| 1 | Representative Seiler offered the following: |
| 2 |
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| 3 | Amendment (with title amendment) |
| 4 | On page 30, between lines 9 and 10, insert: |
| 5 | Section 21. Subsection (2) of section 817.801, Florida |
| 6 | Statutes, is amended, and subsection (5) is added to said |
| 7 | section, to read: |
| 8 | 817.801 Definitions.--As used in this part: |
| 9 | (2) "Debt management services" means services provided to |
| 10 | a debtor by a credit counseling organization for a fee to: |
| 11 | (a) Effect the adjustment, compromise, negotiation, |
| 12 | settlement, or discharge of any unsecured account, note, or |
| 13 | other indebtedness of the debtor; or |
| 14 | (b) Receive from the debtor and disburse to a creditor any |
| 15 | money or other thing of value. |
| 16 | (5) "Creditor contribution" means any sum that a creditor |
| 17 | agrees to contribute to a credit counseling agency, whether |
| 18 | directly or by setoff to amounts otherwise payable to the |
| 19 | creditor on behalf of debtors. However, a creditor contribution |
| 20 | may not reduce any sums to be credited to the account of a |
| 21 | debtor making a payment to the credit counseling agency for |
| 22 | further payment to the creditor. |
| 23 | Section 22. Section 817.802, Florida Statutes, is amended |
| 24 | to read: |
| 25 | 817.802 Unlawful fees and costs.-- |
| 26 | (1) It is unlawful for any person, while engaging in debt |
| 27 | management services or credit counseling services, to charge or |
| 28 | accept from a debtor residing in this state, directly or |
| 29 | indirectly, a fee or contribution greater than $50 for the |
| 30 | initial setup or initial consultation. Subsequently, the person |
| 31 | may not charge or accept a fee or contribution from a debtor |
| 32 | residing in this state greater than $120 per year for additional |
| 33 | consultations or, alternatively, if debt management services as |
| 34 | defined in s. 817.801(2)(b) are provided, the person may charge |
| 35 | the greater of 12 7.5 percent of the amount paid monthly by the |
| 36 | debtor to the person or $25 $35 per month, not to exceed a total |
| 37 | of $50 per month. |
| 38 | (2) No provision of This section does not prohibit |
| 39 | prohibits any person, while engaging in debt management or |
| 40 | credit counseling services, from imposing upon and receiving |
| 41 | from a debtor a reasonable and separate charge or fee for |
| 42 | insufficient funds transactions. |
| 43 | Section 23. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section |
| 44 | 817.804, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 45 | 817.804 Requirements; disclosure and financial |
| 46 | reporting.-- |
| 47 | (1) Any person engaged in debt management services or |
| 48 | credit counseling services shall: |
| 49 | (a) Obtain from a certified public accountant licensed |
| 50 | under s. 473.308 an annual audit that shall include of all |
| 51 | accounts of such person in which the funds of debtors are |
| 52 | deposited and from which payments are made to creditors on |
| 53 | behalf of debtors. |
| 54 | Section 24. Section 817.805, Florida Statutes, is amended |
| 55 | to read: |
| 56 | 817.805 Disbursement of funds.--Any person engaged in debt |
| 57 | management or credit counseling services shall disburse to the |
| 58 | appropriate creditors all funds received from a debtor, less any |
| 59 | fees permitted by s. 817.802 and any creditor contributions, |
| 60 | within 30 days after receipt of such funds. Further, any person |
| 61 | engaged in such services shall maintain a separate trust account |
| 62 | for the receipt of any funds from debtors each debtor and the |
| 63 | disbursement of such funds on behalf of such debtors debtor. |
| 64 |
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| 65 | ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================= |
| 66 | On page 3, line 19, after the semicolon, insert: |
| 67 |
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| 68 | amending s. 817.801, F.S.; revising the definition of debt |
| 69 | management services; defining the term "creditor |
| 70 | contribution"; amending s. 817.802, F.S.; revising the |
| 71 | amount of fees or contributions that a debt manager or |
| 72 | credit counselor may charge to certain debtors; amending |
| 73 | s. 817.804, F.S.; revising an audit requirement for debt |
| 74 | managers and credit counselors; amending s. 817.805, F.S.; |
| 75 | excluding creditor contributions from certain funds |
| 76 | disbursement requirements for debt managers and credit |
| 77 | counselors; |