The California State Assembly passed a bill to further regulate reverse mortgage lending on a 68 to 2 vote, leaving it now for Senate consideration. Meanwhile, the Senate Judiciary Committee has moved a separate reverse mortgage bill on to the full Senate.
The Assembly voted on AB 329 on May 14. The bill, sponsored by Assemblyman Mike Feuer, restricts cross-selling and requires a lender to provide a list of at least 10 HUD-approved counselors to the borrower, as well as a checklist of specific issues to be discussed with the counselor. Earlier this month, the Assembly Committee on Banking and Finance struck language that would have required a 30-day right of rescission.
The state Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing May 12 on SB 660. This bill, sponsored by Sen. Lois Wolk, would require lenders and brokers to operate under “a duty of honest, good faith, and fair dealing.”
Prescott Cole, senior counsel for California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform and Jack Christy of Aging Services of California spoke in favor of the bill at the hearing, according to Wolk’s spokeswoman. On May 19, the committee passed SB 660 on a 3 to 2 vote. The bill now goes to the Senate floor, the spokeswoman said.
