April 24, 2025
In This Issue:
- Texas Legislature 89th Session Update: NTRAPS, Deed Fraud, and Other Legislation That Could Impact Our Industry
- Texas Family’s Title Company Fights FinCEN's Real Estate Transaction Surveillance Regulation
- ICYMI: TDI Publishes 2023 Agent Experience Report
Texas Legislature 89th Session Update: NTRAPS, Deed Fraud, and Other Legislation That Could Impact Our Industry
TLTA | April 24, 2025
Less than 39 days remain in the Texas Legislature's 89th Session. Our advocacy team is working around the clock to help advance the bills on TLTA's affirmative legislative agenda, testify and offer other support on bills that could impact operation of the state's real estate market, and communicate to lawmakers our concerns on the bills that we're actively opposing.
TLTA testifies in support of HB 4204 prohibiting NTRAPS (unfair service agreements)
Since 2018, real estate brokerage firms have been offering homeowners as little as $300 in exchange for signing decades-long listing agreements. These NTRAPS agreements are filed in property records, which can produce unreasonable restraints on future ability to sell or refinance property due to unwarranted transactional costs -- a system contrary to our industry's continued support for certainty of landownership, and the reason why ALTA and TLTA have been so vocal on this issue.
HB 4204 would prohibit these types of agreements, and TLTA Vice President of Government Relations and Counsel Aaron Day
testified in support of the bill:
Click image above to watch Aaron's testimony supporting HB 4204
TLTA testifies on HB 4350, which would require redaction from property records personal information for some law enforcement officers
Every legislative session there are bills that could impact operation of the state's real estate market. Sometimes TLTA supports those bills; sometimes we oppose them.
HB 4350 is a fitting example of the many bills we are neither for or against. This bill requires the redaction from property records personal information for some law enforcement officers. This subject is important to many lawmakers, and for this bill and similar measures, we encourage elected officials to invite our industry into the discussion so we can help them accomplish their goals without marring the property records impacted.
Maintaining a neutral but helpful position on HB 4350 and similar bills is a fine line to walk, and TLTA Vice President of Government Relations and Counsel Aaron Day recently played that role by
testifying on the bill for TLTA when it was heard in committee:
Click image above to watch Aaron's testimony on HB 4350
TLTA testifies in support of HB 4531, the deed fraud legislation on TLTA's affirmative agenda this session
Real estate fraud, specifically deed fraud, is on the rise, and
HB 4531 by Rep. Bhojani would create a relief mechanism for parties harmed by these crimes modeled on an existing fraudulent liens statute in the Government Code. TLTA Vice President of Government Relations and Counsel Aaron Day
testified in support of HB 4531 at a House Trade, Workforce & Economic Development Committee hearing earlier this week (see video below).
You may recall that earlier this month the companion to HB 4531, SB 1734 by Sen. West, was heard by the Senate's Jurisprudence Committee, who recommended this bill for the local and uncontested calendar.
TLTA Board Member Leslie S. Johnson, CTIP, testified at that hearing.
HB 4531 was left pending following the hearing, as were other bills on the hearing agenda.
Click image above to watch Aaron's testimony in support of HB 4531
TLTA’s affirmative legislative agenda for the 89th Session
TLTA's advocacy team is supporting passage of the following bills during the 89th Legislative Session. These statutory changes would improve real estate transactions statewide:
Memorandum of Contract - HB 4063 (Ordaz)
HB 4063 »
Review TLTA's one-pager on this legislation »
Negotiated Rulemaking Implementation - SB 2433 (Parker), SB 2861 (Hughes)
SB 2433 »
SB 2861 »
Deed Fraud Self Help - SB 1734 (West) and HB 4531 (Bhojani)
SB 1734 »
HB 4531 »
Review TLTA's one-pager on this legislation »
Statistical Report Deadlines - SB 1810 (Schwertner) and HB 3502 (Rep. King) Note: Amended language expected pending stakeholder input.
SB 1810 »
HB 3502 »
County Clerk Recording Fee - SB 1547 (Zaffirini) and HB 3733 (Orr)
SB 1547 »
HB 3733 »
Review TLTA’s one-pager on this legislation »
Status of the TLTA Affirmative Agenda Bills Listed Above
You can find the status of the bills listed
above here.
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.
Legislation TLTA's Advocacy Team Is Tracking
Bills related to adverse possession, land use, HOA's and more have been filed by lawmakers.
Review the 89th Session Bills of Interest your TLTA Advocacy Team is tracking this session.
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 »
Texas Family’s Title Company Fights FinCEN's Real Estate Transaction Surveillance Regulation
Pacific Legal Foundation | April 18, 2025
Celia Flowers had big dreams at a young age. While still in high school, she set her sights on building a business. After high school, she got a job at a local title company and developed a love for digging through dusty records and piecing together the puzzle of property ownership. She knew then and there that she wanted to run her own title company. Over the next decade, she got an associated degree from Tyler Junior College, took classes at the University of Texas at Tyler and worked as a landman before deciding to go to law school at Baylor University with the dream of one day buying a title company of her own.
Read more »
TLTA Editor's Note: Last year FinCEN issued a final rule on reporting requirements for certain all-cash residential real estate transfers, which would expand the GTO to all markets nationwide effective Dec. 1, 2025.
Learn more »
Review comments TLTA submitted on FinCEN's initial rule proposal »
ICYMI: TDI Publishes 2023 Agent Experience Report
TLTA | April 14, 2025
The Texas Department of Insurance published their Title Insurance Agent Experience Report Compilation for 2023.
Texas Insurance Code §2703.153 requires each title insurance company and title insurance agent engaged in the business of title insurance in Texas to annually submit business data to TDI. TDI uses this data to set title insurance premium rates.
The new agent experience report was completed with data generated during calendar year 2023.
Review Title Insurance Agent Experience Report Compilation for 2023 »
This Report Is Also Available As an Excel File (Click Here to Download) »
Looking for older experience reports? You can
find them here.
TLTA Editor's Note: We expect 2023 data for underwriters to be published soon.