October 2019

 

CALIFORNIA

On October 10, 2019 California governor Gavin Newsome signed AB 539 into law. This statute amends the California Financing Law. Once this bill goes into effect, a loan with a principal amount of $2,500 to $10,000 may receive charge on a rate not exceeding 36% plus the Federal Funds Rate. Existing law has no rate cap for loans in this range. The law also allows a licensee to contract for an administrative fee. The law also includes provisions relating to term limits, reporting requirements, and open-end loan requirements. Effective in part January 1, 2020 and January 1, 2021.

Governor Newsome signed AB 179 into law on October 12, 2019. This bill allows the New Motor Vehicle Board in the Department of Motor Vehicles to hear protests and appeals of their rulings, policies and decisions affecting manufacturers, distributors, and the public. Effective January 1, 2020.

The governor approved of AB 1146 on October 11, 2019. This bill alters the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 and exempts certain data sharing from its provisions. The law allows for a new motor vehicle dealer and the vehicle's manufacturer to share certain information regarding vehicle ownership. The information must be used in relation to or in anticipation of a vehicle repair under warranty or recall. Effective in part January 1, 2020.

California's governor also signed a series of amendments to the California Consumer Privacy Act on October 11, 2019. The following amendments were signed into law AB 1355 (clarifying amendments and exemptions),  AB 1202 (data broker registration), AB 25 (employee exemption), AB 1564 (consumer request for disclosure methods), AB 874 (publicly available information), and AB 1130 (data breach notification). Effective January 1, 2020.

 

NEW YORK

The State of New York adopted regulations on October 1, 2016 in regard to the regulating of student loan servicers. Effective October 16, 2019.

 

OKLAHOMA

In our April Newsletter, we reported on the annual bracket adjustments published in a Bulletin from the Oklahoma Department of Consumer Credit. In our May Newsletter, we cited SB 732, which modified the charges allowed for loans made pursuant to § 3-508B by adding two additional tiers. The Oklahoma Department of Consumer Credit released updated bracket adjustments to align with the new tiers in SB 732. The adjusted tiers are as follows:

Loan Amount                 Acquisition Charge                    Handling Charge

Up to $155.95                                                                                            $5.20 per $26.00 of principal

$155.96-$182.00                   1/10 of the amount of principal              $15.60 per month

$182.01-$364.00                   1/10 of the amount of principal              $18.20 per month         

$364.01-$520.00                  1/10 of the amount of principal              $20.80 per month

$520.01-$780.00                  1/10 of the amount of principal              $23.40 per month

$780.01-$1,040.00               1/10 of the amount of principal              $26.00 per month

$1,040.01-$1,300.00            1/10 of the amount of principal              $28.60 per month

$1,300.01-$1,560.00            1/10 of the amount of principal              $31.20 per month

Effective November 1, 2019.

OKLAHOMA

SB 720 creates a new license for “small lenders,” beginning on January 1, 2020. Under the new Oklahoma Small Lenders Act, a “small loan” is an unsecured loan that's term is between 60 days and 12 months. Effective November 1, 2019.