May 3, 2023

In This Issue:

• 88th Texas Legislature: RIN Bill Approved by Senate and Referred to House Committee
• ICYMI: TDI Quarterly Audit Results Published
• ALTA Compiles Info and Resources on Proposed Fannie Mae Title Insurance Pilot Program

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88th Texas Legislature: RIN Bill Approved by Senate and Referred to House Committee

TLTA | May 3, 2023
We are in the last month of the 88th Legislative Session and key procedural deadlines come into play as early as Monday, May 8. There are thousands of bills in various stages of the legislative process and we know that approximately 85% of those bills will die.
 
Legislative activity within the Capitol complex is in motion around the clock now, and your TLTA advocacy team are hard at work communicating our priorities to legislators, staff and stakeholders within the challenging, end-of-race conditions that always present themselves near the conclusion of a legislative session.
 
A conference committee is in the process of working out differences in the House and Senate versions of the state's spending plan for the upcoming biennium -- the only task that lawmakers need to complete to satisfy their constitutional duties. But no final state budget has been approved yet, and other high priority issues like property tax reform remain undecided too.
 
As we commonly see closer to the end of a session, some Capitol observers are raising the spectre of a special session. We don't have enough information to reach that conclusion today, but we will continue monitoring the legislative landscape and keep you apprised if there are any concerns for our industry in that regard. 
 
There are 26 days remaining in the Texas Legislature's 88th Session.
 

RIN Bill Passed by Senate on Monday - That's the Second Bill TLTA Is Working to Pass That Cleared the Senate

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 was approved by the Senate on Monday and was then referred to the House House Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence Committee. 
 
SB 801, the Trust as Grantee Clarification bill TLTA is working to pass this session, has also cleared the Senate, as previously reported here in Dateline.  

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: Past by the Texas Senate, 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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ICYMI: 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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ALTA Compiles Info and Resources on Proposed Fannie Mae Title Insurance Pilot Program

TLTA | May 4, 2023
In March Politico reported that Fannie Mae is developing a pilot program that would waive title insurance requirements for some of the loans they purchase from mortgage lenders. ICYMI, ALTA has expanded their collection of information and resources related to unregulated title insurance alternatives to include news related to the proposed Fannie pilot program. You can review ALTA's collection of resources here. 

As TLTA has reported in previous issues of Dateline, there’s been an increased focus on housing affordability over the last two years at the state and federal levels, leading to new guidelines and interest among FHFA, VA and other regulatory and administrative bodies regarding use of unregulated alternative title products in lieu of title insurance. Your team at TLTA are actively engaged in these affordable housing discussions at all levels of government, helping lawmakers and stakeholders seek out sustainable, effective solutions to housing affordability challenges, while educating about the dangers of unregulated title insurance alternatives, which could impact the stability of our real estate marketplace. 
  
Your team at TLTA will continue monitoring and responding to these ongoing developments in partnership with our members and other industry advocates.