Economics

Governor Signs Leno´s Foreclosure Prevention Bill

Published

10 years ago

October 6, 2016

The Homeowner Survivor Bill of Rights, authored by Senators Mark Leno and Cathleen Galgiani, has been signed by Governor Brown. Senate Bill 1150 closes a loophole in California law that fails to provide surviving family members important protections against foreclosure that are available to other homeowners.

“Facing foreclosure after the loss of a loved one can be devastating,” said Senator Leno. “The governor’s approval of SB 1150 will help keep more families in their homes and reaffirms California as a nationwide leader in protecting vulnerable homeowners.”

While the California Homeowners’ Bill of Rights—approved by the Legislature in 2012—provided foreclosure relief for thousands of California families, the legislation did not protect surviving family members who own their homes but are not listed on the mortgage.

These survivors report that servicers fail to provide factual information about loan details and foreclosure avoidance programs or refuse to communicate with them. As a result, many families have experienced unnecessary foreclosures.

SB 1150 clarifies the responsibilities of a mortgage servicer when a borrower dies and one of the surviving homeowners wishes to assume the loan. The legislation ensures that heirs receive accurate information about loan assumption and foreclosure prevention programs.

It also gives survivors a single point of contact with the servicer and the ability to apply for loan assumption and modification.

“The American dream has turned into a nightmare for people like me,” said Kit Dillon Givas, a surviving homeowner in Sacramento. “My husband passed away in February this year. Instead of spending time to properly grieve, I’ve spent the last six months trying to get my mortgage servicer to talk to me about how to keep our home of 28 years. I thank Governor Brown for signing this bill so that other survivors like me don’t have to go through what I have.”

“(This) is a victory for seniors, for protecting the largest asset most of us will ever own, for stopping mortgage servicing abuses that were leading to needless foreclosures, and for stabilizing California communities. We thank the nonprofit housing counselors, attorneys and other advocates who first brought these abuses to light, who helped homeowners to keep their homes, and who supported SB 1150 throughout the legislative process. We’re also grateful to the homeowners who courageously testified about the many challenges they faced so that other survivors wouldn’t have to in the future,” said Kevin Stein, associate director of the California Reinvestment Coalition, a co-sponsor of SB 1150.

SB 1150 was sponsored by the California Alliance for Retired Americans, Housing and Economic Rights Advocates and California Reinvestment Coalition. The bill was supported by Attorney General Kamala Harris, AARP and the California District Attorneys Association, as well as a long list of civil rights, housing and labor organizations.

Oakland Post

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Related Topics:Cathleen Galgiani Mark Leno The Homeowner Survivor Bill of Rights

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Activism

At the event, 16 entities signed the EIP pledge, vowing to take steps to increase public contracting opportunities in their spheres for small and historically underutilized businesses. The pledge signees included Hub International, the Port of San Francisco, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, California High-Speed Rail Authority, the Port of Oakland, Robert Graham of Webcor Builders, Holder Construction, the Weitz Company, Sky Blue Builders, Hornblower, Swinerton, Luster National, Talson Solutions, Center for Community Wealth Building, and the Construction Contractors Alliance.

Published

1 day ago

June 24, 2026

Oakland Post

Toks Omishakin, secretary of the California State Transportation Agency, was one of the speakers at the event. Photo by Shellee Fisher Photography and Design.

By Calvin Naito, Special to The Post

On June 4, a national nonprofit named the Equity in Infrastructure Project (EIP) – which aims to increase public construction contracting opportunities for small and historically underutilized businesses – held a day-long event in downtown San Francisco to rally supporters and build momentum to its cause.

It was attended by more than 100 individuals from public agencies, private firms, and other organizations committed to increasing contracting opportunities with governmental agencies, thereby creating more competition and lowering public costs.

The EIP event was held the Hyatt Regency San Francisco in conjunction with BuildIT, which aims to increase contracting opportunities for LGBT-owned businesses.

At the event, 16 entities signed the EIP pledge, vowing to take steps to increase public contracting opportunities in their spheres for small and historically underutilized businesses.

The pledge signees included Hub International, the Port of San Francisco, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, California High-Speed Rail Authority, the Port of Oakland, Robert Graham of Webcor Builders, Holder Construction, the Weitz Company, Sky Blue Builders, Hornblower, Swinerton, Luster National, Talson Solutions, Center for Community Wealth Building, and the Construction Contractors Alliance.

Following the workshop, BuildIT hosted a VIP evening reception honoring EIP, whose principals – Phil Washington, John Procari, and Rick Jacobs – accepted the award.

The event also set in motion the coalition’s efforts to implement recommendations from EIP’s “Procurement for Prosperity: A Playbook.”

The Playbook is a practical guide for public agency leaders and procurement and contracting practitioners to grow the capacity of small and first-time contractors, strengthen competition, and deliver better value for taxpayers.

Toks Omishakin, Secretary of the California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA), a long-time EIP supporter, also told attendees, “This is about commitment. This has been a life’s work. This is a tailwind moment.”

The event’s presenting sponsor was Hub International, one of the largest insurance brokerages in the nation, which was joined by partners Travelers Insurance and the State Compensation Insurance Fund.

After the pledge-signing ceremony, attendees participated in a workshop in which they examined the policies, practices, and programs needed to meet EIP goals, learned from practitioners, and identified next steps toward utilizing the Playbook.

Ingrid Meriwether, formerly of Merriwether & Williams Insurance Services (MWIS) and current president of Hub International’s Aligned Risk Management, MWIS, described the hard-fought lessons she and her MWIS team have learned over the last three decades administering contractor development programs (CDPs) for the City and County of San Francisco, Alameda County, City of Los Angeles, LA Metro, and other municipalities.

The CDPs help small and local construction firms win public infrastructure contracts with these government agencies. The program provides bonding assistance, contract financing, technical support, training, and other services to underrepresented businesses funded by public agencies who seek greater contracting participation with these firms.

Merriwether said programs like these “break down systemic barriers, create greater fairness, and save taxpayers money by enabling more competition. The contractor development programs have, cumulatively, over two decades, helped contractors access over $1 billion in bonding, supporting over $380 million in awarded contracts, and maintaining a loss ratio 250 times lower than the industry average – while saving participating municipalities more than $27 million in contracting costs as a result of enabling more competition.”

Rick Jacobs, EIP co-founder and co-chair urged attendees make plans to meet again in the near future “to continue building on this work, share progress on organizational commitments, and discuss how we can collectively advance the goals of the EIP pledge.”

For more information on the EIP and to access a copy of the Playbook, go online to https://equityininfrastructure.org/

Calvin Naito is communications manager for Equity in Infrastructure Project.