April 26, 2023

In This Issue:

• 88th Texas Legislature: Trust as Grantee Bill Recommended for House Local and Consent Calendar; RIN Bill Heard in House Committee and Placed on Senate Intent Calendar
• TDI Quarterly Audit Results Published
• FinCEN Renews and Expands Real Estate Geographic Targeting Orders

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88th Texas Legislature: Trust as Grantee Bill Recommended for House Local and Consent Calendar; RIN Bill Heard in House Committee and Placed on Senate Intent Calendar

TLTA | April 26, 2023
State budget negotiations continue after the House and Senate named conferees for the conference committee that will sort out differences in the two chambers' versions of the state budget for the upcoming biennium.  
 
The first of the major, end-of-session deadlines is less than 14 days out. By Monday, May 8, HBs and HJRs must be filed with the Committee Coordinator. If a HB or HJR has not passed that milestone by May 8, it will be dead for the session absent some procedural manuever to revive it (e.g., as an amendment to a viable bill). Additional legislative deadlines will come into play as lawmakers navigate the final month of session. 
 
There are 32 days remaining in the Texas Legislature's 88th Session. 

Trust as Grantee Clarification Bill SB 801 Recommended for House Local and Consent Calendar 

As part of our industry's affirmative agenda for the 88th Legislative Session, TLTA is seeking passage of a bill clarifying that a deed conveying title to a trust (as opposed to naming the trustee of that trust) should be deemed to be a conveyance into the trustee.
 
SB 801 by Senate State Affairs chair Hughes, which would accomplish the goals laid out in this one-pager, has already been approved by the Texas Senate, was approved by the House Business and Industry Committee this week, and has now been recommended for the House Local and Consent Calendar. 

RIN Bills Heard in House Committee and Placed on Senate Intent Calendar

As part of our industry's affirmative agenda for the 88th Legislative Session, TLTA is seeking passage of a bill allowing for Remote Ink Notarization (RIN) within the existing statutory Remote Online Notarization (RON) framework. SB 1780 by Sen. Parker and HB 5004 by Rep. Capriglione would accomplish the goals spelled out in this one-pager, and both bills are making healthy progress through the legislative process.
 
SB 1780 has been placed on the Senate Intent Calendar and could be heard on the Senate floor as early as April 27. 
 
HB 5004 was heard in the House Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence Committee on April 26.

TLTA's Affirmative Legislative Agenda: Bills We're Working to Pass

As noted in the blurbs above, TLTA's advocacy team is supporting passage of the following bills during the 88th Legislative Session. These affirmative legislative agenda items were approved by TLTA's Board of Directors as recommended by our Legislative Committee, which is chaired by Steve Streiff. These statutory changes would improve real estate transactions statewide:
 
Trust as Grantee Clarification 
SB 801 (Sen. Hughes) | HB 4281 (Rep. Longoria)
Review TLTA's One-Pager
Status: Passed by Texas Senate, Heard and Left Pending by House B&I Committee
 
Remote Ink Notarization
SB 1780 (Sen. Parker) | HB 5004 (Rep. Capriglione)
Review TLTA's One-Pager
Status: Reported Favorably by Senate State Affairs Committee, Referred to House Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence Committee  

Bills TLTA's Board Voted to Support

In addition to the bills we're working to pass listed above, TLTA's Board voted April 4 to support the following bills this session:
 
Bills TLTA is supporting this session »
 

TLTA is Actively Working on These Bills That Could Impact Our industry

While we are monitoring more than 100 bills this session that could impact our industry or the state's real estate marketplace, some of the bills on that list require active engagement by our advocacy team. Review list of bills TLTA is working on that could impact our industry. 
 
We are working with the bill authors and other stakeholders to address concerns and seek improvements to these bills to avoid unintended consequences and preserve our daily functions as title agents and underwriters.
 

Questions About TLTA's Legislative Process?

TLTA's Legislative Committee, Local Legislative Liaisons, our industry's grassroots network and the TLTA PAC Board of Governors are all part of TLTA's team of engaged legislative advocates. 
 
Learn More About TLTA's Legislative Process and How You Can Get Involved »
 

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TDI Quarterly Audit Results Published

TLTA | April 26, 2023
The following is a summary of recent TDI audits, violations and enforcement actions from December 2022 through February 2023. Read TDI's complete summary of operations for the quarter, or review key statistics below.         
       
Compliance Audits: TDI's goal is to comprehensively audit agencies at least once every two years. This quarter, TDI conducted 75 audits.      
       
Commissioner Orders: This quarter, TDI signed 3 Commissioner Order. As of this report, 15 cases remain active and under investigation.      
       
Compliance Audit Results: Below are TDI's most common audit findings for the quarter that ended in February 2023. The numbers below represent how many agencies had an infraction, not the number of times the infraction occurred:
 
 
Review Complete Quarterly Audit Report »
 

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FinCEN Renews and Expands Real Estate Geographic Targeting Orders

U.S. Treasury | April 21, 2023
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) announced the renewal and expansion of its Geographic Targeting Orders (GTOs) that require U.S. title insurance companies to identify the natural persons behind shell companies used in non-financed purchases of residential real estate.  
 
The following Texas counties continue to be included in GTO:
Bexar, Tarrant, Dallas, Harris, Montgomery, and Webb
 
Other communities nationwide subject to GTO:
Boston; Chicago; Las Vegas; Los Angeles; Miami; New York City; San Diego; San Francisco; Seattle, the District of Columbia, Northern Virginia, and Maryland (DMV) area; as well as the City and County of Baltimore, the County of Fairfield, Connecticut, and the Hawaiian islands of Honolulu, Maui, Hawaii, and Kauai. 
 
Newly expanded GTO includes the following:
Litchfield County in Connecticut and Adams, Arapahoe, Clear Creek, Denver, Douglas, Eagle, Elbert, El Paso, Fremont, Jefferson, Mesa, Pitkin, Pueblo, and Summit counties in Colorado
 
FinCEN appreciates the continued assistance and cooperation of title insurance companies and the American Land Title Association in protecting real estate markets from abuse by illicit actors.
 
Read FinCEN's Press Release »
Review GTO »
FAQs Regarding GTOs »