FIRST REGULAR SESSION
[P E R F E C T E D]
SENATE BILL NO. 496
92ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY SENATOR YECKEL.
Read 1st time February 13, 2003, and 1,000 copies ordered printed.
Read 2nd time February 17, 2003, and referred to the Committee on Financial and Governmental Organization, Veterans' Affairs and Elections.
Reported from the Committee March 3, 2003, with recommendation that the bill do pass and be placed on the Consent Calendar.
Taken up March 17, 2003. Read 3rd time and placed upon its final passage; bill passed.
TERRY L. SPIELER, Secretary.
1675S.01P
AN ACT
To repeal sections 364.030, 364.105, 365.030, 367.140, 367.509, and 408.500, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof six new sections relating to the licensing, regulation and activities of lenders.
Section A. Sections 364.030, 364.105, 365.030, 367.140, 367.509, and 408.500, RSMo, are repealed and six new sections enacted in lieu thereof, to be known as sections 364.030, 364.105, 365.030, 367.140, 367.509, and 408.500, to read as follows:
364.030. 1. No person shall engage in the business of a financing institution in this state without a license therefor as provided in this chapter; except, however, that no bank, trust company, loan and investment company, licensed sales finance company, registrant under the provisions of sections 367.100 to 367.200, RSMo, or person who makes only occasional purchases of retail time contracts or accounts under retail charge agreements and which purchases are not being made in the course of repeated or successive purchase of retail installment contracts from the same seller, shall be required to obtain a license under this chapter but shall comply with all the laws of this state applicable to the conduct and operation of a financing institution.
2. The application for the license shall be in writing, under oath and in the form prescribed by the director. The application shall contain the name of the applicant; date of incorporation, if incorporated; the address where the business is or is to be conducted and similar information as to any branch office of the applicant; the name and resident address of the owner or partners or, if a corporation or association, of the directors, trustees and principal officers, and other pertinent information as the director may require.
3. The license fee for each calendar year or part thereof shall be the sum of three hundred dollars for each place of business of the licensee in this state which shall be paid into the general revenue fund. The director may establish a biennial licensing arrangement but in no case shall the fees be payable for more than one year at a time.
4. Each license shall specify the location of the office or branch and must be conspicuously displayed therein. In case the location is changed, the director shall either endorse the change of location of the license or mail the licensee a certificate to that effect, without charge.
5. Upon the filing of an application, and the payment of the fee, the director shall issue a license to the applicant to engage in the business of a financing institution under and in accordance with the provisions of this chapter for a period which shall expire the last day of December next following the date of its issuance. The license shall not be transferable or assignable. No licensee shall transact any business provided for by this chapter under any other name.
364.105. 1. No person shall engage in the business of a premium finance company in this state without first registering as a premium finance company with the director.
2. The annual registration fee shall be three hundred dollars payable to the director as of the first day of July of each year. The director may establish a biennial licensing arrangement but in no case shall the fees be payable for more than one year at a time.
3. Registration shall be made on forms prepared by the director and shall contain the following information:
(1) Name, business address and telephone number of the premium finance company;
(2) Name and business address of corporate officers and directors or principals or partners;
(3) A sworn statement by an appropriate officer, principal or partner of the premium finance company that:
(a) The premium finance company is financially capable to engage in the business of insurance premium financing; and
(b) If a corporation, that the corporation is authorized to transact business in this state;
(4) If any material change occurs in the information contained in the registration form, a revised statement shall be submitted to the director accompanied by an additional fee of one hundred dollars.
365.030. 1. No person shall engage in the business of a sales finance company in this state without a license as provided in this chapter; except, that no bank, trust company, savings and loan association, loan and investment company or registrant under the provisions of sections 367.100 to 367.200, RSMo, authorized to do business in this state is required to obtain a license under this chapter but shall comply with all of the other provisions of this chapter.
