Contracts, Business and Commercial Matters

Business and Consumer Protection

AB 85 (Tom Berryhill) Junk dealers and recyclers.  This bill corrects erroneous cross references and deletes duplicate provisions in existing laws related to junk dealers and recyclers.  Status: Chapter 78, 2009.

AB 109 (Feuer) Outdoor advertising: digital advertising displays.  This bill would have prohibited an advertising display that is visible from a highway, as defined, that is under state, county, or city jurisdiction, to be constructed as or otherwise modified into a digital advertising display, unless the applicable permitting authority follows specified procedures.  This bill also would have prohibited, until January 1, 2012, any highway changeable message sign from displaying messages other than official traffic operations or public safety messages.  Finally, this bill would have prohibited the painting, installation, or application of a supergraphic, as defined, to an exterior building wall until the State Fire Marshall promulgates safety regulations governing such signs.  Status: Dead, Asm G.O.

AB 285 (Tran) Corporations: electronic transmissions.  This bill requires that electronic transmissions by a corporation to an individual shareholder or member who is a natural person be preceded by or include a written statement containing: (1) any right of the recipient to have the record provided or made available on paper or in non-electronic form; (2) whether the consent applies only to that transmission, to specified categories of communications, or to all communications from the corporation; and (3) the procedure the recipient must use to withdraw consent.  Status: Chapter 96, 2009.

AB 328 (Calderon) Electronic transactions: exceptions.  This bill authorizes insurance companies to electronically send various notices required by the California Insurance Code by agreement with the recipient using procedures that conform to the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act and applicable substantive law. Insurance companies exercising this authority must maintain a system for electronically confirming a policyholder's decision to opt in to the agreement to conduct transactions electronically, as well as a system that will allow the policyholder to electronically opt out.  This bill also requires the insurer to maintain the electronic records for the same amount of time the insurer would be required to maintain those records if they were in written form. Finally, this bill authorizes insurance companies to pay claims by electronic funds transfers.  Status: Chapter 433, 2009.

AB 483 (Buchanan) Workers' compensation: Internet web sites.  This bill requires a licensed rating organization to establish and maintain an Internet web site in order to assist persons in determining whether an employer has workers’ compensation insurance.  The web site must comply with certain content and functionality requirements, as specified in the bill and adopted by the Insurance Commissioner.  This bill also specifies that the rating organizations, and their affiliates, are not liable for damages or injuries caused by the good faith disclosure of information, or the accuracy or completeness of that information.  Status: Chapter 241, 2009.

AB 515 (Hagman) Collateral recovery.  This bill makes numerous revisions to the Collateral Recovery Act (Act) and Vehicle Code sections relating to the impound of vehicles, including, among other things: (1) limiting a repossession agency's liability for damages to a vehicle as a result of electrical failure, or specified illegal aftermarket parts; (2) narrowing the definition of lawful experience for qualified managers of repossession agencies; and (3) requiring impound agencies to accept a valid bank credit card or cash, as specified.  Status: Chapter 322, 2009.

AB 833 (John A. Perez) Rental passenger vehicles: contracts.  This bill would have allowed a car rental company to shift the burden of proof from the rental company to the renter to establish whether there is clear and convincing evidence that the renter or authorized driver failed to exercise ordinary care while in possession of the vehicle if the vehicle is stolen.  In addition, this bill would have authorized the car rental company to make the renter responsible for the replacement cost of the vehicle ignition key or remote keyless entry system if the renter fails to return them, and would have increased the limit on the renter’s responsibility for physical damage to the vehicle resulting from non-theft-related vandalism from $500 to $1,000.  Status: Dead, Asm. Jud.

AB 1054 (Coto) Motor vehicle insurance: rates.  This bill would have amended provisions of Proposition 103, passed by voters in 1988, to provide that if a rate approval by the Insurance Commissioner (IC) is challenged by a consumer, no retrospective adjustment (i.e. refund) of an approved rate may be awarded unless the challenger establishes that the insurer violated the approval order.  Additionally, this bill would have specified that, in calculating an insurer's expenses for rate-making purposes, the efficiency standard adopted by the IC shall not include the costs paid by an insurer to a credit card issuer for premiums paid by a policyholder by credit card.  Status: Dead, Asm. Approps.

