Representative Passidomo from Naples has introduced, and is pushing, a piece of legislation that is nothing but another back door bailout for the banks and for the title insurance industry….at the expense of the rights and the resources of the People of the State of Florida.
While Passidomo pushes this bill, every single legislator and policymaker in this state is content to utterly ignore the fraud, the lies, the crimes that were being committed, and continue to be committed by the fraudclosure industry. Indeed, while Attorneys General in states all across this country are standing up in various and very specific ways to hold the fraudclosure industry accountable, Florida’s Attorney General remains totally silent on the entire issue. Remember, it was her predecessor, Republican Bill McCollum that started nine investigations. Remember, when Pam Bondi fired the two attorneys that were aggressively pursuing these cases, she assured that even more staff and attorneys were now working on the issue….But remember, her office’s chief legislative priority is timeshare fraud……Really? Does anyone know what timeshare fraud is or do you care? Right, you don’t. Because you’re not in the industry and you don’t cut massive campaign contribution checks.
When Nevada passed a bill that mandated foreclosing plaintiffs confirm the facts in their case before filing….a bill that includes real penalties for lying…foreclosures ground to a halt in that state….why is that? Are the banks afraid of telling the truth? Meanwhile back here in Florida, a watered down version of the same bill (with no penalties) continues to be ignored and played games with by the fraudclosure industry. And with no real penalties associated with this bill, the bad conduct of the banks just continues right along……
And into this space steps Representative Kathleen Passidomo with her obscenely-titled bill, The Florida Fair Foreclosure Act. Link here for the text of the bill and analysis. But just read what has been written about the bill in her local newspaper:
The legislation faces opposition. Some think it will hurt borrowers, making it harder for them to fight foreclosure and stay in their homes.
Passidomo insists the bill won’t take away borrowers’ rights.
“That is totally a fabrication,” she said. “It’s troublesome because it’s clear that these individuals who have made these comments have never read the bill. But I guess that’s politics.”
Some opponents have characterized the bill as a “non-judicial foreclosure bill,” but foreclosures would continue to be handled by the courts, she pointed out.
Some of the bill’s opposition is coming from foreclosure defense attorneys.
“They want to keep borrowers in the house as long as possible without paying anything,” Passidomo said.
The quote from the Representative is precisely what the problem is in this state, and with this country in general. This bill, and this representative ignore the crimes of the fraudclosure and real estate industries that helped to bring this country to its knees. Too many of our elected leaders view their role as drafting laws that are gifts to wrongdoers but which cost taxpayers both liberty and real money. My response to Passidomo:
“We need to focus on keeping people in houses and paying for insurance and taxes and homeowners association dues, not throwing families into the streets,” said Matt Weidner, a foreclosure defense attorney in St. Petersburg “We have enough families who are homeless. We have enough houses that are vacant.”
I encourage each of you to first read the actual bill. Pay close attention to the language, particularly the “Get Out of Jail Free” sections for the banksters and the fraudclosure industries. Also, pay particular attention to what is one of the most important sections of the bill….the place where the Title Insurance Industry can issue a policy on your home without fear of any consequence and you lose all rights to your home. This bill is a battle line. This bill will serve as one of the key and most defining pieces of legislation that will be argued during the 2012 session of the Florida Legislature.
Legislators that support Passidomo’s (un)Fair Foreclosure Act are owned by the 1%, those who oppose it might not be.
Make sure you read the full article….and then make sure you read and leave comments in the comments section:
Representative Passidomo Pushes Foreclosure Reform