Politics & Government

Sen. Latz Week in Review: Right to Work and Foreclosure Protection

A message from District 44's state senator about happenings in the Legislature.

 

[The following news release comes from the office of Sen. Ron Latz (DFL-District 44)]

 

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Hello Everyone,

Monday morning started out with an 8 a.m. Judiciary & Public Safety Committee hearing on the Right to Work bill. I am sure that many of you saw the coverage in the news and yes, you could hear chants from the hallway inside the committee room. I spoke and voted against the bill that passed on a 7-6 vote. We then moved into a contentious floor session that went into the evening where we discussed a few of the GOP budget lights on bills. I voted against these bills because they remove any consequence of not getting work done, making it too easy for gridlock to continue, and put parts of the budget on auto-pilot.

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The rest of the week was just as busy with the Judiciary & Public Safety Committee meeting everyday of the week as well as having four Senate floor sessions to move bills between committees. Friday marks the passage of first deadline which requires all policy bills to have moved through their respective committees in either the House or Senate. Next Friday, bills have to pass through the other body’s committees for them to still be considered this session.

On Wednesday, Sen. Dibble, Sen. Seiben and I introduced the “Supporting Responsible Homeowners and Stabilizing Neighborhoods Act”, which would expand refinancing options for homeowners, prevent needless foreclosures and ensure greater transparency from lending institutions. A recent report from the Minnesota Homeownership Center showed that Minnesota has the 17th highest foreclosure rate and that the rate is still three times higher than 2005 rates. This comprehensive bill is a good place to start the discussion and I am hoping that we make some more headway this year. Details follow this letter.

We are now two months into session and I have been meeting with many constituent groups at the Capitol. This week I met with a group of students from St. Louis Park’s Benilde-St. Margaret’s and Chesterton Academy as well as from MN Association of Community Healthcare Centers, MN Utility Investors, Minnesota Dietetic Association, SEIU and TwinWest Chamber of Commerce. I also had the pleasure of visiting with a former intern, Andrew Nightengale, who was here through the Capitol Fellowship Program. Constituents were also here for the MN Chamber of Commerce, American Heart Association and the Minnesota Care Providers.

Please take a moment to fill out my 2012 Legislative Survey on-line. Here is the link: https://surveys.senate.mn/TakeSurvey.aspx?SurveyID=82MJm82

The survey will remain open until March 30. Please continue to e-mail, write or phone me regarding your issues and concerns. As session becomes hectic, please be patient with me on response time.

***

Foreclosure Protection Bill

This week, legislation was introduced that would assist responsible homeowners who are feeling the negative effects of the national mortgage crisis. The package of bills, called the “Supporting Responsible Homeowners and Stabilizing Neighborhoods Act”, would expand refinancing options for homeowners, prevent needless foreclosures and ensure greater transparency from lending institutions.

A recent report from the Minnesota Homeownership Center showed that Minnesota has the 17th highest foreclosure rate with over 21,000 foreclosures in 2011. That number is down from 2010 but is still three times higher than 2005 rates. The bill’s supporters noted that the continuing foreclosure crisis effecting hard-working families as they struggle to stay in their homes as well as their communities, where local governments are forced to deal with vacant properties.

Provisions of the “Responsible Homeowners and Stabilizing Communities Act”:

Refinancing for underwater mortgages, temporary help for unemployed homeowners, transparency on loan modification criteria, lender response to short sale requests requirement, no dual tracking; loan modification notice; and no fees for services not performed.


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