SB 556 Text

Senate Bill No. 556
(By Senator Minard, By Request)
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[Introduced February 18, 2004; referred to the Committee on Banking and Insurance; and then to the Committee on the Judiciary.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact §46A-6C-2 of the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to credit services organizations; exempting certain retailers from the definition of credit services organizations; and making amendments to this section apply retroactively.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §46A-6C-2 of the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:

ARTICLE 6C. CREDIT SERVICES ORGANIZATIONS.

§46A-6C-2. Credit services organization.

(a) A credit services organization is a person who, with respect to the extension of credit by others and in return for the payment of money or other valuable consideration, provides, or represents that the person can or will provide, any of the following services:
(1) Improving a buyer's credit record, history or rating;
(2) Obtaining an extension of credit for a buyer; or
(3) Providing advice or assistance to a buyer with regard to subdivision (1) or (2) of this subsection.
(b) The following are exempt from this article:
(1) A person authorized to make loans or extension of credit under the law of this state or the United States who is subject to regulation and supervision by this state or the United States, or a lender approved by the United States secretary of housing and urban development for participation in a mortgage insurance program under the National Housing Act (12 U.S.C. Section 1701 et seq.);
(2) A bank or savings and loan association whose deposit or accounts are eligible for insurance by the federal deposit insurance corporation or the federal savings and loan insurance corporation, or a subsidiary of such a bank or savings and loan association;
(3) A credit union doing business in this state;
(4) A nonprofit organization exempt from taxation under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986;
(5) A person licensed as a real estate broker or salesman under the Real Estate Brokers License Act acting within the course and scope of that license;
(6) A person licensed to practice law in this state acting within the course and scope of the person's practice as an attorney;
(7) A broker-dealer registered with the securities and exchange commission or the commodity future trading commission acting within the course and scope of that regulation;
(8) A consumer reporting agency;
(9) A person whose primary business is making loans secured by liens on real property; ~~and~~
(10) A person whose primary business is the retail sale of tangible consumer products; and
(11) A person licensed to practice public accounting in this state acting within the course and scope of the person's practice as an accountant.
(c) The amendments to this section by acts of the Legislature in the regular session of two thousand four are a clarification of existing law and shall be retroactively applied, except where controversies arising under prior law have resulted in final judgments prior to the date of passage of the amendments.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to clarify that retailers of consumer products who provide incidental assistance to customers in obtaining credit for purchases are not credit service organizations under this article of the code, and to make this clarification retroactive.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.

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