March 7 • 1:30 P.M.

Housing trust funds. A committee of the Taxation & Budget Reform Commission (TBRC) yesterday OK’d a measure that could result in a constitutional amendment to ensure affordable housing trust funds are spent only on housing. CP 22, sponsored by committee member Darryl Rouson, a St. Petersburg attorney, would require a set amount of money from doc stamp tax monies go toward state and local housing trust funds. Monies not spent in a given year would be roll over to the next year. Several commissioners expressed their concerns with tying the Legislature’s hand by placing these trust funds in the Constitution. CP 22 now goes before the full commission for a vote.

Foreclosure fraud. Legislation to ensure homeowners are informed about their rights when they sign contracts with so-called foreclosure-rescue consultants cleared its first House committee yesterday. HB 643 by Rep. Clay Ford (R-Gulf Breeze) won unanimous approval of the House Committee on Financial Institutions and will be heard next by the Jobs and Entrepreneurship Council. A foreclosure-rescue consultant helps homeowners to stop, avoid or delay foreclosure proceedings. But with the number of foreclosures on the rise in recent years, scam artists have found a new market of consumers to defraud, says Rep. Ford. HB 643 requires these consultants to give consumers five days to cancel a foreclosure-rescue contract. It also requires that all contracts include notice of the cancellation period, the recommendation that homeowners contact their lender or mortgage service prior to the signing the agreement and that the consultant is prohibited from collecting payment until all services are completed.   
 
Energy efficiency & construction. The Senate Community Affairs committee voted 9-0 yesterday in favor of SB 560 by Sen. Lee Constantine (R-Altamonte Springs), a bill that provides the Florida Building Commission (commission) with the authority to amend the Florida Building Code to adopt cost-effective standards that improve energy efficiency in the construction of new residential, commercial and government buildings.

Mortgage fraud. SB 116 by Sen. Gwen Margolis (D-Bay Harbor Island) also received unanimously approval by the Senate Community Affairs Committee. The bill requires a property appraiser to reassess any real property involved in mortgage fraud. Next stop: The Senate Criminal Justice Committee.