SACRAMENTO — A key Senate committee Wednesday killed or greatly watered down a series of Assembly bills that would have imposed new regulations on sub-prime mortgages in an attempt to curb the worst wave of foreclosures since the Great Depression. The measures, part of a package launched with fanfare last winter by the Assembly leadership, sought to protect Californians from getting stuck with loans they couldn’t afford and didn’t understand. Sen. Michael Machado (D-Linden), chairman of the Senate Banking, Finance and Insurance Committee, opposed most of the bills, saying they would subject the mortgage industry to contradictory federal and state regulations. For the full story visit http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-mortgage19-2008jun19,0,4590951.story