AB 1233 (Silva) Nonprofit and consumer cooperative corporations.  This bill revises various provisions in the Corporations Code pertaining to the governance of nonprofit public benefit corporations, mutual benefit corporations, religious corporations, consumer cooperative corporations, and nonprofit unincorporated associations.  The revisions involve directors and their titles, directors’ elections and voting rights, quorum requirements, board committees and actions, third party rights, mergers and dissolutions, and private foundation restrictions.  Status: Chapter 631, 2009.

AB 1652 (Jones) Public safety: ski resorts.  This bill would have required ski resorts to prepare an annual safety plan, make the safety plan available to the public upon request, and make available to the public, upon request, a monthly report with specified details about any fatal incidents at the resort which resulted from a recreational activity.  The bill also would have required a ski resort to establish its own signage policy and safety padding policy for the resort.  Status: Vetoed.

AB 1656 (Ma) Fur products: labeling.  This bill would have required a person who sells or displays any clothing apparel for sale that is made wholly or partially of fur to attach a conspicuously displayed tag or label that includes the names of the animal or animals from which the fur was acquired and the country of origin of any imported furs.  This bill also would have relieved a retail merchant from liability for any violation if a manufacturer or supplier for the merchant had provided a specified certification to that merchant.  Status: Vetoed.

AB 1722 (Hagman) Collateral recovery.  This bill would have made a number of substantive and clarifying changes to sections of the Collateral Recovery Act and Vehicle Code that regulate qualifications for licensed repossessors and the repossession, impoundment, and release from impoundment of vehicles.  Among other things, this bill would have revised provisions relating to retention of inventory documents, frequency of qualified manager examinations, confidentiality of cell phone numbers, and the ability of registrants to work while waiting for mailing of a registration card.  Status: Dead, Asm. Approps.

AB 2733 (Ruskin) Cigarettes and tobacco products.  This bill amends the California Cigarette and Tobacco Licensing Act (Act) to prohibit a licensee whose license has been suspended or revoked from giving cigarette and tobacco products away or displaying those products during the period of license suspension or revocation, as specified.  Status: Chapter 607, 2010.

SB 156 (Wright) Insurance: fraud prevention and detection.  This bill authorizes the Insurance Commissioner to convene meetings with representatives of insurers to discuss suspected or completed acts of insurance fraud.  This bill shields a person from civil liability for libel, slander, or any other relevant cause of action for sharing information during the course of those meetings that is related to specific suspected, anticipated, or completed acts of insurance fraud, as provided.  Status: Chapter 305, 2010.

SB 340 (Yee) Advertising: automatic renewal purchases.  This bill requires any business making an “automatic renewal” or “continuous service” offer to clearly and conspicuously, as defined, disclose terms of the offer and obtain the consumer’s affirmative consent to the offer.  This bill provides that violation of these provisions shall not be a crime, and that a business that complies with these provisions in good faith shall not be subject to civil remedies, but otherwise all civil remedies that apply to a violation may be employed. Status: Chapter 350, 2009.

SB 392 (Florez) Contractors: limited liability companies.  This bill authorizes the issuance of a contractor's license to a limited liability company (LLC), and adds license requirements that mirror those of a corporation.  This bill also requires a LLC to provide security for claims by obtaining liability insurance with a total aggregate limit of $1 million for a limited liability company that employs five or fewer licensed persons, and an additional $100,000 of insurance for each additional person up to $5 million dollars in any one designated period for a LLC that employs more than five licensees rendering professional services on behalf of the company.  Status: Chapter 698, 2010.

SB 653 (Correa) Foreign limited liability companies: Indian tribes.  As referred to this committee, this bill would have enabled limited liability companies (LLC) organized and operating under tribal law, to qualify to do intrastate business by registering a foreign LLC with the Secretary of State, and would have made conforming changes to statutes pertaining to business organization and income taxes.  Subsequently, this bill was gutted and amended to address an unrelated issue.  Status: Dead, Asm. Jud.

SB 657 (Steinberg) Human trafficking.  This bill requires, beginning January 1, 2012, every retailer and manufacturer doing business in California and having more than $100 million in annual gross receipts to disclose its efforts to eradicate slavery and human trafficking from its supply chain, as specified, and further requires the disclosure to be posted on the company's Web site and provided to consumers in writing if the company has no Web site.  This bill provides that the exclusive remedy for non-compliance with these provisions is an injunction from the Attorney General.  Status: Chapter 556, 2010.

