The Homeowners' Bill of Rights would do a number of things, three of particular note.

Stop the insidious bank practice of foreclosing on a home while in the middle of loan modification negotiations.

Make it a legal requirement that a bank set up a single point of contact with a borrower. Currently banks habitually "lose" documents and pass off responsibility for negotiations from department to department.



Make it illegal to use "robosigned" documents.

What it will apparently not do is make it legal requirement that a bank show proof that they have a right to foreclose...



SB 729 (Leno & Steinberg) of 2011 This bill would have required a servicer to process an application for a loan modification prior to recording a Notice of Default (NOD). This bill would, among other things, require a declaration of compliance to be recorded to certify compliance with the bill’s provisions, and require the foreclosing entity to attach proof of ownership of the mortgage or deed of trust. The bill failed passage in the Senate Banking and Financial Institutions Committee.

I don't know how anyone (except a corporations-are-persons bank) could object to the concept that one has to demonstrate that you own the mortgage before you can foreclose. But there it is.

The fact that this particular bill has already died is a testament to the power of the banksters lobby in Sacramento. If they are not to defeat or water down to homeopathic density Harris' Homeowners' Bill of Rights pressure needs to be exerted now on the Joint Senate and Assembly Committee that is considering the legislation. Powerful forces, including federal officials (no, this is not a conspiracy theory -- read the linked diary), are intent on derailing this legislation.

Here are the Joint Committee's members' contact information. Tell them you want a real Homeowners' Bill of Rights, not some watered down version that continues to let Wells Fargo drive people to the edge of hell, and then over.

Senator Noreen Evans (D) (916-651-4002)

Senator Ron Calderon (D) (916-651-4030)

Senator Sam Blakeslee (R) (916 651-4015)

Assemblyperson Mike Eng (D) (916 319-2049)

Assemblyperson Mike Feuer (D) (916 319-2042)

Assemblyperson Donald Wagner (R) (916 319-2070)

And sign the petition.

