By: Solomons H.B. No. 3621
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to certain charges included in a motor vehicle installment
agreement.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 348.006, Finance Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 348.006. PRINCIPAL BALANCE; INCLUSION OF DOCUMENTARY
FEE. (a) The principal balance under a retail installment contract
is computed by:
(1) adding:
(A) the cash price of the motor vehicle;
(B) each amount included in the retail
installment contract for an itemized charge; and
(C) subject to Subsection (c), a documentary fee
for services rendered for or on behalf of the retail buyer in
[preparing,] handling[,] and processing documents relating to the
motor vehicle sale [and to the closing of the retail installment
transaction]; and
(2) subtracting from the results under Subdivision (1)
the amount of the retail buyer's down payment in money, goods, or
both.
(b) The computation of the principal balance may include an
amount authorized under Section 348.404(b).
(c) For a documentary fee to be included in the principal
balance of a retail installment contract:
(1) the retail seller must charge the documentary fee
to cash buyers and credit buyers;
(2) the documentary fee may not exceed [$50 for a motor
vehicle retail installment contract or] a reasonable amount for the
documentary services agreed to by the retail seller and retail
buyer [for a heavy commercial vehicle retail installment contract];
and
(3) the buyer's order and the retail installment
contract must include:
(A) a statement of the amount of the documentary
fee; and
(B) in reasonable proximity to the place in each
where the amount of the documentary fee is disclosed, the following
notice in type that is bold-faced, capitalized, underlined, or
otherwise conspicuously set out from surrounding written material:
"A DOCUMENTARY FEE IS NOT AN OFFICIAL FEE. A DOCUMENTARY FEE
IS NOT REQUIRED BY LAW, BUT MAY BE CHARGED TO BUYERS FOR HANDLING
DOCUMENTS [AND PERFORMING SERVICES] RELATING TO THE [CLOSING OF A]
SALE. A DOCUMENTARY FEE MAY NOT EXCEED [$50 FOR A MOTOR VEHICLE
CONTRACT OR] A REASONABLE AMOUNT AGREED TO BY THE PARTIES [FOR A
HEAVY COMMERCIAL VEHICLE CONTRACT]. THIS NOTICE IS REQUIRED BY
LAW."
(d) A retail seller shall post the documentary fee notice
prescribed in Subsection (c) so that it is clearly visible in each
place where a vehicle sale is finalized and include the notice in
each retail installment agreement. The notice must be conspicuous,
in bold-faced type, and capitalized or underlined. If the language
primarily used in an oral sales presentation is not the same as the
language in which the retail installment contract is written, the
retail seller shall furnish to the retail buyer a written statement
containing the notice set out in Subsection (c)(3)(B) in the
language primarily used in the oral sales presentation.
(e) The commissioner may review the amount of a documentary
fee for reasonableness. In determining whether a fee charged by a
retail seller is reasonable, the commissioner may consider the
resources required by the retail seller to perform the retail
seller's duties under state and federal law with respect to the
handling and processing of documents relating to the sale and
financing of a motor vehicle. If the commissioner determines that a
documentary fee charged is not reasonable, then the commissioner
may require that the documentary fee charged be reduced or
suspended.
(f) A documentary fee charged in accordance with this
section before September 1, 2009, is considered reasonable for
purposes of this section.
(g) This section does not:
(1) create a private right of action; or
(2) require that the commissioner approve a specific
documentary fee amount before a retail seller charges the fee.
(h) The finance commission may adopt rules, including rules
relating to the standards for a reasonableness determination or
disclosures, necessary to enforce this section. A rule adopted
under this subsection may not require a retail seller to submit to
the commissioner for prior approval the amount of a documentary fee
that the retail seller intends to charge under this section.
(i) The commissioner has exclusive jurisdiction to enforce
this section.
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.