Foreclosure measure advances in Senate
Consumer activists and homeowners
offer sharp criticism of the bill.
Original Source Article by Zac Anderson
Ocala.com, Tallahassee bureau
Legislation to speed foreclosures in Florida is gaining momentum despite strident criticism from consumer advocates who argue that it would "trample homeowners’ rights."
The bill passed its first Senate committee Monday after already clearing two House committees, with three weeks remaining in the session.
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Debate over the proposed law — co-sponsored in the House by Rep. Greg Steube, R-Parrish — remains emotional. One Port Charlotte homeowner called lawmakers backing the bill a “disgrace,” while others accused them of seeking to undercut private property rights in favor of supporting lenders.
The Senate Judiciary Committee members who advanced the proposal, which would require homeowners to quickly mount a defense to prevent a foreclosure on their property, said they sympathized with many of the concerns and described the legislation as a work in process. But they also said that opponents are misreading the bill and overlooking important consumer protections.
Nearly a dozen consumer activists and homeowners battling foreclosure in this region and across Florida sharply criticized the bill, arguing that the legislation will make fighting fraudulent foreclosure actions more difficult. Last week, the legislation drew about 100 protesters to the Capitol.
“It’s so egregious it’s unconscionable,” said Sarasota resident Maia Shaffer, who has organized homeowners to fight the legislation through her Mortgage Justice organization. “To put it simply, it’s a mess.”
But the Republican senators who passed the bill on a party-line, 5-2 vote said that the backlog of foreclosures is too big to ignore and any concerns can be addressed in future hearings.
TOM’S COMMENTARY:
Any semblence of a consumer-protection orientation in Florida government has been lacking for a long time. This legislation is specifically designed to assist the Wall Street Bankers who created the mortgage crisis, rather than the consumers who are its victims.
To me, this is Florida's own Bank Bailout revisited.
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