Texas 2015 - 84th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB1548 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	84R5358 PMO-F
2	2	By: Eltife S.B. No. 1548
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to licensing and appointment of title insurance escrow
8	8	officers; changing the limit applicable to a fee; authorizing a
9	9	fee.
10	10	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	11	SECTION 1. Sections 2652.001, 2652.002, and 2652.006,
12	12	Insurance Code, are amended to read as follows:
13	13	Sec. 2652.001. LICENSE AND BOND OR DEPOSIT REQUIRED. An
14	14	individual may not act as an escrow officer unless the individual:
15	15	(1) holds a license issued by the department; [and]
16	16	(2) is covered by [maintains] a surety bond or deposit
17	17	required under Subchapter C; and
18	18	(3) is appointed under Section 2652.1511 as an escrow
19	19	officer by a title insurance agent or direct operation.
20	20	Sec. 2652.002. EMPLOYMENT OF ESCROW OFFICER. (a) A title
21	21	insurance agent or direct operation may not employ an individual as
22	22	an escrow officer unless the individual:
23	23	(1) holds a license issued by the department;
24	24	(2) is covered by [and maintains] a surety bond or
25	25	deposit as required under Subchapter C; and
26	26	(3) is appointed under Section 2652.1511 as an escrow
27	27	officer by the title insurance agent or direct operation [by this
28	28	chapter].
29	29	(b) A title insurance agent or direct operation may not
30	30	permit an individual to act as an escrow officer in this state
31	31	before the agent or direct operation has complied with Sections
32	32	2652.151 and 2652.1511 [2652.152] with respect to the individual.
33	33	Sec. 2652.006. RECORD OF ESCROW OFFICERS. The department
34	34	shall maintain a record of the name and address of each escrow
35	35	officer licensed by the department in a manner that ensures that the
36	36	escrow officers employed and appointed under Section 2652.1511 by
37	37	any title insurance agent or direct operation in this state may be
38	38	conveniently determined.
39	39	SECTION 2. Section 2652.051(a), Insurance Code, is amended
40	40	to read as follows:
41	41	(a) Before an initial license is issued to an individual to
42	42	act as an escrow officer in this state for a title insurance agent
43	43	or direct operation, the title insurance agent or direct operation
44	44	must file an application for an escrow officer's license and
45	45	appointment under Section 2652.1511 with the department on forms
46	46	provided by the department.
47	47	SECTION 3. Section 2652.052(b), Insurance Code, is amended
48	48	to read as follows:
49	49	(b) License fees, appointment fees, and renewal fees
50	50	collected under this chapter [Section 2652.152], shall be deposited
51	51	to the credit of the Texas Department of Insurance operating
52	52	account to be used by the department to enforce this chapter and any
53	53	other law of this state that regulates escrow officers for title
54	54	insurance agents or direct operations.
55	55	SECTION 4. Sections 2652.055 and 2652.056, Insurance Code,
56	56	are amended to read as follows:
57	57	Sec. 2652.055. LICENSE TERM. Unless a system of staggered
58	58	license renewal is adopted or required under Chapter 4003 [under
59	59	Section 4003.002], a license expires on the second June 1 following
60	60	the date of issuance.
61	61	Sec. 2652.056. PROCEDURE FOR LICENSE RENEWAL. An
62	62	individual may renew an unexpired escrow officer license by:
63	63	(1) submitting to the department on a form provided by
64	64	the department a completed application, signed and sworn by the
65	65	individual, stating that the applicant is an individual who is a
66	66	bona fide resident of this state or a state adjacent to this state;
67	67	and
68	68	(2) paying to the department a renewal fee in an amount
69	69	set by the department [AUTOMATIC TERMINATION OF LICENSE. The
70	70	license of each escrow officer employed by a title insurance agent
71	71	or direct operation that surrenders its license or has its license
72	72	revoked by the department is automatically terminated without
73	73	notice].
