BOSTON – Senator Michael R. Knapik (R-Westfield) announced today that the legislature approved the Foreclosure Conference Committee’s report during formal session on Thursday. Senator Knapik served on the six-member committee charged with reconciling the differences between the House and Senate bills. The legislation aims to limit unnecessary foreclosures, keeping people in their homes and boosting the state economy.
“I am pleased with the Committee’s work to provide a well-balanced bill,” Knapik said. “This legislation aims to limit unnecessary foreclosures and protect homeowners by requiring various measures be taken in order to keep people in their homes and decreases the burden on lenders by allowing for an efficient foreclosure process in the event that those measures are unsuccessful,” Knapik continued.
The bill includes a provision that mandates banks and other lenders offer loan modifications to borrowers in certain circumstances to avoid foreclosures. This process would entail a complete financial analysis of the loan including a cost-benefit analysis to determine if a modification would be more beneficial than foreclosing on the home. The bill requires the Division of Banks, along with the Attorney General, to track the resolution of modified mortgages and report the finding to the Financial Services Committee within 90 days of the end of each year through December 2017.
Loan modification would be available for owner-occupied homes and apply to loans that are considered risky. Loan modification specialists will be available through the Attorney General’s Office to assist qualified borrower in their negotiations with lenders.
The legislation also temporarily extends the 90-day right-to-cure period, established by the Legislature in 2007, to 150 days. However, if a borrower does not respond within 30-days to a modified loan offer, the 150-day right to cure is forfeited and the 90-day right to cure process will apply.
In other legislative action, the Senate engrossed House Bill 4243, An Act relative to third grade reading proficiency. This piece of legislation establishes an Early Literacy Panel that is charged with developing recommendations that seek to have all students in the Commonwealth reading proficiently by the end of third grade. The panel will advise the Departments of Early Education and Care, Elementary and Secondary Education, Higher Education, and the Executive Office of Education on the implementation plans for early literacy development.
The panel will make recommendations in the following areas: strategies for evaluating the effectiveness of curricula on language and literacy development, effective instructional practices to promote children’s language and literacy development, pre-service and in-service professional development and training for educators, developmentally appropriate screening and assessment, family partnership strategies, and action steps to implement research-based recommendations.
Under the bill, the panel will also provide advice on leveraging existing and new federal grant opportunities and private funding to support language and literacy acquisition for children from birth to third grade. The bill requires the panel to meet a minimum of 4 times per year and submit an annual report to the Legislature detailing the activities and recommendations of the panel.
“Next year we will celebrate the 20th anniversary of education reform, an incredible infusion of resources and rising of standards. We continue to have a vexing problem of reading proficiency at the earliest levels,” Knapik said. “Unless we deal with literacy at the earliest levels, these achievement gaps will continue to affect the youth. I represent an urban core and folks in Holyoke look forward to the passage of this legislation,” Knapik concluded.
Both pieces of legislation are headed to Governor Patrick’s desk for his approbation.
