Texas 2021 - 87th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB1791 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	87R7862 JES-F
2	2	By: Lucio S.B. No. 1791
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the investment and use of excess residential mortgage
8	8	loan originator recovery fund fees; changing a fee.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Sections 156.501(b) and (c), Finance Code, are
11	11	amended to read as follows:
12	12	(b) Subject to this subsection and Section 156.502(b), the
13	13	recovery fund shall be used to reimburse residential mortgage loan
14	14	applicants for actual damages incurred because of acts committed by
15	15	a residential mortgage loan originator who was licensed under
16	16	Chapter 157 when the act was committed. The use of the fund is
17	17	limited to reimbursement for out-of-pocket losses caused by an act
18	18	by a residential mortgage loan originator licensed under Chapter
19	19	157 that constitutes a violation of Section 157.024(a)(2), (3),
20	20	(5), (7), (8), (9), (10), (13), (16), (17), or (18) or 156.304(b).
21	21	(c) Amounts in the recovery fund may be invested and
22	22	reinvested in accordance with Chapter 2256, Government Code, and
23	23	under the prudent person standard described in Section 11b, Article
24	24	VII, Texas Constitution [in the same manner as funds of the
25	25	Employees Retirement System of Texas], and the interest from these
26	26	investments shall be deposited to the credit of the fund. An
27	27	investment may not be made under this subsection if the investment
28	28	will impair the necessary liquidity required to satisfy claims
29	29	[judgment payments] awarded under this subchapter.
30	30	SECTION 2. Section 156.502, Finance Code, is amended to
31	31	read as follows:
32	32	Sec. 156.502. FUNDING. (a) On an application for an
33	33	original license [or for renewal of a license] issued under Chapter
34	34	157, the applicant, in addition to paying the original application
35	35	fee [or renewal fee], shall pay a fee in the [an] amount of
36	36	[determined by the commissioner, not to exceed] $20. The fee shall
37	37	be deposited in the recovery fund.
38	38	(b) If the balance remaining in the recovery fund at the end
39	39	of a calendar year is more than $3.5 million, the amount of money in
40	40	excess of that amount shall be remitted by the commissioner to the
41	41	comptroller for deposit in the Texas Financial Education Endowment
42	42	account as provided by Section 393.628(c-1) [available to the
43	43	commissioner to offset the expenses of participating in and sharing
44	44	information with the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and
45	45	Registry in accordance with Chapter 180].
46	46	SECTION 3. Section 157.013(b), Finance Code, is amended to
47	47	read as follows:
48	48	(b) An application for a residential mortgage loan
49	49	originator license must be accompanied by:
50	50	(1) an application fee in an amount determined by the
51	51	commissioner, not to exceed $500; and
52	52	(2) for an original license, a recovery fund fee in the
53	53	[an] amount of [determined by the commissioner, not to exceed] $20.
54	54	SECTION 4. Section 393.628, Finance Code, is amended by
55	55	amending Subsections (c) and (f) and adding Subsection (c-1) to
56	56	read as follows:
57	57	(c) Except as provided by Subsection (c-1), the [The] Texas
58	58	Financial Education Endowment shall be administered by the finance
59	59	commission to support statewide financial education and consumer
60	60	credit building activities and programs, including:
61	61	(1) production and dissemination of approved
62	62	financial education materials at licensed locations;
63	63	(2) advertising, marketing, and public awareness
64	64	campaigns to improve the credit profiles and credit scores of
65	65	consumers in this state;
66	66	(3) school and youth-based financial literacy and
67	67	capability;
68	68	(4) credit building and credit repair;
69	69	(5) financial coaching and consumer counseling;
70	70	(6) bank account enrollment and incentives for
71	71	personal savings; and
72	72	(7) other consumer financial education and
73	73	asset-building initiatives as considered appropriate by the
74	74	finance commission.
75	75	(c-1) The comptroller shall deposit money remitted by the
76	76	savings and mortgage lending commissioner under Section 156.502(b)
77	77	into a subaccount of the Texas Financial Education Endowment
78	78	account. Money in the subaccount must be segregated from the money
79	79	remitted to the comptroller under Subsection (b) and may only be
80	80	used for purposes authorized by this subsection. The finance
81	81	commission shall administer the money deposited to the subaccount
82	82	and with that money:
83	83	(1) shall provide a grant in an amount of not less than
84	84	$100,000 each year to a statewide nonprofit organization that
85	85	supports organizations described by Section 156.202(a-1)(1) and
86	86	that are registered under Chapter 158 for the purposes of:
87	87	(A) servicing third-party mortgage loans;
88	88	(B) providing financial education to consumers
89	89	that relates to mortgage loans; and
90	90	(C) administering disaster repair programs for
91	91	consumers with mortgage loans;
92	92	(2) shall provide support for statewide financial
93	93	education, activities, and programs specifically related to
94	94	mortgage loans for consumers, including activities and programs
95	95	described by Subsection (c);
96	96	(3) if a governor's declaration of a state of disaster
97	97	under Section 418.014, Government Code, is in effect, may provide
98	98	direct mortgage assistance for residence homesteads, as defined by
99	99	Section 11.13, Tax Code, as needed due to the disaster; and
100	100	(4) subject to the limits under Section 156.505, may
101	101	provide reimbursements to a residential mortgage loan applicant who
102	102	submits an application under Section 156.504 and who the
103	103	commissioner determines has a valid claim, unless the claim is
104	104	against a residential mortgage loan originator who conducted
105	105	activities requiring a license under this chapter without a license
106	106	under Chapter 157.
107	107	(f) The finance commission shall adopt rules to administer
108	108	this section, including rules governing implementation of
109	109	Subsection (c-1)(1) that:
110	110	(1) ensure a grant awarded under that subdivision is
111	111	used for a public purpose described by that subdivision; and
112	112	(2) provide a means of recovering money awarded that
113	113	is not used in compliance with that subdivision.
114	114	SECTION 5. Sections 156.501(d) and (f), Finance Code, are
115	115	repealed.
116	116	SECTION 6. Section 156.501(c), Finance Code, as amended by
117	117	this Act, applies only to an investment made on or after the
118	118	effective date of this Act. An investment made before the effective
119	119	date of this Act is governed by the law as it existed immediately
120	120	before that date, and that law is continued in effect for that
121	121	purpose.
122	122	SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.