SB 722 (Steinberg) Greenhouse gas credits.  This bill would have subjected companies that advertise greenhouse gas credits or "offsets" to meet certain requirements and would have provided civil penalties for false advertising if the claimed reductions or offsets could not be verified.  The bill was subsequently amended to deal with a different topic.  Status:  Died in Senate.

SB 757 (Pavley) Lead wheel weights.  This bill prohibits a person from manufacturing, selling, or installing a wheel weight that contains more than 0.1 percent lead by weight, and enacts specified civil and administrative penalties for violations of the prohibition.  This bill also provides that if an alternative to lead contained in wheel weights is identified as a chemical of concern, pursuant to the Green Chemistry law, then the lead alternative shall be subject to the prescribed evaluation process to best limit its exposure to the public or reduce the level of hazard it poses to human health or the environment.  Status: Chapter 614, 2009.

SB 880 (Yee) Public safety: snow sport helmets.  This bill requires every person under 18 years of age to wear a properly fitted and fastened snow sport helmet, that meets specified standards, while downhill skiing or snowboarding, or while riding upon a seat or other device that is attached, and imposes a fine of $25 for a violation of this requirement.  Status: Chapter 278, 2010. (Note: Because of its contingent enactment clause, this bill does not become operative because AB 1652 (Jones) was vetoed.)

SB 933 (Oropeza) Debit cards: service fees.  This bill would have applied the existing law provision that prohibits charging a service fee for credit card transactions to debit card transactions. This bill would have revised the definition of "debit card" to also include a prepaid card or other means of access to prepaid funds, including government benefit cards. Finally, this bill would not have applied to credit and debit card payments to public utilities, who could still have charged a service fee for credit and debit card transactions under this bill.  Status: Vetoed.

SB 1008 (Padilla) Engineering and land surveying: limited liability partnerships.  This bill authorizes engineers and land surveyors operating within their scope of licensure to conduct business as a limited liability partnership (LLP) similar to that of architects, certified public accountants and attorneys, as long as certain conditions are satisfied, including that such companies provide security for claims, in form and amounts as specified.  This authority sunsets on January 1, 2016.  Status: Chapter 634, 2010.

SB 1098 (Corbett) Athlete agents.  This bill would have enacted the Uniform Athlete Agents Act (UAAA) for the regulation of agents who represent student and professional athletes, and unsuccessfully sought to replace, as of July 1, 2011, the existing Miller-Ayala Athlete Agents Acts, the existing statutory framework for regulating such activity.  Status:  Vetoed.

SB 1454 (DeSaulnier) Recycling: plastic products.  This bill would have repealed the existing separate requirements for compostable or marine degradable plastic bags and food packaging and replaced them with a uniform requirement for all plastic products.  Specifically, this bill would have prohibited a plastic product from being sold that is labeled "compostable" or "marine biodegradable" unless the product meets specified ASTM standards, as well as prohibited a plastic product from being sold that is labeled with the term "biodegradable," "degradable," or "decomposable," or any form of those terms.  Status: Vetoed.

Contracts

AB 396 (Fuentes) Works of improvement: liens.  This bill would have limited the amount of retention proceeds that may be withheld from any progress payment, on any state or local government public works contract entered into after January 1, 2010, to 5% of the progress payment.  In addition, this bill would have limited the existing right of a public entity, when a stop notice is received, to withhold payment to contractors and subcontractors in order to provide for the public entity's reasonable litigation costs associated with the stop notice, as provided.  Status: Dead, Asm. Approps.

AB 457 (Monning) Liens.  This bill requires a mechanic’s lienholder (generally a contractor, subcontractor, or material supplier) on a private work of improvement, after filing a complaint to foreclose on a mechanic’s lien, to record in the proper county recorder’s office a notice of the pendency of the proceedings.  This bill provides that a lienholder must serve the property owner with the mechanic’s lien and a Notice of Mechanic’s Lien, and that failure to do so as prescribed by this bill renders the mechanic’s lien unenforceable as a matter of law.  Status: Chapter 109, 2009.

AB 541 (Duvall) Public contracts: claims: arbitration of contract disputes.  This bill would have allowed a public agency and a contractor to mutually agree to resolve a claim through independent arbitration.  Status: Dead, Asm. Jud.

AB 649 (Nestande and Portantino) Contracts: University of California.  This bill would have established procedures for handling "change orders" on University of California (UC) construction projects, including procedures for resolving conflicts through informal conferences and arbitration, as specified. This bill also would have established procedures for handling claims arising under UC construction projects.  Status: Dead, Asm. Approps.

