC . A majority of the golfers decided to increase their chances by purchasing extra prize tickets and mulligans. In lieu of the silent auction at this year’s Opening Party, a Dream Vacation Giveaway sponsored by Ameripoint Title Group was held for a $2400 cruise voucher. We also had a record number of attendees join us for the annual TLTAPAC  Breakfast, sponsored by Ticor Title Insurance Company, which brought in over $3,000.The TLTAPAC  Board of Trustees would like to thank these sponsors who helped make these events such a success and for their continued support of TLTAPAC.

1st Annual TLTAPAC Golf Tournament a huge success!
Last year’s golf participants in Corpus Christi voted to bring back tournament play during the Annual Conference and to establish the event as a fundraiser for TLTAPAC . This year's teams could once again vie for trophies, and of course, the prestige that comes with winning a “major." The tournament held at the challenging Cowboys Golf Club proved to be a competitive event but included a lot of long drives, birdies, pars, chokes, yips, bunkers, and even an ace and much fun! The day began very early with a full breakfast to get the golfers energized and ready for play. There were a total of 28 teams playing a scramble format and two specialty holes, closest to the pin and longest drive, that gave the golfers a chance to test their skills and luck. We even had a celebrity among us. State Representative Ken Paxton (R-McKinney) joined in the fun, although it was obvious he had spent most of his spring inside the Capitol and not on the golf course. Golf Chairman Chris Phillips presented the winners with beautiful crystal trophies during the awards luncheon held at the conclusion of the tournament. In addition a prize drawing was held in which each player was eligible to participate. Prizes included: Callaway Big Bertha driver, set of golf clubs, golf bags, balls and other great prizes. The top winners included:

First Place: Kevin Vice, David Hullett, Dale Henley, Elliott Davis

Second Place: Jerry Brandt, Steve Hightower, Kim Sobieski, Mark Holley

Third Place: Brian Pittman, Randy Eskelson, David Dickerson, Jason Bragg

Closest to the pin: Barrie Bates

Longest Drive: Charlie Valdes

Special recognition goes to Philip Hail who sunk a hole-in-one on #17 - the course awarded Philip with a #17 flag.
Again, we would like to express our sincere appreciation to all of our golf sponsors! Without their support, we would not have been able to hold such a successful event. Click here to view a list of our Golf sponsors. Thanks for Partnering with TLTAPAC !

TLTA invited to participate in discussions on RESPA reform
HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson announced on Monday, June 27, HUD’s plans for reforming RESPA. The Department’s plan for reforming the regulatory requirements of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) will include three informal meetings in July and August with consumer organizations and industry representatives. We are excited to report that TLTA has been invited to participate at the July 28 meeting in Washington, D.C. We have worked very hard over the last 3 years to establish ourselves as a serious party to this issue, so we are thrilled to have been included in this process. As you may recall, a group of TLTA representatives met with Secretary Jackson last summer and requested that TLTA be included in any future HUD discussions due to Texas’ large number of small business owners and agents.  Texas is only one of four state land title associations that has been invited to participate.

According to HUD, the purpose of these sessions is to stimulate a meaningful exchange of ideas among participants over the substance of new RESPA reform proposals, not to reach a consensus through negotiation. They are hoping that the participants will share their individual views about possible changes to RESPA regulations arising from HUD’s 2002 RESPA reform proposals and any information about changes in the home settlement process that have occurred in the past 3 years. In a Federal Register notice slated for publication this week, HUD noted that the key issues on which they intend to elicit views, comments, suggestions and perspectives of the participants include the following:

“What changes, if any, should be made to HUD’s Good Faith Estimate form to make it more helpful to consumers and the industry?”

“How should loan originator compensation be disclosed on the Good Faith Estimate?”

“What may be the impact on consumers of a mortgage package that includes an interest rate guarantee and a fixed price for settlement costs?

“How can sub packaging be designed to maximize competition without creating undue complexity for consumers?”

“Should HOEPA loans be eligible for packaging?”

“Should there be an opportunity to cure and/or provide remedies for errors or violations of mortgage packaging or Good Faith Estimate requirements?”

SMART Act heard in congressional hearing
Chairman of the subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance, and Government Sponsored Enterprises, Rep. Richard H. Baker (LA) held a hearing on June 16 entitled “SMART Insurance Reform” (State Modernization and Regulatory Transparency Act). The hearing focused on the need for comprehensive reform and uniformity in the state regulated insurance marketplace. Concepts include the National Association of Insurance Commissioner’s model laws and the single-state deference approach established in NARAB and other federal laws. They are seeking to establish a system for coordinated licensing, uniform market-conduct oversight, speed-to-market initiatives, and a mechanism to coordinate state and national insurance policy. Most provisions require uniform adoption or application of a model standard approach, and then allow the state to improve on these standards if they act collectively. Testimony was heard from several current and former State Insurance Commissioners. Click here to view testimony from the hearing.

ALTA has been very active and has submitted comments to the committee stating that “the unique characteristic’s of the title insurance industry render these regulatory changes unnecessary for this line of insurance”.  We will continue to keep you updated as this issue moves through the process.