Text: HSB00663 Text: HSB00665 Text: HSB00600 - HSB00699 Text: HSB Index Bills and Amendments: General Index Bill History: General Index
PAG LIN 1 1 Section 1. Section 537.1301, subsection 12, paragraph a, 1 2 subparagraph (5), Code 1995, is amended to read as follows: 1 3 (5) With respect to a sale of goods or services, the 1 4 amount financed does not exceedtwenty-fiveforty thousand 1 5 dollars. 1 6 Sec. 2. Section 537.1301, subsection 13, paragraph a, 1 7 subparagraph (4), Code 1995, is amended to read as follows: 1 8 (4) The amount payable under the lease does not exceed 1 9twenty-fiveforty thousand dollars. 1 10 Sec. 3. Section 537.1301, subsection 14, paragraph a, 1 11 subparagraph (5), Code 1995, is amended to read as follows: 1 12 (5) The amount financed does not exceedtwenty-fiveforty 1 13 thousand dollars. 1 14 Sec. 4. Section 537.5201, subsection 1, unnumbered 1 15 paragraph 1, Code 1995, is amended by adding the following new 1 16 paragraph: 1 17 NEW PARAGRAPH. bb. Prohibited check cashing practices 1 18 under section 537.8101. 1 19 Sec. 5. Section 537.6106, subsection 4, Code 1995, is 1 20 amended to read as follows: 1 21 4. The administrator shall not make public the name or 1 22 identity of a person whose acts or conduct the administrator 1 23 investigates pursuant to this section or the facts disclosed 1 24 in the investigation, but this subsection does not prohibit 1 25 disclosures in actions or enforcement proceedings pursuant to 1 26 this chapter. 1 27 This subsection also does not prohibit the disclosure of 1 28 consumer complaints received by the administrator, including 1 29 factual allegations which may be considered to violate this 1 30 chapter, and any response filed with the administrator as a 1 31 result of such complaints. Such consumer complaints and 1 32 responses shall be considered public records subject to 1 33 chapter 22. 1 34 Sec. 6. Section 537.6113, subsection 2, Code 1995, is 1 35 amended to read as follows: 2 1 2. The administrator may bring a civil action against a 2 2 person to recover a civil penalty of no more thanfiveten 2 3 thousand dollars for repeatedly and intentionally violating 2 4 this chapter. No civil penalty pursuant to this subsection 2 5 may be imposed for violations of this chapter occurring more 2 6 than two years before the action is brought or for making 2 7 unconscionable agreements or engaging in a course of 2 8 fraudulent or unconscionable conduct. 2 9 Sec. 7. Section 537.6203, subsection 1, Code 1995, is 2 10 amended to read as follows: 2 11 1. A person required to file notification shall pay to the 2 12 administrator an annual fee oftentwenty-five dollars. The 2 13 fee shall be paid with the filing of the first notification 2 14 and on or before January 31 of each succeeding year. 2 15 EXPLANATION 2 16 This bill amends provisions of the consumer credit code 2 17 relating to consumer protection. 2 18 Section 537.1301 is amended to increase the maximum dollar 2 19 amounts for consumer credit sales, consumer leases, and 2 20 consumer loans which will be subject to the consumer credit 2 21 code from $25,000 to $40,000. 2 22 Section 537.5201 is amended to provide that a consumer has 2 23 a cause of action related to a violation of the check cashing 2 24 practices provided for in section 537.8101. That section 2 25 prohibits a person from requiring, as a condition of accepting 2 26 a check or as a means of identification, that the person 2 27 presenting the check provide a credit card number or 2 28 expiration date, or both. 2 29 Section 537.6106 is amended to specifically indicate that a 2 30 consumer complaint submitted to the administrator (the 2 31 attorney general or the attorney general's designee) and 2 32 responses submitted as a result of the complaint by the 2 33 subject of the complaints are considered public records 2 34 subject to chapter 22 and may be disclosed. 2 35 Section 537.6113 is amended to increase the maximum civil 3 1 penalty which may be sought for repeatedly and intentionally 3 2 violating chapter 537, the consumer credit code, from $5,000 3 3 to $10,000. 3 4 Section 537.6203 is amended by increasing the notification 3 5 fee paid by creditors filing a notification with the attorney 3 6 general from $10 to $25. Currently, the notification must be 3 7 filed by creditors engaged in consumer credit transactions who 3 8 are not otherwise licensed, certified, or otherwise authorized 3 9 to engage in business under chapter 524, 533, 534, 536, or 3 10 536A, and by debt collectors who are not otherwise licensed, 3 11 certified, or otherwise authorized to engage in business under 3 12 chapter 524, 533, 534, 536, or 536A. The notification is to 3 13 be given to the administrator within 30 days after commencing 3 14 business in this state. 3 15 BACKGROUND STATEMENT 3 16 SUBMITTED BY THE AGENCY 3 17 This bill includes several provisions updating the consumer 3 18 credit code. Sections 1, 2, and 3 of the bill increase the 3 19 maximum dollar amounts of consumer credit transactions subject 3 20 to the chapter from $25,000 to $40,000. Auto leases or 3 21 financed purchases exceeding $25,000 are increasingly common. 3 22 The maximum dollar amount subject to the requirements of the 3 23 chapter needs to be increased so that consumers who the 3 24 legislature intended to protect will continue to be protected. 3 25 Section 4 of the bill provides a private remedy under the 3 26 consumer credit code in instances where a person violated 3 27 section 537.8101 barring the recording of a person's credit 3 28 card number in connection with the acceptance of a check. 3 29 Section 5 of the bill clarifies that consumer complaints 3 30 received by the administrator, and responses to those 3 31 complaints by the complained-against parties, are public 3 32 records under chapter 22. Confusion concerning the current 3 33 status of consumer complaints under this chapter has required 3 34 the attorney general to treat differently consumer complaints 3 35 under chapter 537 from all other consumer complaints, which 4 1 are unquestionably public records. The proposed amendment 4 2 will foster efficiency in the administration of consumer 4 3 complaints and the administrator does not anticipate any party 4 4 will be negatively impacted by making public consumer 4 5 complaints under this chapter. 4 6 Section 6 amends the maximum civil penalty available to the 4 7 administrator in actions under the Code by increasing it from 4 8 $5,000 to $10,000. The maximum penalty has not increased 4 9 since the chapter was originally enacted in 1975. 4 10 Section 7 of the bill increases the minimum yearly fee to 4 11 be paid to the administrator by creditors required to file 4 12 notifications with the attorney general from $10 to $25 to 4 13 reflect the fact that the initial $10 fee was set in 1975 and 4 14 that administrative costs have increased in the intervening 20 4 15 years. 4 16 LSB 3344XD 76 4 17 mj/cf/24.1
Text: HSB00663 Text: HSB00665 Text: HSB00600 - HSB00699 Text: HSB Index Bills and Amendments: General Index Bill History: General Index
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