Assembly Joint Resolution No. 5 CHAPTER 207Relative to the Military Lending Act. [ Filed with Secretary of State September 25, 2017. ] LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGESTAJR 5, Medina. Military Lending ActThis measure would urge Congress to prevail upon the Department of Defense to realign its criteria for the safe harbor provision in order to avoid the requirement of a social security number.Digest Key Fiscal Committee: NO Bill TextWHEREAS, On October 17, 2006, Congress passed the Military Lending Act (MLA) to protect service members and their families from certain predatory lending practices; andWHEREAS, A creditor violating the provisions of the MLA can be subject to administrative, civil, and criminal liability, unless the creditor shows that the violation was not intentional and resulted from a bona fide error; andWHEREAS, The MLA vests in the Department of Defense the authority to promulgate regulations to implement the MLA; andWHEREAS, The first regulations, adopted in 2007, provided a safe harbor process known as self-certification, that required a creditor to present to the applicant a clear and unambiguous covered borrower identification statement wherein the applicant affirmed in writing whether the applicant was or was not a covered borrower; andWHEREAS, On July 22, 2015, the Department of Defense published a revised set of regulations replacing the self-certification rules and instead require a lender to obtain the full name, date of birth, and social security number of the applicant to check with the Department of Defense MLA database; andWHEREAS, There is a significant population in California without a social security number; andWHEREAS, Californias Unruh Civil Rights Act guarantees access to business services offered to the public and a violation arises if a person is denied access to a business service based on his or her immigration status; andWHEREAS, By requiring lenders to ask for a social security number in order to meet the safe harbor provisions of the MLA, the revised regulations expose businesses to liability under the Unruh Civil Rights Act and unnecessarily burden many segments of Californias immigrant communities; now, therefore, be itResolved by the Assembly and the Senate of the State of California, jointly, That the Legislature urges Congress to prevail upon the Department of Defense to realign their criteria for the safe harbor provision in order to avoid the requirement of a social security number; and be it furtherResolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the President and Vice President of the United States, to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, to the Majority Leader of the Senate, to each Senator and Representative from California in the Congress of the United States, and to the author for appropriate distribution.
Assembly Joint Resolution No. 5 CHAPTER 207Relative to the Military Lending Act. [ Filed with Secretary of State September 25, 2017. ] LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGESTAJR 5, Medina. Military Lending ActThis measure would urge Congress to prevail upon the Department of Defense to realign its criteria for the safe harbor provision in order to avoid the requirement of a social security number.Digest Key Fiscal Committee: NO
Assembly Joint Resolution No. 5
CHAPTER 207
Relative to the Military Lending Act.
[ Filed with Secretary of State September 25, 2017. ]
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
## LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AJR 5, Medina. Military Lending Act
This measure would urge Congress to prevail upon the Department of Defense to realign its criteria for the safe harbor provision in order to avoid the requirement of a social security number.
This measure would urge Congress to prevail upon the Department of Defense to realign its criteria for the safe harbor provision in order to avoid the requirement of a social security number.
## Digest Key
## Bill Text
WHEREAS, On October 17, 2006, Congress passed the Military Lending Act (MLA) to protect service members and their families from certain predatory lending practices; and
WHEREAS, A creditor violating the provisions of the MLA can be subject to administrative, civil, and criminal liability, unless the creditor shows that the violation was not intentional and resulted from a bona fide error; and
WHEREAS, The MLA vests in the Department of Defense the authority to promulgate regulations to implement the MLA; and
WHEREAS, The first regulations, adopted in 2007, provided a safe harbor process known as self-certification, that required a creditor to present to the applicant a clear and unambiguous covered borrower identification statement wherein the applicant affirmed in writing whether the applicant was or was not a covered borrower; and
WHEREAS, On July 22, 2015, the Department of Defense published a revised set of regulations replacing the self-certification rules and instead require a lender to obtain the full name, date of birth, and social security number of the applicant to check with the Department of Defense MLA database; and
WHEREAS, There is a significant population in California without a social security number; and
WHEREAS, Californias Unruh Civil Rights Act guarantees access to business services offered to the public and a violation arises if a person is denied access to a business service based on his or her immigration status; and
WHEREAS, By requiring lenders to ask for a social security number in order to meet the safe harbor provisions of the MLA, the revised regulations expose businesses to liability under the Unruh Civil Rights Act and unnecessarily burden many segments of Californias immigrant communities; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Assembly and the Senate of the State of California, jointly, That the Legislature urges Congress to prevail upon the Department of Defense to realign their criteria for the safe harbor provision in order to avoid the requirement of a social security number; and be it further
Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the President and Vice President of the United States, to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, to the Majority Leader of the Senate, to each Senator and Representative from California in the Congress of the United States, and to the author for appropriate distribution.