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In anticipation of the Judiciary Committee hearing and considering eight bills related to foreclosure on Wednesday, April 22, including one that will introduce an amendment that your League drafted, your League issued a targeted Call To Action Alert for Judiciary Committee members with a credit union(s) in their district to be contacted. In just a few days, more than 200 emails and phone calls have been registered by credit unions to members of the Committee.
Discussing your League's Legislative strategy, John Murphy, President of your League, explained, "We've heard from our member credit unions that there are Mainers that do not contest the foreclosure of their property. For these people, there is currently no avenue for them to expedite the process. We will be introducing an amendment that will provide for an expedited foreclosure process for consumers not wishing to contest foreclosure, and we believe the bill that provides the best vehicle for this amendment to be introduced is L.D. 846 – An Act to Refine and Streamline the Foreclosure Mediation Process. Unfortunately, nine of the foreclosure bills including L.D. 846 are scheduled to be heard by the Judiciary Committee on the same day – Wednesday, April 22, at 9:00 a.m. our concerned that L.D. 846 (and our amendment) could get grouped in with all of the other bills being considered and hurt its chances of passage. While our legislative counsel, Attorney Ben Marcus of Drummond Woodsum, will be joining your League's Legislative Team in Augusta to provide testimony on several of the bills and to explain the changes being proposed in our amendment being offered to L.D. 846, we are doing a targeted Call To Action to members of the Judiciary Committee by credit union(s) located in their district. Our sole purpose is to make them aware of our amendment and its importance."
A number of Committee members have responded to the communication from credit unions expressing "appreciation for being made aware of the amendment prior to the public hearing, and committing to watch closely for it when it is introduced."
In addition to testifying in support of L.D. 846 with our amendment, Marcus, along with your League's Diector of Governmental Affairs, Elise Baldacci, will be testifying on many of the other foreclosure bills. Some will be in support while others your League will be testifying in opposition.
Resources:
Your League's Foreclosure Bill Tracking Sheet
League's amendment for L.D. 846
Listen to the Judiciary Committee Hearing on Wednesday, April 22, beginning at 9:00 a.m.