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House Bill 716 |
House Author: Solomons et al. |
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Effective: 9-1-07 |
Senate Sponsor: Averitt |
House Bill 716 amends the Government Code to require the office of the attorney general to establish a residential mortgage fraud task force to assist state, federal, and local law enforcement agencies with tracking and prosecuting mortgage fraud statewide by sharing information and resources and successfully enforcing administrative and criminal actions against perpetrators of such fraud. The bill sets out the composition of the task force and its confidentiality and reporting requirements, authorizes it to request assistance from certain federal agencies, and allows the attorney general to solicit specified gifts, grants, and donations to aid the task force with its efforts. The bill establishes requirements for the reporting of fraudulent activity relating to a mortgage loan and prohibits certain parties from sharing the report or its contents. The bill exempts any party voluntarily reporting mortgage fraud activity from liability for the report under state or federal laws or regulations and specifies that these provisions do not affect any common law or statutory privilege or immunity. The bill permits the credit union commissioner to obtain from the credit union department criminal history record information maintained by the department relating to certain credit union board members, employees, or applicants and prohibits the release of such information unless specific conditions are met.
House Bill 716 amends the Penal Code to make it a punishable offense to knowingly make a materially false or misleading written statement to obtain a mortgage loan and provides that the attorney general has concurrent jurisdiction with a county or district attorney to prosecute mortgage fraud with the consent of that local prosecutor. The bill requires certain state agencies to assist federal, state, and local officials with their investigations of mortgage fraud. The bill amends the Code of Criminal Procedure to set the statute of limitations for laundering money or making a false statement to obtain property or credit at seven years from the commission of the offense. In addition, the bill amends the Finance Code to require a lender, mortgage banker, or licensed mortgage broker to provide each home loan applicant with a written notice at closing that warns of the penalties for making a false or misleading statement to obtain property or credit, including a mortgage loan, and stating that the information in the completed application is accurate as of the closing date. The bill sets out the format and wording of the notice and requires the applicant to verify the information and execute the notice. The bill specifies that failing to provide the notice to the applicant does not affect the loan's validity or enforceability.