2. The application for the license shall be in writing, under oath and in the form prescribed by the director. The application shall contain the name of the applicant; date of incorporation, if incorporated; the address where the business is or is to be conducted and similar information as to any branch office of the applicant; the name and resident address of the owner or partners or, if a corporation or association, of the directors, trustees and principal officers, and such other pertinent information as the director may require.
3. The license fee for each calendar year or part thereof shall be the sum of three hundred dollars for each place of business of the licensee in this state. The director may establish a biennial licensing arrangement but in no case shall the fees be payable for more than one year at a time.
4. Each license shall specify the location of the office or branch and must be conspicuously displayed there. In case the location is changed, the director shall either endorse the change of location on the license or mail the licensee a certificate to that effect, without charge.
5. Upon the filing of the application, and the payment of the fee, the director shall issue a license to the applicant to engage in the business of a sales finance company under and in accordance with the provisions of this chapter for a period which shall expire the last day of December next following the date of its issuance. The license shall not be transferable or assignable. No licensee shall transact any business provided for by this chapter under any other name.
367.140. 1. Every lender shall, at the time of filing application for certificate of registration as provided in section 367.120 hereof, pay the sum of three hundred dollars as an annual registration fee for the period ending the thirtieth day of June next following the date of payment and in full payment of all expenses for investigations, examinations and for the administration of sections 367.100 to 367.200, except as provided in section 367.160, and thereafter a like fee shall be paid on or before June thirtieth of each year; provided, that if a lender is supervised by the commissioner of finance under any other law, the charges for examination and supervision required to be paid under said law shall be in lieu of the annual fee for registration and examination required under this section. The fee shall be made payable to the director of revenue. If the initial registration fee for any certificate of registration is for a period of less than twelve months, the registration fee shall be prorated according to the number of months that said period shall run. The director may establish a biennial licensing arrangement but in no case shall the fees be payable for more than one year at a time.
2. Upon receipt of such fee and application for registration, and provided the bond, if required by the director, has been filed, the director shall issue to the lender a certificate containing the lender's name and address and reciting that such lender is duly and properly registered to conduct the supervised business. The lender shall keep this certificate of registration posted in a conspicuous place at the place of business recited in the registration certificate. Where the lender engages in the supervised business at or from more than one office or place of business, such lender shall obtain a separate certificate of registration for each such office or place of business.
3. Certificates of registration shall not be assignable or transferable except that the lender named in any such certificate may obtain a change of address of the place of business therein set forth. Each certificate of registration shall remain in full force and effect until surrendered, revoked, or suspended as herein provided.
367.509. 1. A title loan license applicant must have and maintain capital of at least seventy-five thousand dollars at all times.
2. The license application shall be in writing, under oath and in the form prescribed by the director. The application shall contain the name of the applicant, date of formation if a business entity, the address of each title loan office operated or sought to be operated, the name and residential address of the owner, partners, directors, trustees and principal officers, and such other pertinent information as the director may require. A corporate surety bond in the principal sum of twenty thousand dollars per location shall accompany each license application. The bond shall be in a form satisfactory to the director and shall be issued by a bonding company or insurance company authorized to do business in this state in order to ensure the faithful performance of the obligations of the applicant and the applicant's agents and subagents in connection with title loan activities. An applicant or licensee may, in lieu of filing any bond required pursuant to this section, provide the director with an irrevocable letter of credit as defined in section 400.5-103, RSMo, in the amount of twenty thousand dollars per location, issued by any bank, trust company, savings and loan or credit union operating in Missouri in a form acceptable to the director.
3. Every person applying for a title loan license shall pay one thousand dollars as an investigation fee. Applicants for additional title lending licenses shall pay one thousand dollars per additional location as an investigation fee. The lender shall, beginning with the first license renewal, pay annually to the director a fee of one thousand dollars for each licensed location.
4. Each license shall specify the location of the title loan office and shall be conspicuously displayed therein. Before any title lending office may relocate, the director shall approve such relocation by mailing the licensee a new license to that effect, without charge.
