Olympia Washington 2010
EAW Legislative Advocate
Tamara L. Warnke
Legislative Chair
Phil Dryden
WASHINGTON STATE IN ACTION
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
SENATE Find BILLS
Supreme Court
Session Started January 11, 2010
Regular Session Ends March 15, 2010
The EAW Legislative Committee and Lobbyist have been very busy in January with the beginning of the 2010 Legislative session. Our members have been kept aware of proposed bills that affect them via our email bulletins. Listed below are the proposed bills that we feel are important for members of the settlement industry to note:
HB 2617/SB 6426- Eliminating Boards and Commissions
This bill would eliminate the escrow commission, as well as 20+ other boards and commissions. It was sent to the legislature by the Governor as a budget measure. EAW Lobbyist, Tamara Warnke has successfully arranged an amendment to these bills to remove the Escrow Commission from it, therefore it would not be eliminated.
HB 2564/SB 6405 – Changes to RCW 18.44 Passed Effective June 9, 2010
These bills will change various elements of RCW 18.44. Some of the highlights are as follows:
- Requires if Fidelity Bond for Owners/Partners is not available, then a surety bond form $50,000 to $250,000 would need to be obtained.
- Requires background checks and good credit for all employees who handle money for the escrow agent.
- Gives DFI the authority to take over a licensee if the company is not operating per rules & regulations (so that the operations can be handed to another licensee to wind down the operations of an abandoned licensed office).
- Adds Lawyers operating as escrow office and contract collections to the governed business entities of 18.44.
- Restricts the collection of fees from unclaimed funds.
- Removes the test framework from 18.44 and allows the director to set the test criteria for an Escrow Officer License.
- Add the ability of DFI to order a licensee to pay restitution to a consumer.
National
For Information on Issues that Affect the Settlement Desk on a National Basis. All members of EAW are automatically members of AEA. The link to their website is provided below.
American Escrow Association (AEA)
American Escrow Association
211 N Union Suite 100
Alexandria, Virginia 22314
1 800-877-7414
a-e-a.org
