BILL NUMBER: AB 34	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Nava

                        DECEMBER 1, 2008

   An act relating to mortgage lending.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 34, as introduced, Nava. Residential mortgage lending.
   Existing law provides for licensing and regulation of real estate
brokers by the Real Estate Commissioner. Real estate brokers, among
other things, are persons who solicit borrowers or lenders in
connection with loans secured by liens on real property.
   Existing law also provides for licensing and regulation of
residential mortgage lenders by the Commissioner of Corporations.
   This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact
legislation relative to an effective system of supervision and
enforcement of the mortgage lending industry, and would make
legislative findings and declarations regarding recently-enacted
federal legislation and related matters.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
   (a) Congress recently passed H.R. 3221, the Housing and Economic
Recovery Act of 2008, which was signed into law by the President on
July 30, 2008, and became Public Law 110-289.
   (b) H.R. 3221 includes, as Title V of Division A of that act, the
Secure and Fair Enforcement for Mortgage Licensing Act of 2008 (the
SAFE ACT).
   (c) The activities of mortgage loan originators and the
origination or offering of financing for residential real property
have a direct, valuable, and immediate impact upon California's
consumers, the California economy, California's communities and
neighborhoods, and the housing and real estate industry.
   (d) Accessibility to mortgage credit is vital to California
residents.
   (e) It is essential for the protection of California residents and
the stability of the economy that reasonable standards for licensing
and regulation of the business practices of mortgage loan
originators be imposed.
   (f) The obligations of mortgage loan originators to consumers in
connection with originating or making of residential mortgage loans
warrant the regulation of the mortgage lending process.
   (g) The purpose of the SAFE Act is to protect consumers seeking
mortgage loans and to ensure that the mortgage lending industry is
operating without unfair, deceptive, or fraudulent practices on the
part of mortgage loan originators.
  SEC. 2.  It is the intent of the Legislature to establish in this
act an effective system of supervision, regulation, and enforcement
of the mortgage lending industry, including the following:
   (a) The authority to issue licenses to conduct business under this
act, including the authority on the part of the administering agency
to promulgate rules and regulations or adopt procedures necessary to
the licensing of persons covered under this act.
   (b) The authority to deny, suspend, condition, or revoke licenses
under this act.
   (c) The authority to examine, investigate, and conduct enforcement
actions as necessary to carry out the intended purposes of this act,
including the authority to subpoena witnesses and documents, enter
orders, including cease and desist orders, order restitution and
monetary penalties, and order the removal and ban of individuals from
office or employment.
   (d) Participation by the Department of Corporations and the
Department of Real Estate in the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System
and Registry.