AB 815 (Ma) Public contracts: bidding procedures.  As heard by this committee, this bill would have clarified that nothing in existing law shall be construed to prohibit a local public entity from requiring a bidder to review all relevant bid documents provided by the local public entity, including, but not limited to, architectural or engineering plans and specifications, prior to submission of a bid, or from requiring the report of any errors or omissions noted by the contractor to the architect or owner.  Subsequently, this bill was gutted and amended to address an unrelated subject.  Status: Chapter 350, 2010.

AB 850 (De La Torre) Conflicts of interest: contracts.  This bill would have prohibited a person from participating in the commission of, or knowingly inducing another to commit, a violation of the law prohibiting financial conflicts of interest in the award of public contracts.  This bill also would have prohibited a person from conspiring with a public official to violate the existing prohibition.  Status: Dead, Asm. Approps.

AB 906 (Hill and Smyth) Conflict of interest: remote interest in a contract.  This bill revises the definition of “remote interest” in the existing conflict of interest statute pertaining to government officials in order to allow a government entity to enter into a contract with an investor-owned utility, if the purpose of the contract is to provide energy efficiency, as specified.  Status: Chapter 488, 2009.

AB 961 (Krekorian) Public contracts: state contract eligibility: genocidal regimes.  This bill would have prohibited companies that were engaged in business with perpetrators of specified genocides that still hold looted or deposited assets of genocide victims or their heirs, from bidding on or submitting proposals for contracts with state agencies.  Status: Dead, Asm. Approps.

AB 1119 (Emmerson) Works of improvement: payments.  This bill would have stated Legislative intent to reconsider prompt payment statutes regarding public and private works of improvement to aid in their clarity and application.  Status: Dead, Asm. Inactive file.

AB 1196 (Blumenthal) The False Claims Act.  This bill revises and clarifies significant aspects of the California False Claims Act (CFCA) to better conform to federal false claim law.  Among other provisions, this bill (1) expands the definition of "claims" to hold those who knowingly defraud the government liable regardless of whether the fraud was conducted through an intermediary and prohibits false claim lawsuits from being dismissed without the written consent of the government; (2) modifies the statute of limitations to commence on the date of discovery by the Attorney General or prosecuting authority of a political subdivision; (3) clarifies that the Attorney General or prosecuting authority of a political subdivision has a duty to investigate specific violations of the CFCA and specifies civil penalties for each violation of the Act.  Status: Chapter 277, 2009.

AB 1650 (Feuer) Public Contracts: energy sector investments in Iran.  This bill prohibits any person or entity that engages in investment activities in the energy sector of Iran, as specified, from bidding on, submitting a proposal for, or entering into a contract with a public entity for goods or services. Status:  Chapter 573, 2010.

AB 1731 (Tran) Vehicle rental agreements: waivers.  Existing law permits a rental car company to sell a damage waiver to a consumer and caps the daily amount of that charge depending on the manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP) of the vehicle rented.  This bill would delete the MSRP amounts and instead tie the cap to the class of vehicle rented.  Status: Dead, Sen. Jud.

AB 2036 (Bill Berryhill) Public works of improvement: stop notices.  As originally heard by this Committee, this bill would have placed specified limitations on the existing right of public entities to withhold payment to contractors and subcontractors when a stop notice is received to provide for reasonable litigation costs associated with the stop notice.  The bill was subsequently gutted and amended to require state departments and local agencies to provide, upon request, a free electronic copy of a project's contract documents to a contractor plan room service.  Status: Chapter 371, 2010.

AB 2059 (Calderon) Vehicle rental agreements.  This bill would have required rental car companies that enter into a vehicle rental agreement with a renter who is not a resident of this country to do the following when that renter purchases supplemental liability insurance as part of the agreement: (1) accept service of process of any complaint against the renter regarding harm, loss, or damage related to the use or operation of the rental car, and (2) provide a copy of the summons and complaint to the renter, as specified.  Status: Vetoed.

AB 2096 (Miller) Public contracts: claims: arbitration of contract disputes.  This bill would have allowed a public agency and a contractor to mutually agree to resolve a claim through independent arbitration instead of those procedures already established under existing law to resolve such claims.  Status: Dead, Asm. Jud.

