Michael Belote, Esq.
By Michael Belote, Esq., UTA California Lobbyist, California Advocates
With mere weeks remaining in the 2013-2014 two-year legislative session, there is drought and a potential water bond on the November general election ballot. All of the legislative focus on loans and foreclosures in recent years could tend to obscure the fact that water has been the defining public policy issue in California, literally since the beginning of statehood. Nothing separates Californians to a greater degree, north and south, rural and urban, residential and commercial.
The question is what sort of bond to put before voters in November: how much indebtedness, and how much for storage (reservoirs) versus conservation and conveyance (twin tunnels, anyone?) The legislature and governor are very quickly running out of time on this issue, both legally and practically. It takes time to print ballots and distribute them to absentee voters, including service members overseas.
The water focus makes the Homeowner’s Bill of Rights appear like a distant object in the rearview mirror. Although two different informational hearings were conducted this year on the effectiveness of HOBR, the only substantive discussion of potential changes related to the so-called “widows and orphans” issue. Boiled down, this discussion centered on communications with, and potentially rights accorded to, survivors of decedents who possessed rights under HOBR. After discussing with lenders, UTA and others the complexities of treating heirs as “borrowers”, legislators have determined not to go forward with a bill this year.
This is not to say that no legislation of interest to UTA has been active during 2014. In fact, over three dozen bills remain alive for potential signature by Governor Brown during September, following the legislative adjournment on August 31. The results of these bills will be reported at the UTA Conference November 9-11 in La Quinta, so please plan to attend. Information is power! Examples of bills of interest to UTA include the following:
• AB 1698 (Wagner) False Liens and Documents. Creates a process for judges to invalidate forged or false instruments in criminal fraud cases, but also creates a right for lenders and others to be heard.
• AB 1700 (Medina) Reverse Mortgages. Modifies current requirements relating to counseling and disclosures prior to accepting applications for reverse mortgages.
• AB 1738 (Chau) CID Dispute Resolution. Modifies current requirements on common interest developments for dispute resolution programs with unit owners, including an alternative program containing meet and confer obligations.
• AB 1770 (Dababneh) HELOCs. Creates a procedure for freezing home equity lines pending sales or refinance transactions, to avoid problems created when homeowners take advances just prior to closing.
• AB 2416 (Stone) Wage Liens. Creates a new process for recording “wage liens” against employers, similar to mechanic’s liens, for unproven allegations by employees of unpaid wages.
• SB 1050 (Monning) Notaries. Clarifies that notarization verifies only the identity of persons executing acknowledgements, not the contents of the document itself.
Additional issues could well arise during the final weeks of the legislative session, which pursuant to the state constitution must adjourn by midnight, August 31. Remarkably, there are organizations which begin their legislative programs in the final days and weeks! Issues can arise which have laid dormant for months, or may even be introduced for the first time. Bills like these are sometimes referred to as “mushroom bills”, because they germinate and grow in the dark. All organizations must be vigilant in the final days of session.
Again, be sure to attend the UTA Conference in La Quinta. By that time Governor Brown will have acted on the many hundreds of bills sent to him, and a full report will be made.