5. Upon the filing of the application, and the payment of the fee, by a person eligible to apply for a title loan license, the director shall issue a license to engage in the title loan business in accordance with sections 367.500 to 367.533. The licensing year shall commence on January first and end the following December thirty-first. The director may establish a biennial licensing arrangement but in no case shall the fees be payable for more than one year at a time. Each license shall be uniquely numbered and shall not be transferable or assignable. [Renewal licenses shall be effective for a period of one year.]
408.500. 1. Lenders, other than banks, trust companies, credit unions, savings banks and savings and loan companies, in the business of making unsecured loans of five hundred dollars or less shall obtain a license from the director of the division of finance. An annual license fee of three hundred dollars per location shall be required. The license year shall commence on January first each year and the license fee may be prorated for expired months. The director may establish a biennial licensing arrangement but in no case shall the fees be payable for more than one year at a time. The provisions of this section shall not apply to pawnbroker loans, consumer credit loans as authorized under chapter 367, RSMo, nor to a check accepted and deposited or cashed by the payee business on the same or the following business day. The disclosures required by the federal Truth in Lending Act and regulation Z shall be provided on any loan, renewal or extension made pursuant to this section and the loan, renewal or extension documents shall be signed by the borrower.
2. Entities making loans pursuant to this section shall contract for and receive simple interest and fees in accordance with sections 408.100 and 408.140. Any contract evidencing any fee or charge of any kind whatsoever, except for bona fide clerical errors, in violation of this section shall be void. Any person, firm or corporation who receives or imposes a fee or charge in violation of this section shall be guilty of a class A misdemeanor.
3. Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, cost of collection expenses, which include court costs and reasonable attorneys fees, awarded by the court in suit to recover on a bad check or breach of contract shall not be considered as a fee or charge for purposes of this section.
4. Lenders licensed pursuant to this section shall conspicuously post in the lobby of the office, in at least fourteen-point bold type, the maximum annual percentage rates such licensee is currently charging and the statement:
NOTICE:
This lender offers short-term loans. Please read and understand the terms of the loan agreement before signing.
5. The lender shall provide the borrower with a notice in substantially the following form set forth in at least ten-point bold type, and receipt thereof shall be acknowledged by signature of the borrower:
(1) This lender offers short-term loans. Please read and understand the terms of the loan agreement before signing.
(2) You may cancel this loan without costs by returning the full principal balance to the lender by the close of the lender's next full business day.
6. The lender shall renew the loan upon the borrower's written request and the payment of any interest and fees due at the time of such renewal; however, upon the first renewal of the loan agreement, and each subsequent renewal thereafter, the borrower shall reduce the principal amount of the loan by not less than five percent of the original amount of the loan until such loan is paid in full. However, no loan may be renewed more than six times.
7. When making or negotiating loans, a licensee shall consider the financial ability of the borrower to reasonably repay the loan in the time and manner specified in the loan contract. All records shall be retained at least two years.
8. A licensee who ceases business pursuant to this section must notify the director to request an examination of all records within ten business days prior to cessation. All records must be retained at least two years.
9. Any lender licensed pursuant to this section who fails, refuses or neglects to comply with the provisions of this section, or any laws relating to consumer loans or commits any criminal act may have its license suspended or revoked by the director of finance after a hearing before the director on an order of the director to show cause why such order of suspension or revocation should not be entered specifying the grounds therefor which shall be served on the licensee at least ten days prior to the hearing.
10. Whenever it shall appear to the director that any lender licensed pursuant to this section is failing, refusing or neglecting to make a good faith effort to comply with the provisions of this section, or any laws relating to consumer loans, the director may issue an order to cease and desist which order may be enforceable by a civil penalty of not more than one thousand dollars per day for each day that the neglect, failure or refusal shall continue. The penalty shall be assessed and collected by the director. In determining the amount of the penalty, the director shall take into account the appropriateness of the penalty with respect to the gravity of the violation, the history of previous violations, and such other matters as justice may require.