Oregon Legislation Signed Into Law

Governor Ted Kulongoski, D-Oregon, signed into law this week Senate Bill 628 and House Bill 3004, two lender-related bills influenced by the UTA.

Senate Bill 628:

Senate Bill 628, legislation mandating enhanced mediation notice requirements to grantors, took effect upon the Governor’s signature though the bill will not become operative until September 29.

The UTA spent much of the 2009 legislative session mitigating the bill’s impact on trustees. In its original form, SB 628 forced trustees, at their expense, into a mandated mediation process with borrowers prior to a foreclosure sale.

Due to the UTA’s efforts, implemented by UTA’s Oregon Lobbyist, Drew Hagedorn of Conkling, Fiskum & McCormick, based in Portland, Oregon, the bill signed into law was a shell of its former self, requiring only that lenders provide an enhanced mediation notice to grantors and allowing grantors to petition lenders for a modification of their loan.

The Oregon Department of Business and Consumer Services (DCBS), the agency charged with implementing the bill, currently is in the process of updating relevant forms, which will be available for download at the web site listed below in late August or early September. You can download a copy of the bill at the link below, which at Section 1, specifies the precise language that must be included in the enhanced mediation notice.

• Download the forms relevant to SB 628
• Read SB 628 as enrolled

House Bill 3004:

Bidders proposed stuffing an amendment into House Bill 3004 requiring trustees, at their own expense, to cover the cost of providing notice to speculative purchasers of foreclosed properties.

UTA lobbyists quickly killed the proposal offered by Eugene-based Gorilla Capital, sparking negotiations between the bidders and the UTA.

The negotiations produced a consensus amendment allowing trustees to post a true copy, or a link to a true copy, of an amended notice of sale on the trustee's web site. Alternatively, a trustee may continue the practice of sending the notice via mail.

The law is now in effect.

• Read HB 3004 as enrolled