House committee sends resolution protesting federal changes to title insurance to the floor

The House Business Committee on Feb. 17 voted to send House Concurrent Resolution 7 to the full House with a recommendation of “do pass.” The measure, sponsored by Representative John Schertz, urges opposition to federal actions that the sponsor says would intrude on state regulation of title insurance.

Schertz, a Republican from the Western Treasure Valley (District 9), told the committee HCR 7 is “a federalism, type of resolution” meant to register the legislature’s view against what he and supporters describe as federal overreach into a state-regulated insurance market.

The resolution asks state lawmakers to object to federal programs that would allow alternatives to state-regulated title insurance. Schertz said the concern grew from a federal pilot program that revived interest in using attorney opinion letters and title waivers in place of title insurance on some federally related mortgages. "They again took on the what I consider the overreach of attempting to usurp the state's powers of regulating title insurance," a title-industry witness told the committee.

Bob Bryce, testifying on the resolution as a representative of title-industry interests, told the committee that earlier proposals from the Federal Housing Finance Agency included both a title-waiver option and an attorney-opinion-letter approach. He said those approaches could lead to the use of other insurance types "such as surplus lines insurance, professional attorneys insurance," and that could undermine state monoline title-insurance statutes that limit title insurers to selling only title insurance.

Representative Birch questioned whether the resolution remained necessary with a new federal administration in office and suggested waiting to see the federal government's next steps. Schertz said the measure is intended as a proactive step.

Representative Crane moved the committee recommendation to send HCR 7 to the floor with a do-pass recommendation. The committee approved the motion by voice vote; the transcript records a voice vote and states only that the motion "carries." The committee did not record a roll-call tally in the hearing record.

The resolution does not change state law if adopted; it is a statement of legislative position. The committee heard no public testimony in opposition or support during the hearing.

Committee action: HCR 7 was sent to the House floor with a do-pass recommendation by voice vote; individual roll-call tallies were not specified in the committee transcript.