February 5, 2013
TLTA Members to Converge on the Capitol
Register Today So We Can Schedule Your Legislator Appointments
TLTA’s Biennial Day at the Capitol will take place Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2013. Each legislative session, industry associations fill the hallways of the Capitol with hundreds, sometimes thousands, of professionals with one goal — to educate legislators about their respective industries. We know that when it comes to title insurance, no one knows more about the importance of our industry in Texas than you, so find out more and sign up for TLTA's Day at the Capitol here.
We are currently working on scheduling appointments between attendees and their legislators. If you plan on coming, we ask that you please register as soon as possible so we can get your appointment scheduled in time. If you have any questions, please contact
[email protected].
Fannie, Freddie Here to Stay, Panelists Say at American Securitization Forum
Housing Wire | January 28, 2013
Although the housing market has posted a shift in positive momentum, many factors within housing finance will likely remain for quite some time, and reform is not expected any time soon. Experts on the U.S. housing finance sector generally concluded that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are here to stay, providing a limited window of opportunity in market involvement for private market players, according to a panel discussion at the American Securitization Forum on Monday.
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Perry Calls for Tax Relief, Investing in Water and Roads
Austin American-Statesman | January 29, 2013
Gov. Rick Perry called for $1.8 billion in tax relief and using $3.7 billion from the Rainy Day Fund for a one-time investment in water and transportation infrastructure projects. It was his seventh, and perhaps last, State of the State message, but Gov. Rick Perry staked a claim for a lasting legacy as a guardian of the taxpayer, proposing an amendment to the Texas Constitution that would permit the state to return tax money it collects but doesn’t spend. “Today I’m calling for a mechanism to be put in place so when we do bring in more than we need, we’ll have the option of returning tax money directly to the people who paid it,” said Perry. Perry also renewed his call for another constitutional amendment – unveiled last Tax Day as part of his Budget Compact - to limit spending growth in Texas to the combined level of inflation and population growth.
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Lawmakers Hope to Tap Rainy Day Fund, Duck Spending Cap
Texas Tribune | January 24, 2013
Two top goals of many Texas lawmakers this legislative session — passing a budget they can call fiscally responsible and tapping billions of dollars sitting in the state’s Rainy Day Fund — may be tougher than they previously thought. Blame the state’s spending limit, a convoluted rule written in the state constitution that usually has little impact on the budget. This year, lawmakers risk bumping up against that limit, a situation that has prompted hopes that outlays from the Rainy Day Fund will not be subject to the limit.
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Pennsylvania Homeowner Sues Over Home's Bloody Past
ABC News | January 29, 2013
A Pennsylvania woman has appealed to the state Supreme Court in her suit against a home seller and real estate agent who failed to disclose that a murder-suicide had taken place in the home she purchased. When Janet Milliken, 59, moved from California after her husband died, she had hoped to start a new life with her two teenage children in Pennsylvania near her family. She bought a home in Thornton, Pa., for $610,000 in June 2007. She learned a few weeks after she moved in from a next-door neighbor that a murder-suicide had occurred the year before in her home.
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How the NLRB Ruling Could Scramble Mortgage Markets
The Wall Street Journal | January 28, 2013
Banks and mortgage companies thought that they were getting a clear set of ground rules earlier this month when regulators spelled out long-awaited rules clarifying how they could satisfy new mortgage standards. But a new court ruling is calling all of that clarity into question. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued the "qualified mortgage" definition three weeks ago, which told banks how they could reduce their legal liability under new rules that require them to ensure borrowers have the ability to repay a mortgage.
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Senator Ben Nelson Named CEO of the NAIC
Politico | January 23, 2013
Former Nebraska Sen. Ben Nelson, one of the key figures in passing the president's health care law, is being tapped to lead the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, the group announced last week. That means the fight over the Affordable Care Act is far from over for the Democrat, who now leads a diverse group of state regulators pushing for greater flexibility — and more direction from the feds — to implement the law.
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