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SACRAMENTO - Senate Republican Leader Shannon Grove (R-Bakersfield) issued the following statement after Governor Newsom agreed to set up a legal assistance fund to return $331 million. Former Governor Jerry Brown and Democratic leaders raided the National Mortgage Settlement Funds during the recession to backfill the state budget. The funds were obtained from a settlement agreement in a 2012 lawsuit over unfair lending practices and were intended to provide legal aid, foreclosure hotlines, consumer education and efforts to combat financial fraud. Instead, the state used the money to pay down unrelated government debt.
"Senate Republicans have been advocating to return these funds to help struggling homeowners since 2015. Unfortunately, it took mounting pressure and the California Supreme Court weighing in, before the governor relented and did the right thing. Senate Republicans will continue to monitor the situation to ensure these funds are directed to their intended purposes," said Senate Republican Leader Shannon Grove.