AB 2216 (Fuentes) Works of improvement.  This bill would have revised certain procedures relating to surety bond claims and prompt payment statutes on works of improvement.  Specifically, this bill would have reduced the time required for a prime contractor or subcontractor to pay any subcontractor, from 10 days to no later than seven days after receipt of each progress payment for satisfactory work performed.  This bill also would have required a surety bond lien claim to be filed prior to completion of a public works project or recordation of a notice of completion.  Status: Dead, Senate Floor.

AB 2237 (Eng) Contracts: consideration.  This bill would have provided that a promise to make a gift, bequest, or devise of cash or other property to a tax-exempt charitable organization would be an enforceable contract without consideration, if the promisor indicated in writing an intent that the promise is a binding legal obligation.  Status: Dead, Asm. Jud.

AB 2282 (Miller) Electronic transactions: notarized signatures.  This bill would have defined the term "electronic signature" for the purpose of the existing statute that permits an electronic signature to be notarized if the electronic record includes, in addition to the electronic signature to be notarized, the electronic signature of a notary public together with all other information ordinarily required to be included in the notarization.  Status: Dead, Asm. Jud.

SB 189 (Lowenthal) Mechanics liens.  This omnibus mechanics lien bill recodifies, reorganizes, and clarifies the mechanics lien statute.  Among other things, this bill modernizes terminology and eliminates inconsistencies in language, enacts separate provisions for private and public works, modernizes and streamlines existing notice requirements, and improves and clarifies statutory forms relating to waivers and releases.  These provisions become operative July 1, 2012 to allow time for professionals and homeowners to adjust to the changes.  Status: Chapter 697, 2010.

SB 348 (Cogdill) Passenger vehicle rentals: increased vehicle license fee.  This bill permits a rental car company to recover from its customers the actual costs incurred by the company for the payment of the temporary 0.5% increase in the state vehicle license fee (VLF) established by the 2009 Budget Act.  This bill also specifies the manner in which a rental company calculates the increased vehicle license recovery fee.  Status: Chapter 156, 2009.

SB 629 (Liu) Private works of improvement: retention proceeds.  This bill would have provided that, for private works of improvement contracted on or after January 1, 2010, retention proceeds withheld from any payment made by an owner to a general contractor shall not exceed 5% of the amount of the contract amount.  Status: Dead, Sen. Inactive file.

SB 972 (Wolk) Indemnity: design professionals.  This bill revises the existing indemnity statute regarding public works contracts with design professionals to clarify that the duty to indemnify, including the duty and the cost to defend, is regulated by the statute.  The bill further requires that all contracts and all solicitation documents are deemed to incorporate the statute by reference, but expressly applies only prospectively to services offered pursuant to a design professional contract or amendment entered into on or after January 1, 2011.  Status: Chapter 510, 2010.

SB 1192 (Oropeza) Airports: rental car facility fees.  This bill permits a covered airport operator to impose a customer facility charge (CFC) on a rental car customer in a scheduled amount per day, phased in over time, rather than at the flat rate of $10 per contract allowed under existing law.  In addition to allowing a higher fee, this bill expands the purposes to which a CFC can be used, to include terminal modifications to accommodate and provide customer access to common-use transportation systems, as well as to acquire vehicles for a common-use transportation system.  Status: Chapter 642, 2010.

Creditor-Debtor Relations

AB 121 (Hernandez) Judgment liens: continuation.  This bill establishes a process for the continuation of a judgment lien on personal property, so that a creditor need not file a new lien at the end of five years when the judgment lien would otherwise expire under existing law. Specifically, this bill allows a creditor to file a continuation statement not more than six months prior to the expiration of the first five-year period that remains effective for an additional five years from the day that the notice of judgment lien would have lapsed.  Status: Chapter 410, 2009.

AB 171 (Jones) Dental services: lines of credit.  This bill prohibits dentists from charging to a third party line of credit for dental services that have not been rendered, or costs that have not been incurred, unless the patient receives a list of treatment and services to be rendered, including the estimated costs, and a written treatment plan, as specified.  This bill establishes additional requirements governing the arrangement of credit cards and loans for dental services, as specified.  Status: Chapter 418, 2009. 

