October 26, 2023

In This Issue:

  • TDI Quarterly Audit Results Published: June-August 2023
  • TDI Holds Informal Meeting on Title Insurance Basic Premium Rate
  • FinCEN Expands GTO to Travis County, Renews Other Texas Counties
  • US Rep. Gonzalez Introduces Bipartisan Bill to Protect Home Buyers
  • Texas Legislature: Special Session Update
  • Early Voting Continues for Property Tax Proposition, Other Constitutional Amendments

TDI Quarterly Audit Results Published: June-August 2023

TLTA | Oct. 26, 2023
 The following is a summary of recent TDI audits, violations and enforcement actions from June through August 2023. Read TDI's complete summary of operations for the quarter, or review key statistics below.          
        
Compliance Audits: TDI's goal is to comprehensively audit agencies at least once every two years. This quarter, TDI conducted 93 audits.        
         
Commissioner Orders: This quarter, TDI signed one Commissioner Orders. As of this report, 25 cases remain active and under investigation.        
         
Compliance Audit Results:  Below are TDI's most common audit findings for the quarter that ended in August 2023. The numbers below represent how many agencies had an infraction, not the number of times the infraction occurred:
 
Number of Agencies
Category
Description
54
Abstract Plant
Actual receipts and/or disbursements not in agreement with settlement statement or premium split not disclosed.
40
Minimum Escrow Accounting Procedures & Internal Controls
#16 - Every disbursement not supported by invoice or sufficient other evidence
39
Escrow Accounting
Outstanding checks not cleared timely
39
Procedural Rules
P-21: Schedule D of commitment not in file or premium split not disclosed on commitment.
35
Procedural Rules
P-73: Failure to prepare/maintain Form T-64 (TD) when CD used, or Form T64 was not signed by all parties. Prepared incorrectly. 
Review Complete Quarterly Audit Report »
 

TDI Holds Informal Meeting on Title Insurance Basic Premium Rate

TLTA | Oct. 26, 2023
 TDI held an informal public stakeholder meeting to discuss the basic premium rate earlier today, Thursday, Oct. 26. This was not a formal proceeding at which decisions were made, but rather an opportunity for interested parties to share data analysis and relevant comments. 
  
The last time the rates were reviewed was four years ago, in 2019. TLTA has been reviewing and analyzing current market data, and our team of experts participated in today's meeting on your behalf. It was a productive, collaborative discussion.
 
Another stakeholder meeting will be scheduled in the coming weeks and our team at TLTA will provide additional insights and info in the coming days.
 

FinCEN Expands GTO to Travis County, Renews Other Texas Counties

U.S. Treasury | Oct. 23, 2023
 The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) announced the renewal and expansion of its Geographic Targeting Orders (GTOs) that require U.S. title insurance companies to identify the natural persons behind shell companies used in non-financed purchases of residential real estate.   
  
FinCEN expanded the geographic coverage of the GTOs to Travis County, as well as renewing the GTOs that cover Bexar, Dallas, Harris, Montgomery, Tarrant and Webb counties, and other major U.S. metropolitan areas.  
 
The purchase amount threshold remains $300,000 for each covered metropolitan area, except for the city and county of Baltimore, where the purchase threshold is $50,000.  
 
The effective period of the GTOs for purchases in the newly added Travis County area (as well as other new areas outside of Texas) begins Nov. 21, 2023.  
 
The terms of this order for all counties renewed in the GTO are effective beginning Oct. 22, 2023, and ending on April 18, 2024.  
 
Read FinCEN's Press Release » 
Review New GTO » 
FAQs Regarding GTOs » 
 
 

US Rep. Gonzalez Introduces Bipartisan Bill to Protect Home Buyers

My RGV | Oct. 24, 2023
 U.S. Reps. Vicente Gonzalez, D-Brownsville, and Andrew Garbarino, R-New York, are introducing a bipartisan bill called the Protecting America’s Property Rights Act aimed at protecting prospective homebuyers by requiring title insurance on mortgages purchased by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
 
Read more »
 
TLTA Editor's Note: The Protecting America’s Property Rights Act, HR. 5837, is a companion bill to S. 2687. We salute the good work of our Texas congressman, the team at ALTA, and all our community advocates working to advance good public policy protecting property rights.  
    

Texas Legislature: Special Session Update

TLTA | Oct. 26, 2023

LATEST NEWS

The 3rd Called Session of the 88th Texas Legislature continues. The House State Affairs Committee held a hearing on the Colony Ridge issue we've been tracking, but there was no bill to consider and the invited testimony did not include discussion of property rights considerations. Your TLTA Advocacy Team will continue to track this issue and will alert you if legislation is filed that could impact title industry operations.
 

FOREIGN OWNERSHIP BILLS FILED

The following foreign ownership bills have been filed during the current special session: SB 51, HB 93. Foreign ownership is not on the call for this special session, but legislators can file bills on any subject they want. While these bills are not currently eligible for consideration in Special Session 3, we're likely to see debate on these bills sooner or later, so its helpful to know what form they are taking. Both of these bills were refiled from the regular session. Sen. Kolkhorst's bill, SB 51, matches the version of her regular session foreign ownership bill as written following Senate amendments (i.e., this refiled bill matches the engrossed version of her foreign ownership bill from regular session). In a similar vein, House Insurance Committee Chairman Oliverson has filed HB 178, which would require property sellers to verify a potential purchaser’s immigration and legal work status prior to selling the property or the conveyance would be void. We have initiated discussions with the Chairman’s office about this bill.   
 

BACKGROUND ON SPECIAL SESSION 3 AND TLTA ADVOCACY

The 3rd Called Session of the 88th Texas Legislature commenced Oct. 9. The list of issues on the special session call can be found here.
 
Your TLTA advocacy team continues to monitor all developments at the Capitol in Austin and we'll keep you apprised as the special session progresses. 
 

Early Voting Continues for Property Tax Proposition, Other Constitutional Amendments

TLTA | Oct. 18, 2023
 Early voting for the upcoming election on Nov. 7 started Monday, Oct. 23 and continues through Nov. 3. Texans statewide have the opportunity to approve or reject 14 constitutional amendments, including a property tax reduction proposition passed by the Texas Legislature during their second special session this summer. Learn more about the property tax relief plan that must be approved by voters before it can be implemented.
 
In addition to the property tax relief measure mentioned above, there are 13 other constitutional amendments to consider, and your local ballot may have additional local government propositions.
 
Learn more about the other constitutional amendments on the ballot »
 
Where and when to vote early »