Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas House Bill HB4391 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	81R10936 CLG-D
2	2	By: Farias H.B. No. 4391
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the regulation of credit services organizations;
8	8	providing a civil penalty.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Section 393.101, Finance Code, is amended by
11	11	amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (a-1) to read as
12	12	follows:
13	13	(a) Before conducting business in this state, a credit
14	14	services organization shall register with the secretary of state by
15	15	filing a statement that:
16	16	(1) contains the name and address of:
17	17	(A) the organization; and
18	18	(B) each person who directly or indirectly owns
19	19	or controls at least 10 percent of the outstanding shares of stock
20	20	in the organization; [and]
21	21	(2) fully discloses any litigation or unresolved
22	22	complaint relating to the operation of the organization filed with
23	23	a governmental authority of this state or contains a notarized
24	24	statement that there has been no litigation or unresolved complaint
25	25	of that type; and
26	26	(3) contains the address of each location in this
27	27	state at which the organization will conduct business.
28	28	(a-1) A separate registration certificate is required for
29	29	each location in this state from which a credit services
30	30	organization conducts business.
31	31	SECTION 2. Section 393.104, Finance Code, is amended to
32	32	read as follows:
33	33	Sec. 393.104. FEES [FILING FEE]. (a) The secretary of
34	34	state may charge a credit services organization a reasonable fee to
35	35	cover the cost of filing a registration statement or renewal
36	36	application in an amount not to exceed $100.
37	37	(b) In addition to charging a fee for filing a registration
38	38	statement, the secretary of state may charge a credit services
39	39	organization a reasonable fee in an amount not to exceed $100 to
40	40	issue a registration certificate for multiple business locations as
41	41	required by Section 393.101(a-1).
42	42	SECTION 3. Subchapter F, Chapter 393, Finance Code, is
43	43	amended by adding Section 393.506 to read as follows:
44	44	Sec. 393.506. CIVIL PENALTY. (a) A credit services
45	45	organization that fails to register as required by Section 393.101
46	46	is subject to a civil penalty of $5,000 for each violation. Each
47	47	business location that an organization fails to register under
48	48	Section 393.101(a-1) constitutes a separate violation for purposes
49	49	of this subsection.
50	50	(b) The attorney general or a district or county attorney of
51	51	a jurisdiction in which an unregistered business location of a
52	52	credit services organization is located may file an action on
53	53	behalf of the state to collect a civil penalty under this section.
54	54	SECTION 4. The changes in law made by this Act to Chapter
55	55	393, Finance Code, apply only to an original registration issued or
56	56	a registration renewed on or after the effective date of this Act.
57	57	An original registration issued or a registration renewed before
58	58	the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on
59	59	the date the registration was issued or renewed, and the former law
60	60	is continued in effect for that purpose.
61	61	SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.