Date: 04/11/2013
Final
BILL SUMMARY for HB13-1249
HOUSE COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS, LABOR, ECONOMIC, & WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT
| Votes: View--> | Action Taken: |
Adopt amendment L.001 (Attachment N). The motion f
Postpone House Bill 13-1249 indefinitely. The moti | FAIL
PASS |
04:41 PM -- House Bill 13-1249
Representative McCann, prime sponsor, presented House Bill 13-1249 to the committee. The bill modifies current law regarding the foreclosure process for residential properties. Representative McCann stated that committee members had received a strike everything below the enacting clause (SEBEC) amendment L.001 (Attachment N). Representative McCann reviewed the provisions of the amendment, which implements a hearing procedure until Colorado Rule of Civil Procedure 120; prohibits "dual tracking", where a lender negotiates a loan modification at the same time it pursues a foreclosures; and creates a single point of contact. Representative McCann discussed the mechanics of the current foreclosure process. She stated that she worked with banks and included all the feedback she received, specifying that she received no feedback on the Rule 120 procedure. She responded to questions from the committee on: the impact of federal foreclosure remedies, the changes to the bill made by the SEBEC amendment, details on the Rule 120 hearings, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), and how consumer files a complaint under federal rules.
05:10 PM
Representative Williams stated that each side of the debate would receive one hour of testimony.
The following individuals testified on the bill:
05:11 PM -- Debra Johnson, representing the offices of the Denver Public Trustee and Clerk and Recorder, spoke in favor of the bill. Cindy Wagner, Chief Deputy Public Trustee, also came to the table to answer committee questions. Ms. Johnson stated that the bill was an advocacy bill and that it does not have impact on the public trustee's current processes.
05:14 PM -- Ed Kahn, representing the Colorado Center on Law and Policy, spoke in favor of the bill. He discussed the magnitude of the foreclosure crisis and stated that fairness is critical to the process.
05:16 PM -- Marcie Jacobs, representing herself as a homeowner, spoke in favor of the bill. She discussed her personal experience with wrongful foreclosure. She distributed a copy of her testimony (Attachment F).
130411 AttachF.pdf
05:22 PM -- Keith Gantenbein, representing himself as an attorney, spoke in favor of the bill. He discussed his experience representing victims of wrongful foreclosures. He stated that the bill was about fairness and due process of law.
05:24 PM -- Steve Berken, representing Colorado Bankruptcy Attorneys, spoke in favor of the bill. He stated that the bill affords people the time to figure out the process. He commented that the bill would codify civility.
05:27 PM -- Kelli Fritts, representing the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), spoke in favor of the bill. She distributed a copy of an AARP report, "Nightmare on Main Street: Older Americans and the Mortgage Market Crisis" (Attachment G), and explained the pertinence of the foreclosure crisis to AARP's membership.
130411 AttachG.pdf
05:28 PM -- Lisa Calderon, representing herself, spoke in favor of the bill. She discussed her personal experience with a wrongful foreclosure.
05:31 PM -- Barbara Hoover, representing Together Colorado, spoke in favor of the bill. She discussed her personal experience with foreclosure and stated that better loan disclosure documentation is needed. Representative Ryden asked a question about her negative amortization loan.
05:35 PM -- Steven Bailey, representing himself, spoke in favor of the bill. He distributed a written copy of his testimony to the committee (Attachment H). He discussed his personal experience with loan modification and stated that the bill is a simple step to assist homeowners. He discussed bank practices. He stated that the bill does not hinder the economy.
130411 AttachH.pdf
05:41 PM -- Guy Humphries, representing himself, spoke in favor of the bill. He discussed his experience as a bankruptcy attorney. He stated that the bill would provide basic procedural fairness.
05:46 PM -- James Johnson, representing the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP-Colorado), spoke in favor of the bill. He discussed his experience as the Eagle County Commissioner. He stated that predatory lending practices targeted minority communities and discussed the impacts of the foreclosure epidemic. He discussed the reasons he believed the bill should be passed.
05:51 PM -- Vivian Rader, representing herself, spoke in favor of the bill. She discussed her experience being victimized by two wrongful foreclosures in rural Colorado. She discussed the negative impacts of foreclosure on the farming community.
05:54 PM -- Faun Hauptman, representing herself as a licensed real estate broker, spoke in favor of the bill. She distributed a written copy of her testimony to the committee (Attachment I). She discussed the issue of properties selling without title insurance.
130411 AttachI.pdf
05:59 PM -- Corinne Fowler, representing the Colorado Progressive Coalition and the Campaign to End Unjust Foreclosure, spoke in favor of the bill. She discussed the sponsor's work on the bill, taking input from all stakeholders while keeping the intent of the bill intact. She stated that this bill would codify case law, and cited the Goodwin v. District Court case of 1989.
06:02 PM -- Bridget Kaminetsky, representing 9to5, spoke in favor of the bill. She discussed the impact of foreclosure on seniors, female heads of household, Latino and African-Americans.
06:04 PM -- Cheryl Hoffman, representing herself, spoke in favor of the bill. She discussed her personal experience with wrongful foreclosure and distributed a copy of her testimony to the committee (Attachment J).
130411 AttachJ.pdf
06:10 PM -- Jim Tatten, representing himself, spoke in favor of the bill.
