GOP Rams Foreclosure Streamlining Bill Through Key Senate Committee
Kimberly Miller, Palm Beach Post
A quickie foreclosure bill that would require a homeowner to present a sound defense or face an immediate judgment in some cases moved closer to a full legislative hearing Monday with the blessing of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Monday’s vote marked the farthest a proposal to streamline Florida’s strained foreclosure process has advanced in the Legislature since the housing collapse, but it’s in no way a done deal, lawmakers and lobbyists say.
The 5-2 approval of Senate Bill 1890 came with hesitation from some committee members and firm opposition from homeowners and foreclosure defense attorneys. One man, who called the sponsors of the bill a “disgrace” during public comment, brought blown-up images of his own foreclosure documents that he said show evidence of fraud.
The plan, which contains some consumer protection language, such as reducing the time a bank could pursue a homeowner for unpaid mortgage debt from five years to one year, has earned support from the Real Property Probate and Trust Law section of the Florida Bar.
But the Florida Bankers Association has yet to take a position, and it is flatly opposed by the Florida Consumer Action Network.
“We cannot support this bill because it places too much of the burden of repairing the foreclosure problem on the backs of homeowners and (community) associations,” said Alice Vickers, a network attorney.
House sponsor Rep. Kathleen Passidomo, R-Naples, and Senate sponsor Jack Latvala, R-St. Petersburg, said Monday that they will work through constituent concerns this week to get matching bills. They are seeking approval in the plan’s two remaining Senate committee stops. The House version of the bill (HB 213) has one committee stop left.
