Tuesday, September 20, 2016
Sen. Rodric Bray, R-District 37, has been honored as 2016 Legislator of the Year by the Indiana Bankers Association (IBA). The award was presented by IBA President Amber R. Van Til at the Association’s Annual Convention in French Lick, Indiana, on Sept. 12.
Bray was recognized for his support of legislation favorable to a strong banking environment, particularly through his sponsorship of two bills during the 2016 Indiana legislative session that addressed the complex issue of foreclosure. Both pieces of legislation won strong bipartisan support.
Senate Bill 183, known as Real Property Offenses, provides that a person who knowingly or intentionally damages, permanently removes an object from, or defaces residential or commercial property that is the subject of a foreclosure action commits a Class B misdemeanor. The bill enhances the penalty based on the amount of damage, and it provides a defense if the damage, removal or defacement was the result of repair, renovation, replacement or maintenance performed in good faith. Significantly, SB 183 includes language that better enables law enforcement to remove squatters from vacant and abandoned properties. This legislation passed unanimously in both the Indiana House and the Senate.
Senate Bill 372, Deficiency Judgments and Foreclosed Property, addressed the fix on deficiency judgments related to the TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure (TRID) form that is required of banks. Specifically SB 372 provided that various statutes are not intended to provide a real estate owner, who is subject to the issuance of process under a judgment or decree of foreclosure, any protection or defense against a deficiency judgment for purposes of the borrower protections from liability that must be disclosed on a specified form required by amendments to a federal rule concerning mortgage disclosures. This bill passed unanimously in the Indiana Senate and received near-unanimous support in the House.
Bray has been serving in the Indiana Senate since 2012, representing Morgan County and parts of Johnson, Owen and Putnam counties. He chairs the Civil Law Committee and the Courts & Juvenile Justice Subcommittee; is a member of the Corrections & Criminal Law, Elections and Judiciary committees; and serves on the interim study committees of Government, Corrections and Criminal Code, and Courts and the Judiciary. Bray additionally serves as counsel for Morgan County; is a partner with Bray, Bray and Bray law firm; and formerly served as Martinsville City Attorney. Community outreach includes service as past president of Morgan County Community Concerts; as a director of Home Bank, Martinsville; and as a committee member and Sunday school teacher at First United Methodist Church of Martinsville.
Bray earned a bachelor’s degree from Indiana University and a JD from Valparaiso University.