06:14 PM -- Jesus Altamirano, representing the National Council of La Raza, spoke in favor of the bill. He stated that while the federal measures adopted to prevent wrongful foreclosure will help, this bill is still necessary.
06:17 PM -- Jenny Weyel, representing the Colorado Progressive Coalition, spoke in favor of the bill. She stated that her organization decided to work on the foreclosure crisis because it was the number one issue of concern brought up while canvassing Denver metro area communities. She distributed a visual mapping of the foreclosure crisis (Attachment K).
130411 AttachK.pdf
06:19 PM -- Christie Bishop, representing herself, spoke in favor of the bill. She discussed her personal experience with foreclosure, and discussed the importance of having due process in these matters.
06:23 PM
Representative McCann requested that one supporter of HB13-1249 be reserved for the end of public testimony. Williams stated that the opposition would be granted an hour of testimony.
06:23 PM -- Jenifer Waller, representing the Colorado Banking Association, spoke in opposition to the bill. She stated that no lender was prepared for financial crisis but that all lenders are now paying penalties. She discussed new federal consumer protections in place through the provisions of the federal Dodd-Frank Act. She presented statistics on Colorado's foreclosures. She addressed her organization's technical concerns with the bill. She responded to questions from the committee on: the CFPB, average federal response times, the average losses to the bank per foreclosure, and the future of the mortgage market.
06:36 PM -- Mike Rosser, representing the Colorado Mortgage Lenders Association (CMLA), spoke in opposition to the bill. He discussed his experience on the state's Housing Board during the foreclosure crisis, and the resulting task force and foreclosure hotline. He stated that the foreclosure crisis was over-reported. He discussed the legislative history of foreclosure protections in the state.
06:46 PM -- Rachel Nance, representing the Colorado Association of Realtors, spoke in opposition to the bill.
06:50 PM -- Terry Jones, representing the CMLA, spoke in opposition to the bill. He stated that the CFPB rules should be given a chance to protect the Colorado consumer before another law goes into place. He discussed the enforcement powers of CFPB.
07:03 PM -- Alex Pankonin, representing the Land Title Association of Colorado, spoke in opposition to the bill. He stated that the bill represented bad policy.
07:06 PM -- Zach Urban, representing himself, spoke in opposition to the bill. He distributed and discussed his independent analysis of the CFPB's complaints from Colorado consumers on foreclosure and loss mitigation (Attachment L). He discussed his experience working as a consumer advocate. He stated that the most important thing a consumer facing foreclosure needs to know is to keep fighting.
130411 AttachL.pdf
07:16 PM
Mr. Urban continued to respond to questions from the committee.
07:23 PM -- Tom Devine, representing the Colorado Bar Association, spoke in opposition to the bill. He discussed his familiarity with the statutory scheme. He stated that his opposition is technical. He stated that the increased burden on the courts is problematic and expensive. He stated that foreclosure is not the preferred option for lenders.
07:30 PM -- Trey Rogers, representing the Independent Bankers of Colorado, spoke in opposition to the bill. He stated that independent bankers hold and service mortgages in house. He addressed his organization's technical issues with the bill. He stated that the bill opens the door to abuse of the foreclosure system.
07:37 PM -- Stephen Brunette, representing himself, spoke in favor of the bill. He stated that the bill would not delay the foreclosure process or clog the courts. He stated that the bill sponsor worked to remove all objectionable material. He distributed a handout to the committee (Attachment M).
130411 AttachM.pdf
07:41 PM
Representative McCann asked that the committee move the SEBEC Amendment L.001 (Attachment N). She discussed the points made by the opposition. She reminded the committee of testimony made by Denver's Public Trustee who stated her office would not be affected. She said there was no evidence that this bill would cause more judicial foreclosures. She stated that her bill was a simple due process bill and discussed how it was amended to satisfy stakeholder concerns. Committee members discussed their votes on the SEBEC amendment.
 | |
| BILL: | HB13-1249 | |
| TIME: | 07:41:53 PM |
| MOVED: | Ryden |
| MOTION: | Adopt amendment L.001 (Attachment N). The motion failed on a vote of 2-9. |
| SECONDED: | Kraft-Tharp |
| VOTE |
| DelGrosso | No |
| Exum | Yes |
| Hamner | No |
| Holbert | No |
| Navarro | No |
| Nordberg | No |
| Rosenthal | No |
| Ryden | Yes |
| Szabo | No |
| Kraft-Tharp | No |
| Williams | No |
| | |
YES: 2 NO: 9 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: FAIL |
130411 AttachN.pdf
| |
| BILL: | HB13-1249 | |
| TIME: | 07:48:39 PM |
| MOVED: | Rosenthal |
| MOTION: | Postpone House Bill 13-1249 indefinitely. The motion passed on a vote of 10-1. |
| SECONDED: | DelGrosso |
| VOTE |
| DelGrosso | Yes |
| Exum | No |
| Hamner | Yes |
| Holbert | Yes |
| Navarro | Yes |
| Nordberg | Yes |
| Rosenthal | Yes |
| Ryden | Yes |
| Szabo | Yes |
| Kraft-Tharp | Yes |
| Williams | Yes |
| | |
Final YES: 10 NO: 1 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS |
07:50 PM
The committee adjourned.