Texas Extends Existence of the Finance Commission and Two State Agencies

Texas Governor Greg Abbott recently signed into law a bill, Senate Bill 614 (SB 614), which, among other things, preserves the existence of the Texas Finance Commission (TFC), Texas Department of Banking (TDB), and Texas Department of Savings and Mortgage Lending (TDSML) until September 1, 2031.  Before this bill was enacted, the TFC, TDB, and TDSML were set to be abolished on September 1, 2019.

Some of the other key provisions of SB 614 include:

• Permits the Texas Finance Commissioner, Texas Banking Commissioner, and Texas Savings and Mortgage Lending Commissioner to appoint advisory committees to assist the TFC, TDB, and TDSML, respectively, in performing their duties;
• Requires the TDB and TDSML to maintain a system to promptly and efficiently act on complaints filed with the departments and modifies the complaint-related information that must be maintained by the departments;
• States that the TFC by rule must develop a policy to encourage the use of: (1) negotiated rulemaking procedures for the adoption of rules by the TFC applicable to the TDB and TDSML, and (2) appropriate alternative dispute resolution procedures to assist in the resolution of internal and external disputes under these departments’ jurisdictions; and
• Eliminates the “good moral character” requirement to obtain a residential mortgage loan originator license.

The changes made by SB 614 go into effect on September 1, 2019.