March 22, 2023

In This Issue:

• 88th Texas Legislature: Property Tax Bill Advances in House, Real Estate Marketplace Bills We Are Engaging, and More
• Gov. Abbott Appoints Bolduc As Public Counsel For The Office Of Public Insurance Counsel
• Several U.S. Senators Join in Bipartisan Letter Requesting FinCEN to Improve Implementation of Corporate Transparency Act

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88th Texas Legislature: Property Tax Bill Advances in House, Real Estate Marketplace Bills We Are Engaging, and More

TLTA | March 16, 2023
The House Ways and Means Committee advanced HB 2 this week. HB 2 is the property tax reform bill identified by Speaker Phelan as a House priority this session. As we have reported, the budget surplus this session is spurring property tax reform ideas across the Capitol complex. We will continue to monitor development of this bill (and comparable Senate proposals, including SBs 3, 4, and 5, which were passed by the Senate yesterday), and alert you if there are developments of which you should be aware.
 
Also heard in committee this week was the Supplemental Appropriations Bill, SB 30, the vehicle through which legislative appropriators cover deficits in funding for the previous biennium and accomplish other short term budgetary needs. Development of the state budget impacts every policy area and bill being considered by the Texas Legislature, and we continue to monitor this process for developments that could impact our industry or real estate marketplace interests.  
 
There are 66 days remaining in the legislative session in progress.

TLTA is Actively Working on These Bills That Could Impact Our industry

While we are monitoring more than 100 bills this session that could impact our industry or the state's real estate marketplace (see Other Bills TLTA Is Monitoring blurb below), some of the bills on that list require active engagement by our advocacy team. We are working with the bill authors and other stakeholders to address concerns and seek improvements to these bills to avoid unintended consequences and preserve our daily functions as title agents and underwriters.
 

TLTA's Affirmative Legislative Agenda: Bills We're Working to Pass

TLTA's advocacy team is supporting passage of the following bills during the 88th Legislative Session. These affirmative legislative agenda items were approved by TLTA's Board of Directors as recommended by our Legislative Committee, which is chaired by Steve Streiff. These statutory changes would improve real estate transactions statewide:
 
Private Transfer Fee Statute Enhancement 
HB 2447 (Rep. Darby) | SB 1578 (Menéndez)
Review TLTA's One-Pager
Status: Referred to House B&I Committee, Referred to Senate State Affairs Committee

Trust as Grantee Clarification 
SB 801 (Sen. Hughes) | HB 4281 (Rep. Longoria)
Review TLTA's One-Pager
Status: Passed by Texas Senate, Referred to House B&I Committee
 
Remote Ink Notarization
SB 1780 (Sen. Parker) | HB 5004 (Rep. Capriglione)
Review TLTA's One-Pager
Status: Referred to Senate Jurisprudence Committee, Filed in House
 

Other Bills TLTA Is Monitoring

TLTA's legislative team reviews all bills filed during the session and monitors those that might impact our industry or the state's real estate marketplace. If these bills begin to move through the process and TLTA takes official positions on them, we’ll provide more detailed information about our stance and how they might affect you and your business. 
 
Review Current Bills to Watch List »
 

Questions About TLTA's Legislative Process?

TLTA's Legislative Committee, Local Legislative Liaisons, our industry's grassroots network and the TLTA PAC Board of Governors are all part of TLTA's team of engaged legislative advocates. 
 
Learn More About TLTA's Legislative Process and How You Can Get Involved »

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Gov. Abbott Appoints Bolduc As Public Counsel For The Office Of Public Insurance Counsel

From the Governor's Press Office | March 21, 2023
Governor Greg Abbott has appointed David Bolduc as the Public Counsel for the Office of Public Insurance Counsel (OPIC) for a term set to expire on February 1, 2025. The Office represents the interests of insurance consumers in regulatory matters relating to insurance rates, rules, and forms.

David Bolduc of Austin is the acting public insurance counsel for OPIC. Previously, he served as the deputy public counsel for OPIC, as an attorney for the Office of Policy Development Counsel for the Texas Department of Insurance, as general counsel for the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission, as a division chief in the Office of the Attorney General of Texas, and as deputy general counsel at the Texas Department of Agriculture. He has over 46 years of legal experience in government and private practice. He is a member of the State Bar of Texas, U.S. Supreme Court Bar, U.S. Court of Appeals 5th Circuit Bar, and the U.S. District Court Western District of Texas Bar. He is a board member of the West Austin Neighborhood Group and a member and former president of the Parish Council for the St. Austin Catholic Parish. Bolduc received a Bachelor of Arts in Government from Bowdoin College and a Juris Doctor from the University of Texas School of Law.

This appointment is subject to Senate confirmation.
 
TLTA Editor's Note: As noted above, David Bolduc was the acting Public Counsel prior to this official appointment by the Governor. We congratulate David and look forward to continuing to work with him in this new role.

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Several Senators Join in Bipartisan Letter Requesting FinCEN to Improve Implementation of Corporate Transparency Act

ALTA | March 21, 2023
On Thursday, a group of senators sent a letter to the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) requesting the agency to make several adjustments to their draft rule on access and safeguards for beneficial ownership information (BOI). In the letter, the senators laid out several changes and adjustments, including the creation of an automated FinCEN process for fielding and responding to requests for BOI from financial institutions and broadening the scope of the rule to ensure that financial institutions can use BOI across their anti-money laundering, counter-terror financing, sanctions screening and broader financial crime compliance programs. 
 
ALTA submitted a letter to FinCEN last month in support of the development of the BOI system and urged the agency to broaden the scope of the rule to include facilitating compliance for financial institutions subject to a special measure, GTO or other rule that requires the collection, reporting or review of BOI.