Senate Bill sb2308

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    Florida Senate - 2006                                  SB 2308

    By Senator Atwater





    25-1654-06

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to installment loans; creating

  3         s. 516.033, F.S.; authorizing a licensee under

  4         the Florida Consumer Finance Act to impose an

  5         acquisition charge and a handling charge for

  6         installment loans of a specified amount or

  7         less; providing certain limitations on the

  8         amount of the handling charge; requiring that a

  9         portion of the handling charge be refunded or

10         credited to the borrower if the loan is prepaid

11         in full; providing a method for calculating the

12         refund; authorizing the licensee to impose a

13         charge for delinquent payments and returned

14         checks; limiting the number of installment

15         loans made to the same borrower; providing an

16         effective date.

17  

18  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

19  

20         Section 1.  Section 516.033, Florida Statutes, is

21  created to read:

22         516.033  Alternative rates for installment loans not

23  exceeding $1,000.--

24         (1)  Notwithstanding any other provisions of this

25  chapter, a licensee may make an installment loan with a cash

26  advance which does not exceed $1,000 if the acquisition charge

27  for making the loan does not exceed 10 percent of the amount

28  financed and the handling charge does not exceed:

29         (a)  Twelve dollars for a loan with a cash advance of

30  $100 or more but less than $300.

31  

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    Florida Senate - 2006                                  SB 2308
    25-1654-06




 1         (b)  Fourteen dollars for a loan with a cash advance of

 2  $300 or more but less than $400.

 3         (c)  Sixteen dollars for a loan with a cash advance of

 4  $400 or more but less than $500.

 5         (d)  Seventeen dollars for a loan with a cash advance

 6  of $500 or more but less than $600.

 7         (e)  Twenty dollars for a loan with a cash advance of

 8  $600 or more but not more than $1,000.

 9         (2)  The minimum term for an installment loan made

10  under this section is 3 months and the maximum term is 12

11  months.

12         (3)  If a loan made under this section is prepaid in

13  full, including payment in cash or by making a new loan or

14  renewing the original loan, or if the licensee demands that

15  the unpaid balance be paid in full, the licensee shall refund

16  or credit to the borrower a portion of the handling charge for

17  the loan, which must be determined by a schedule prepared

18  under the rule of seventy-eights or by using the

19  sum-of-the-digits method. The amount of the refund or credit

20  must be as great a proportion of the total charges originally

21  contracted for as the amount of the periodic balance scheduled

22  to follow the date of prepayment bears to the sum of all the

23  periodic balances of the contract, both sums to be determined

24  according to the original payment schedule.

25         (4)  An insurance charge or other charge may not be

26  imposed on an installment loan authorized under this section.

27  However, a licensee may impose:

28         (a)  A charge of $10 on any installment that is not

29  paid within 10 days after the date it is due.

30         (b)  A charge for a returned check as authorized under

31  s. 516.031(3)(b).

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    Florida Senate - 2006                                  SB 2308
    25-1654-06




 1         (5)  The loan charges authorized under this section may

 2  not be imposed on a loan to a borrower who has one or more

 3  loans outstanding under this chapter with the same licensee or

 4  with an affiliate of the licensee, except that a licensee may

 5  make a loan having the charges authorized under this section

 6  for the purpose of paying off the balance due under any other

 7  loan or loans made by the licensee or its affiliate if the

 8  aggregate payoff balance of the loan or loans does not exceed

 9  $1,000. The acquisition through a bulk transaction by a

10  licensee or an affiliate of a licensee of one or more loans

11  made under this chapter to a borrower who, at the time of the

12  acquisition, has a loan under this section from the acquiring

13  licensee or its affiliate is not a violation of this

14  subsection.

15         (6)  Each installment loan made under this section must

16  provide for repayment in substantially equal monthly

17  installments. A loan made under this section may not be

18  prepaid by a loan from the same licensee or an affiliate of

19  the same licensee who made the initial loan until at least 61

20  days after the date of the initial loan.

21         Section 2.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2006.

22  

23            *****************************************

24                          SENATE SUMMARY

25    Authorizes a licensee under the Florida Consumer Finance
      Act to impose an acquisition charge and a handling charge
26    for installment loans of less than $1,000. Specifies the
      amount of the handling charge based on the amount of the
27    loan. Provides that a portion of the handling charge be
      refunded or credited to the borrower if the loan is
28    prepaid in full. Authorizes the licensee to impose a
      charge for delinquent payments and returned checks.
29    Limits the number of installment loans made to the same
      borrower.
30  

31  

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