Issue 88.15
Senate Bill 1568 entities serving as a trustee.
Director of Regulatory Affairs
Calendaring of bills is the real choke point in the legislative process over which bills make it to the chamber floor to receive a vote. Bills approved by committee, but not yet assigned a date for the full chamber to vote is a growing category in the listing below. We now enter the time where more bills of interest will begin to start dropping off our tracking for failure to move forward.
The scheduling of which bills to be considered by the full chamber and when is very different between the Texas Senate and the Texas House. The Senate doesn’t have a calendar committee but there is a Regular Order of Business which lists bills passed out of committee in order. However, they generally operate under a suspension of regular order of business, leaving the process almost entirely controlled by the Lt. Governor. For the House there are both multiple Calendars Committees as well as many different calendars including the Supplemental House Calendar which usually the primary agenda as it includes items not completed from prior days. The favored scenario is to be assigned to the Local and Consent Calendar which is reserved for uncontested bills.
Weekly Highlight
• SB 1568 Campbell, Donna – This bill is more of a belt and suspenders circumstance than any other bill we are tracking this session. SB 1568 was filed prior to AG Opinion (Opinion No. KP-0424) addresses this same issue. Both the opinion and SB 1568 seek to resolve any lingering confusion by explicitly stating in Property Code Chapter 51 that a trustee or substitute trustee means an individual, corporation, organization, government or governmental subdivision or agency, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, association, or other legal entity. Any of the afore-mentioned legal entities are clearly authorized to serve as trustee or a substitute trustee to conduct a foreclosure sale.
To read the full text of any of these bills you can go to Texas Legislature Online.
Bills on the Move
Bills being considered in Second Chamber
• HB 4 Capriglione, Giovanni – Relating to the regulation of the collection, use, processing, and treatment of consumers’ personal data by certain business entities; imposing a civil penalty. (Companion HB1844) Received in the Senate April 5th, Passed the House April 5th.
• SB 62 Zaffirini, Judith – Relating to posting certain documents and information related to certain real property sales on a county’s Internet website. Received in the House April 13th, Passed the Senate April 12th
• SB 768 Parker, Tan – Relating to the process for notifying the attorney general of a breach of security of computerized data by persons doing business in this state. (Companion HB1660) Received in the House April 3rd, Passed the Senate April 3rd.
• SB 801 Hughes, Brian – Relating to an instrument that names a trust as a party. Referred to House Business and Industry April 10th. Passed the Senate March 16th.
• SB 1222 Zaffirini, Judith – Relating to regulation of appraisers and the duties of the Texas Appraiser Licensing and Certification Board. (Companion HB 2427) Received in the House April 14th, Passed the Senate April 13th.
• SB 1568 Campbell, Donna – Relating to the persons authorized or appointed to exercise the power of sale under the terms of a contract lien on real property. (Companion to HB 2565) Referred to House Business and Industry April 14th, Passed the Senate April 12th.
Floor Hearing in First Chamber
• HB 92 Landgraf, Brooks – Relating to the authority of a municipality, county, or property owners’ association to prohibit or regulate certain activities on residence homestead property. Set on House Calendar April 17th.
• HB 207 Murr, Andrew – Relating to the exclusion of certain conveyances from classification as sham or pretended sales. Recommended for Local and Consent Calendar April 6th.
• HB 219 Noble, Candy – (HB 219 was previously filed in 87th Session as HB 3278 but left pending in Committee without a vote.) Relating to the release of a deed of trust or other contract lien securing a home loan after payoff by mortgagor. Set on House Calendar April 18th.
• HB 1195 Holland, Justin – Relating to the authority of a county to require photo Identification to file certain documents with the county clerk. This bill strikes the existing population threshold of 800,000 citizens and extends the existing authority to all Texas counties. (Companion to SB 319) Recommended for Local and Consent Calendar April 10th.
• HB 1704 Walle, Armando – Relating to the establishment of the workforce housing capital investment fund program to fund the development of workforce housing in this state; authorizing a fee. (Companion SB 2528) Set on House Calendar April 18th.
• HB 2127 Burrows, Dustin – Relating to state preemption of certain municipal and county regulation. (Companion to SB 814) Set on House Calendar April 18th.
Reported Favorably (Committee Approved)
• HB 264 Toth, Steve – (HB 264 was previously filed in 87th Session as HB 2284 it was approved in Committee and sent to Calendars.) Relating to requirements for the physical presence of a borrower for signing certain documents related to a home equity loan. Reported favorably March 20th. Pensions, Investments and Financial Services
• HB 2427 Kuempel, John – Relating to regulation of appraisers and the duties of the Texas Appraiser Licensing and Certification Board. (Companion SB 1222) Reported favorably March 29th. Licensing and Administrative Procedures
• HJR 20 Toth, Steve – (HJR 20 was previously filed in 87th Session as HJR 104 it was approved in Committee and sent to Calendars.) Proposing a constitutional amendment authorizing the legislature to provide for exceptions to the requirement that a home equity loan be closed only at the office of the lender, an attorney at law, or a title company Reported favorably March 20th. Pensions, Investments and Financial Services
• SB 147 Kolkhorst, Lois – Relating to the purchase of or acquisition of title to real property by certain aliens or foreign entities. Reported favorably April 13th. Senate State Affairs
• SB 1780 Parker, Tan – Relating to online notarizations. (Companion HB 5004 Reported favorably April 13th. Senate State Affairs
Committee Hearings Held (pending vote)
• HB 886 Shaheen, Matt – (HB 886 was previously filed in 87th Session as HB 3857 but left pending in Committee without a vote.) Relating to requirements to file a property owners’ association assessment lien. Testimony to be taken April 17th. Business and Industry
• HB 1674 Holland, Justin – Relating to certain sales or purported sales of homestead property that are classified as loans. (Companion to SB 613) Testimony taken April 3rd, left pending. Business and Industry
• HB 1823 Sherman, Carl – Relating to certain documents or instruments purporting to convey real or personal property. Testimony to be taken April 3rd. Business and Industry
• HB 2186 Davis, Yvonne – Relating to the authority of a county clerk to require a person to present photo identification to file a document in the real property records of a county. Testimony to be taken April 19th. County Affairs
• HB 2657 Leach, Jeff –Relating to voidable provisions contained in certain construction contracts. (Companion to SB 2207) Testimony to be taken April 17th. Business and Industry
• HB 4277 Longoria, Oscar – Relating to the right of a purchaser to terminate a contract of purchase and sale of real property for failure to provide notice that the property is located in a public improvement district. (Companion to SB 1374) Testimony taken April 3rd, left pending Business and Industry
• SB 319 Hall, Bob – Relating to the authority of a county to require photo Identification to file certain documents with the county clerk. This bill strikes the existing population threshold of 800,000 citizens and extends the existing authority to all Texas counties. (Companion to HB 1195) Testimony taken April 3rd, left pending. Local Government
• SB 613 Springer, Drew – Relating to certain sales or purported sales of homestead property that are classified as loans. Testimony taken April 4, left pending. Business and Commerce
• SB 711 Perry, Charles – Relating to the purchase of or other acquisition of title to real property by prohibited foreign actors. Testimony taken March 2nd, left pending. State Affairs
• SB 814 Creighton, Brandon – Relating to state preemption of certain municipal and county regulation. Testimony taken April 4, left pending. Business and Commerce
To see the full list of bills of interest that we are tracking: 88th Texas Legislature – Polunsky Beitel Green (mortgagelaw.com)
If you have questions about these specific bills or the Texas legislative process in general, please reach out to Doug Foster or one of our firm’s attorneys or representatives at: https://www.mortgagelaw.com/our-team/