California Legislators Look to Make Policy Statements via Bill Introductions

Ag Land Acquisition by Foreign Actors Prohibited; Transfer of Mortgage Loan to New Property Authorized; Required Reporting by Insurance Companies on Facilitating Slavery; Department of Insurance Recommendations Become Mandates Under SB 1209

• Ag Land Acquisition by Foreign Actors Prohibited
  Senate Bill 1176 (Choi) would prohibit a foreign actor, as defined within the bill, from purchasing, acquiring, leasing, or holding a controlling interest, as defined, in agricultural land within the State of California, subject to several narrow exemptions. Land held by prohibited foreign actors before January 1, 2027 would also be exempt. Land transferred in violation of the prohibition would be subject to divestiture. 

• Transfer of Mortgage Loan to New Property Authorized 
  Assembly Bill 2145 (Garcia) would authorize a borrower who has reached retirement age to transfer the interest rate and remaining loan term secured by a mortgage on residential real property to a mortgage secured by a new principal residence. Retirement age is not yet defined in the legislation.
  
  The bill applies to any loan secured by a mortgage or deed of trust that is open on January 1, 2027, and to any new loan opened on or after January 1, 2027.   

• Required Reporting by Insurance Companies on Facilitating Slavery
  ​Assembly Bill 2599 (Bryan) would require several types of companies, including financial and insurance companies to complete an affidavit, under penalty of perjury, verifying that it has searched through any and all records in its and its related entities’, as defined, possession, control, and knowledge for records that the in-state entity or its related entities bought or sold persons subjected to slavery, used persons subjected to slavery as collateral, provided loans to purchase persons subjected to slavery, insured such transactions or the persons subjected to slavery, or provided related or other services to aid or otherwise facilitate those transactions. The bill sets forth the contents of the affidavit, the timeline and manner of submission, and reporting requirements. A presently unspecified department would have to create a public, digital platform by January 3, 2028, to make the reporting affidavits available.  

• Department of Insurance Recommendations Become Mandates Under SB 1209
  Senate Bill 1209 (Allen) amends the Insurance Code regarding the examination of insurers by requiring an examined company to comply with all the recommendations in the Department’s report. If the commissioner has reason to believe that a company has not complied with a recommendation in the report, the Commissioner may issue and serve an order to show cause on the company with a statement of the charges, its potential liability, and a notice of hearing. If the charges are found to be justified, the bill would require the commissioner to issue an order requiring the company to pay a specified penalty and to comply with and implement the recommendations contained in the report.  If the company fails to adopt any recommendation in a timeframe agreed upon by the commissioner or their designee, the company shall be fined up to twenty thousand dollars ($20,000) for each recommendation not followed. This penalty may be in addition to any other penalties provided by law.