Full Text of HB4781 96th General Assembly
HB4781sam002 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
|
Sen. Terry Link
Filed: 4/21/2010
|
|
09600HB4781sam002 |
|
LRB096 16778 RPM 40417 a |
|
| 1 |
| AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 4781
| 2 |
| AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 4781 as follows: | 3 |
| on page 6, by replacing lines 11 through 15 with the following: | 4 |
| "Secretary in which the applicant shall be the obligor and in | 5 |
| which an insurance company, which is duly authorized by the | 6 |
| State of Illinois to transact the business of fidelity and | 7 |
| surety insurance, shall be a surety. The surety bond must: | 8 |
| (i) be in effect during the period of registration and | 9 |
| for 2 years after the provider ceases providing | 10 |
| debt-management services to individuals in this State; | 11 |
| (ii) run to this State for the benefit of this State | 12 |
| and of individuals who reside in this State when they agree | 13 |
| to receive debt-settlement services from the provider, as | 14 |
| their interests may appear; and | 15 |
| (iii) be in the amount of $50,000 or other larger or | 16 |
| smaller amount that the Secretary determines is warranted | 17 |
| by the financial condition and business experience of the |
|
|
|
09600HB4781sam002 |
- 2 - |
LRB096 16778 RPM 40417 a |
|
| 1 |
| provider, the history of the provider in performing debt | 2 |
| settlement services, the risk to individuals, and any other | 3 |
| factor that the Secretary considers appropriate."; and
| 4 |
| on page 7, immediately below line 1, by inserting the | 5 |
| following: | 6 |
| "Instead of the surety bond required under this Section, a | 7 |
| provider may deliver to the Secretary, in the amount required | 8 |
| under this Section, payable or available to this State and to | 9 |
| individuals who reside in this State when they agree to receive | 10 |
| debt-settlement services from the provider, as their interests | 11 |
| may appear: | 12 |
| (1) a certificate of insurance: | 13 |
| (A) issued by an insurance company authorized to do | 14 |
| business in this State and rated at least A or | 15 |
| equivalent by a nationally recognized rating | 16 |
| organization approved by the Secretary; and | 17 |
| (B) with no deductible, or if the provider supplies | 18 |
| a bond in the amount of $5,000, a deductible not | 19 |
| exceeding $5,000; or | 20 |
| (2) with the approval of the Secretary: | 21 |
| (A) an irrevocable letter of credit, issued or | 22 |
| confirmed by a bank approved by the Secretary, payable | 23 |
| upon presentation of a certificate by the Secretary | 24 |
| stating that the provider or its agent has not complied | 25 |
| with this Act; or |
|
|
|
09600HB4781sam002 |
- 3 - |
LRB096 16778 RPM 40417 a |
|
| 1 |
| (B) bonds or other obligations of the United States | 2 |
| or guaranteed by the United States or bonds or other | 3 |
| obligations of this State or a political subdivision of | 4 |
| this State, to be deposited and maintained with a bank | 5 |
| approved by the Secretary for this purpose."; and
| 6 |
| by replacing line 14 on page 31 through line 11 on page 32 with | 7 |
| the following: | 8 |
| "(b) A debt settlement provider may only charge fees as | 9 |
| provided in either paragraph (1) or (2) as follows: | 10 |
| (1) with respect to an agreement that provides for a | 11 |
| flat pay-as-you-go fee based on the overall amount of | 12 |
| included or enrolled debt, the total aggregate amount of | 13 |
| fees charged to any individual under this Section may not | 14 |
| exceed 17% of the principal amount of debt included in the | 15 |
| agreement at the inception of the agreement; the flat | 16 |
| pay-as-you-go fee structure authorized under this | 17 |
| paragraph (1) shall be assessed in equal monthly payments | 18 |
| over at least half the length of the plan, as estimated at | 19 |
| the plan's inception, unless the payment of fees is | 20 |
| voluntarily accelerated by the individual in a separate | 21 |
| record and at least half of the overall amount of | 22 |
| outstanding debt covered by the agreement has been settled; | 23 |
| in the event that a consumer cancels a program being | 24 |
| administered under this fee structure, no further fees | 25 |
| shall be due, owing, or assessed by the provider following |
|
|
|
09600HB4781sam002 |
- 4 - |
LRB096 16778 RPM 40417 a |
|
| 1 |
| the month in which notice of the termination of the program | 2 |
| is received by the provider; provided that no monthly fees | 3 |
| shall be charged or collected by a debt settlement provider | 4 |
| unless services are provided to an individual during that | 5 |
| calendar month; services shall be documented by the debt | 6 |
| settlement provider and may include, but are not limited | 7 |
| to, the following: | 8 |
| (A) client qualification; | 9 |
| (B) account management; | 10 |
| (C) debt program organization; | 11 |
| (D) negotiation and settlement discussions with | 12 |
| creditors; | 13 |
| (E) consumer rights education and counseling; | 14 |
| (F) referral to legal assistance; and | 15 |
| (G) third-party payment management;
or | 16 |
| (2) with respect to agreements in which fees are | 17 |
| calculated as a percentage of the amount saved by an | 18 |
| individual, a settlement fee may not exceed 30% of the | 19 |
| excess of the outstanding amount of each debt over the | 20 |
| amount actually paid to the creditor, as calculated at the | 21 |
| time of settlement; settlement fees authorized under this | 22 |
| paragraph (2) shall become billable only as debts are | 23 |
| settled, and the total aggregate amount of fees charged to | 24 |
| any individual under this part may not exceed 20% of the | 25 |
| principal amount of debt included in the agreement at the | 26 |
| agreement's inception.
|
|
|
|
09600HB4781sam002 |
- 5 - |
LRB096 16778 RPM 40417 a |
|
| 1 |
| A provider may not impose or receive fees under both | 2 |
| paragraphs (1) and (2) of this subsection.".
|
|