74	74	SECTION 5. Section 2652.101(a), Insurance Code, is amended
75	75	to read as follows:
76	76	(a) A title insurance agent or direct operation shall
77	77	obtain, at its own expense, a bond for its escrow officers appointed
78	78	under Section 2652.1511 payable to the department. The bond shall
79	79	obligate the principal and surety to pay for any pecuniary loss
80	80	sustained by the title insurance agent or direct operation through
81	81	an act of fraud, dishonesty, forgery, theft, embezzlement, or
82	82	wilful misapplication by an escrow officer, either directly and
83	83	alone or in conspiracy with another person.
84	84	SECTION 6. Section 2652.151(a), Insurance Code, is amended
85	85	to read as follows:
86	86	(a) A title insurance agent or direct operation shall
87	87	certify to the department, not later than the expiration date of the
88	88	title insurance agent's or direct operation's license, the name and
89	89	address of each individual employed and appointed under Section
90	90	2652.1511 by the title insurance agent or direct operation to serve
91	91	as an escrow officer in this state.
92	92	SECTION 7. Subchapter D, Chapter 2652, Insurance Code, is
93	93	amended by adding Section 2652.1511 to read as follows:
94	94	Sec. 2652.1511. APPOINTMENT OF ESCROW OFFICER. (a) An
95	95	escrow officer may be employed and appointed by more than one title
96	96	insurance agent or direct operation.
97	97	(b) Before an escrow officer may act in that capacity for a
98	98	title insurance agent or direct operation, the title insurance
99	99	agent or direct operation must appoint the escrow officer and file
100	100	the escrow officer's appointment with the department on a form
101	101	provided by the department.
102	102	(c) The appointment form must:
103	103	(1) be accompanied by a nonrefundable appointment fee;
104	104	(2) certify that the escrow officer is a bona fide
105	105	employee of a title insurance agent or direct operation with an
106	106	office in this state;
107	107	(3) be signed and sworn to by the title insurance agent
108	108	or direct operation and by the escrow officer; and
109	109	(4) demonstrate that the escrow officer is covered by
110	110	a surety bond or deposit required under Subchapter C.
111	111	(d) The appointment of the escrow officer expires on the
112	112	revocation, termination, or nonrenewal of the escrow officer's
113	113	license or termination of the escrow officer's employment with the
114	114	title insurance agent or direct operation that made the
115	115	appointment.
116	116	SECTION 8. Section 2652.153, Insurance Code, is amended to
117	117	read as follows:
118	118	Sec. 2652.153. NOTICE OF TERMINATION. A title insurance
119	119	agent or direct operation that terminates the employment of a
120	120	licensed escrow officer shall:
121	121	(1) immediately notify the department in writing of
122	122	the termination and request cancellation of the appointment under
123	123	Section 2652.1511 [license]; and
124	124	(2) notify the escrow officer of the action by the
125	125	title insurance agent or direct operation.
126	126	SECTION 9. Sections 2652.203(a) and (d), Insurance Code,
127	127	are amended to read as follows:
128	128	(a) The department shall notify a license holder of a
129	129	disciplinary action or enforcement action against the license
130	130	holder not later than the 30th business day after the date the
131	131	department assigns a file number to the action, except that this
132	132	subsection does not apply to a file or action:
133	133	(1) that is the subject of a pending criminal
134	134	investigation or prosecution; or
135	135	(2) about which the [deputy commissioner of the title
136	136	division of the] department makes a good faith determination that
137	137	there is a credible suspicion that there are ongoing or continuing
138	138	acts of fraud by a person who is the subject of the action.
139	139	(d) The department may provide information about an
140	140	enforcement action, including a copy of a notice issued under this
141	141	section, to each title insurance agent or direct operation with
142	142	which an escrow officer has, or proposes to obtain, an appointment
143	143	under Section 2652.1511 [employment].
144	144	SECTION 10. Sections 2652.057(b) and 2652.152, Insurance
145	145	Code, are repealed.
146	146	SECTION 11. The changes in law made by this Act apply only
147	147	to the issuance or renewal of the license of an escrow officer on or
148	148	after January 1, 2016. The issuance or renewal of a license before
149	149	January 1, 2016, is governed by the law as it existed immediately
150	150	before the effective date of this Act, and that law is continued in
151	151	effect for that purpose.
152	152	SECTION 12. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.