Fla. committee approves mortgage foreclosure bill
Bill seeking to speed up Florida's residential mortgage foreclosure process headed to House
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- A bill to speed up Florida's residential mortgage foreclosure process is headed to the state House floor.
The measure (HB 87) won approval from the House Judiciary Committee on a 12-6 vote Thursday in its last committee stop before a looming vote in the full House.
Rep. Kathleen Passidomo, R-Naples, says her bill is aimed at unclogging the foreclosure process in a state that's been swamped by foreclosures.
Passidomo says the bill offers guarantees to make sure that borrowers with a "meritorious defense" will be heard in court.
One provision added to the bill would allow judges on senior status to hear foreclosure cases.
The bill proposes several changes to the procedures governing foreclosures in Florida.
Surveys indicate that Florida still has about a quarter of the nation's foreclosures.
