82R9391 KFF-F
By: Creighton H.B. No. 3210
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the documentary fee charged in retail installment
transactions for the sale of certain vehicles.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 345.251, Finance Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (a), (b), and (c) and adding Subsections (e),
(f), (g), (h), (i), and (j) to read as follows:
(a) A retail seller may charge a documentary fee for
services rendered to, for, or on behalf of a retail buyer in
[preparing,] handling[,] and processing documents relating to the
sale under[, and closing] a retail installment transaction of
[involving,] a motorcycle, motor-driven cycle, moped, all-terrain
vehicle, boat, boat motor, boat trailer, or towable recreational
vehicle.
(b) If a documentary fee is charged under this section the
fee:
(1) must be charged to cash buyers and credit buyers;
(2) may not exceed a reasonable amount [$50]; and
(3) must be disclosed on the retail installment
contract as a separate itemized charge.
(c) A preliminary work sheet on which a sale price is
computed and that is shown to the retail buyer, an order from the
buyer, or a retail installment contract must include in reasonable
proximity to the place on the document where the documentary fee is
disclosed:
(1) the amount of the fee; and
(2) the following notice in type that is boldfaced
[bold-faced], capitalized, or underlined or otherwise
conspicuously set out from the 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 A REASONABLE AMOUNT
[$50]. THIS NOTICE IS REQUIRED BY LAW."
(e) A retail seller shall post the notice prescribed in
Subsection (c) in a prominent place at the location where a vehicle
sale is finalized.
(f) Prior to increasing the maximum amount of the
documentary fee the retail seller charges, a retail seller shall
provide written notice to the commissioner of the maximum amount of
the documentary fee the retail seller intends to charge. 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
vehicle described under Subsection (a). If the commissioner
determines that a documentary fee charged is not reasonable, the
commissioner may require that the documentary fee charged be
reduced or suspended.
(g) A documentary fee charged in accordance with this
section before September 1, 2011, is considered reasonable for
purposes of this section.
(h) 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.
(i) 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.
(j) The commissioner has exclusive jurisdiction to enforce
this section.
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.