Senator Or pushes SB 292 substitute to bolster protections against title fraud

Senator Or told the County Municipal session that a substitute to SB 292 would modernize protections against real estate title theft by updating rules for electronic closings and signatures and incorporating stakeholder edits.

The substitute, the senator said, combines edits from the realtors association, title insurance companies, bankers and other stakeholders to reduce opportunities for forged deeds and fraudulent sales. "If this bill were to pass, it'd put us in the 21st century and better protect the citizens of Alabama and the titles that they have in their real estate," Senator Or said.

Members marked the bill as addressing a real problem for vulnerable homeowners, especially senior citizens who, according to sponsors, have been targeted by schemes that use forged documents and quick sales to transfer property without owners' knowledge. Lawmakers noted that the substitute updates processes for electronic signatures and closings to reduce those risks and that many affected parties were involved in crafting the revisions.

The chair moved adoption of the substitute and, with a second, the committee used the previous-roll procedure to adopt it. The committee issued a favorable report on the substituted SB 292, advancing the measure from the session.