Senate banking committee forwards AB 238 to judiciary to let wildfire survivors pause mortgage payments up to one year

At a hearing of the California State Senate Committee on Banking and Financial Institutions, members voted to refer Assembly Bill 238, the Mortgage Forbearance Act, to the Senate Judiciary Committee after a roll call that ultimately recorded seven affirmative votes.

The bill, authored and presented by Assemblymember Harbidian, would give homeowners affected by wildfires the option to temporarily pause mortgage payments for up to one year. During that period the bill states borrowers would not incur penalties, face foreclosure, have their credit reports harmed or be required to make a balloon payment at the end of the forbearance period. "Without immediate financial relief, the burden of continued mortgage payments, could trigger the worst, which is a wave of foreclosures," Harbidian said. "AB 238, the mortgage forbearance act, provides a vital safety net and a uniform process for relief."

Supporters who spoke at the hearing included advocacy and local government groups. Speakers registering support included Adam Kegwin for the California Charter Schools Association; Sarah Brennan for SEIU State Council; Emerald Evans for In Child Poverty California on behalf of an impacted Altadena resident; Sylvia Solis Shaw for the city of Los Angeles and its city attorney's office; and representatives of Los Angeles County. Harbidian told senators the bill had no formal opposition after stakeholder negotiation and thanked industry participants for collaborating on the language.

Industry witnesses described a cooperative process but noted outstanding technical points. Vanessa Lugo of the California Bankers Association told the committee the association had worked with the author and that "as the bill moves through the senate, we do have a couple remaining compliance related tightening and look forward to working with the author." Randy Pollock of the Consumer Data Industry Association said the group had worked on amendments to ensure information is properly reported to credit reporting agencies.

Committee proceedings recorded several roll-call and on-call tallies as members joined the hearing. The committee clerk announced the bill as "due passed to senate judiciary" and recorded affirmative votes from Senators Grayson, Nilo, Richardson, Strickland, Cervantes, Hurtado and Limone in later roll calls, yielding seven recorded yes votes and no recorded no votes. The committee chair placed the bill on call while awaiting absent members before announcing it was out of committee.

The committee's action advances AB 238 to the Senate Judiciary Committee for further review. No final amendments or second-reading actions were taken in this committee; the bill's referral to judiciary is the formal result of the hearing.