SCRA Enhancement and Improvement Act of 2013

SCRA Enhancement and Improvement Act of 2013 - Amends the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) to:

• extend the period during which a contract for the purchase of real or personal property or the lease or bailment of such property entered into by a member of the uniformed services (servicemember) may not be rescinded or terminated for a breach to one year after such member's period of military service;
• change the period during which an action to enforce a mortgage, trust deed, or other security against a servicemember is covered by a stay of proceedings or adjustment of obligation to the period in which such action is pending (instead of the period in which such action is filed);
• prohibit the accrual of a mortgage prepayment penalty incurred by a servicemember during military service;
• delay the expiration of a license issued by a state or local licensing authority to a servicemember, or a continuing education requirement to maintain such a license, to 180 days after such servicemember is no longer eligible for hostile fire or imminent danger special pay;
• expand protections against collection of taxes owned by a servicemember with respect to personal property or real property occupied for dwelling, professional, trade, business, or agricultural purposes;
• prohibit the denial of credit to a servicemember solely by reason of entitlement to protections under SCRA;
• expand due diligence requirements for determining whether an individual is a servicemember prior to taking a default judgment against such individual;
• extend the protections of SCRA to servicemembers who are personally liable as a guarantor or co-maker of a mortgage, trust deed, or other security in the nature of a mortgage;
• permit the use of arbitration to settle a dispute under SCRA;
• authorize the Attorney General to issue a civil investigate demand for documents relating to an investigation under SCRA prior to initiating a civil action for violations of such Act; and
• double the amount of civil penalties for a first violation of SCRA and for subsequent violations.
  

Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov