The sponsor of a bill that aims to reduce the number of home foreclosures in Colorado needs help to get it past the House Appropriations Committee on Friday, she said.
House Bill 1136, sponsored by Rep. Angela Williams, D-Denver, would create a fund to pay for mortgage counseling and other programs designed to prevent foreclosure by instituting a $250 fee on lenders each time they file to foreclose a property.
Williams said the bill wouldn’t take money from the general fund and creates a “cash in, cash out” system.
Williams said she heard from constituents on the campaign trail that a bill like this would help curb what she called a “crisis.” Colorado reported more than 40,000 property foreclosures in 2010, according to the Colorado County Treasurers’ Association.
“What they shared with me is that we needed more resources,” Williams said of the people she met while campaigning in 2010.
Williams said the bill has the backing of bankers, housing authorities, Gov. John Hickenlooper and a few Republican lawmakers. Some Republicans on the committee, however, aren’t sold.
“I have concerns,” said Rep. Glenn Vaad, R-Mead. Vaad said he doesn’t want to see bad lending policies rewarded by government intervention. “The banks have been irresponsible in who they loan money to,” he said.
Williams said the only way the bill can pass the committee is if a nonprofit organization agrees to handle the money, instead of leaving it in the hands of the Department of Local Affairs.
Appropriations Committee chairwoman Rep. Cheri Gerou, R-Evergreen, said she didn’t understand why a bill would involve a nonprofit group in that way but said she wouldn’t judge the bill’s chances before Friday’s hearing. Gerou said Williams has had ample time to address Republican concerns.
Kyle Glazier: 303-954-1638 or kglazier@denverpost.com
