SB 122-REAL ESTATE TRANSFER FEES/TITLE PLANTS  2:04:56 PM CHAIR EGAN announced consideration of SB 122. DANA OWEN, staff to the Senate Labor and Commerce Committee, said at the last hearing on this bill they discussed an amendment that would be forthcoming and it would answer issues that had been raised amongst title insurers. SENATOR PASKVAN moved to adopt Amendment 1 to CSSB 122(CRA), version 27-LS0789\B. CHAIR EGAN objected for discussion. MR. OWEN explained that the one goal of the amendment is to anchor title searches to the State of Alaska. Concerns have been expressed to their office that because there is so much offshoring of this kind of "back office" sort of work that we would lose our ability to have title insurance searches done by somebody who has an actual connection to Alaska and whose local knowledge may prove instrumental in making sure that the title searches are defensible. In order to do that, this amendment adds a requirement that a title insurance contract can't be issued until an examination has been done by a licensed title insurance limited producer. Among the requirements to become a licensed title insurance limited producer is one that you have a locus (physical presence) of business in the state. This doesn't guarantee that with online technology people outside the state couldn't do the research, but it would at least mandate that one person or a business located in Alaska has the final authority to approve it. The second section of the bill requires that a title insurance limited producer must be a resident of the State of Alaska. A memo in their packets argues that this may be in violation of the privileges and immunities clause of the U.S. Constitution. Anytime Alaska residency is required, this issue is raised. Bills in the past have passed with these kinds of provisions and the committee could decide to embrace that. This language has been vetted between two contending factions in the title industry, both of which are okay with this now. 2:08:56 PM SENATOR MENARD said she wanted to hear from MatSu Title Insurance. 2:10:22 PM MIKE PRICE, owner, Fidelity Title Insurance in Anchorage and Mat-Su Title Insurance in Wasilla said he is currently president of the Alaska Land Title Association and that the CS is acceptable to all members of the industry and they support its passage. He said about 13 states had passed very similar legislation in the last three or four years that specify residents of their states will be the only licensed examiners within those states. Since the last committee meeting, he, personally, had been solicited three times from India and that is the kind of thing they are trying to prohibit. SENATOR MENARD said it's comforting to hear that he is satisfied. CHAIR EGAN asked Ms. Hall what she thought of the latest version. 2:12:35 PM LINDA HALL, Director, Division of Insurance, Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development (DCCED), said she was pleased to hear Mr. Price testify that industry agrees with this version, and she is especially supportive of Section 1, because it clarifies there has to be at least a physical location from which to do the title examination search in the state. Language in Section 2 about off shore outsourcing was strictly a legislative call, she said, and she understood industry's concerns about it. 2:13:49 PM SENATOR PASKVAN moved to report CSSB 122(L&C), as amended by amendment B.2, from committee with individual recommendations and attached zero fiscal note. There were no objections, and it was so ordered.