AB 350 (Lieu) Debt management and settlement.  This bill would have enacted the Debt Settlement Service Act (the Act) for the purpose of licensing debt settlement service providers.  Among other things, this bill would have: (1) permitted providers to charge a fee of 20% of the principal amount of debt, as specified, including a 5% setup fee; (2) required providers to prepare a written financial analysis and a good faith estimate on the length of time it will take to complete the program, prior to entering into an agreement with a consumer; (3) allowed a consumer to bring a civil action, except as specified, against a provider who violates the Act and recover compensatory damages and reasonable attorney’s fees and costs.  Status: Dead, Sen. Jud.

AB 982 (Tran) Structured settlements.  This bill would have revised existing law regarding rights and procedures regulating the transfer of structured settlements.  Among other things, this bill would have revised the definition of "interested parties" (i.e., persons who get notice of a proposed transfer of structured settlement payment rights) to narrow the class of "other parties" who have continuing rights or obligations under the structured settlement agreement to include only those whose continuing rights or obligations could be affected by the proposed transfer.  Status: Dead, Sen. Jud.

AB 1549 (Banking & Finance) Judgment liens: priority.  This bill restores the ability of judgment creditors to obtain judgment liens against the assets of a judgment debtor organization that is incorporated or registered in another state but has assets located in California.  This bill establishes a new rule that a judgment lien on personal property of the judgment debtor can be obtained only if the personal property is located in California, or the judgment debtor is located in the state.  This bill also creates a new priority rule, whereby a security interest in personal property perfected by the filing of a financial statement or other action under the laws of another state would have priority over a California judgment lien in the same personal property.  Status: Chapter 153, 2009.

AB 1847 (Furutani) Restitution orders.  This bill grants authority to a prosecutor, upon court approval, to use lien procedures, including real property liens, against a defendant to enforce restitution orders.  This bill also authorizes the district attorney or probation office to be responsible for collecting restitution in cases where there is no county agency responsible for those duties.  Status: Chapter 582, 2010.

AB 2491 (Adams) Medical liens.  This bill would have provided that the provider of any medical care or services to an injured party shall have an implied lien upon any damages recovered by that person by judgment, settlement, or compromise in the amount of the reasonable charges of the provider for that care or services, if the attorney for the injured party submits a claim for settlement purposes to an insurance company for that medical care or services on behalf of the injured party.  Status: Dead, Asm. Jud.

SB 95 (Corbett) Car Buyers' Protection Act of 2009.  This bill imposes certain requirements when a dealer purchases or obtains a vehicle in trade in a retail sale or lease transaction and the vehicle is subject to a prior credit or lease balance, including requiring a dealer to pay off a lien within 21 days before it sells or trades the vehicle.  Additionally, the bill increases by $25 the fee for the original license and annual renewal license for dealers and lessor-retailers, and increases by $50 the fee for the original and renewal of an auto broker's endorsement to a dealer's license.  Status: Chapter 556, 2009.

SB 285 (Wright) Disability benefits: attachment.  This bill provides that federal disability benefits awarded to veterans for service-connected disabilities pursuant to Chapter 11 of Title 38 of the United States Code shall be exempt from the claims of creditors, and shall not be liable to attachment, levy, or seizure by or under any legal or equitable process whatsoever, as provided by federal law.  The bill states that it is the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation to conform state law in this area with existing federal law.  Status: Chapter 162, 2009.

SB 510 (Corbett) Structured settlements: payment transfer.  This bill revises the provisions of California’s Transfers of Structured Settlement Payment Rights Act (the Act) in order to protect consumers who wish to transfer to a financial entity their structured settlement payment right (i.e. periodic payment rights) for a lump sum payment.  Among other things, this bill limits application of the Act to transfers where the person selling settlement payment rights (the payee) is domiciled in California at the time the transfer agreement is signed by the payee, or the payee is not domiciled in California at the time the transfer agreement is signed and the state where the payee is domiciled does not have a structured settlement transfer statute, but either the structured settlement obligor or annuity issuer is domiciled in California.  Status: Chapter 593, 2009.

SB 1146 (Florez) Finance lenders.  This bill creates an experimental small-loan program called the Pilot Program for Affordable Credit-Building Opportunities, a four-year program under the California Finance Lenders Law (CFLL) that would allow participants to offer a new type of small-dollar consumer loan subject to specified requirements.  That loan permits the licensee to charge higher interest rates, origination fees, and delinquency fees than permitted under existing law.  The loans, which could be originated in an amount from $250 to $2,500, must be underwritten by the licensee, as specified, and the licensee must report a borrower's payment performance to at least one of the three major credit bureaus.  Status: Chapter 640, 2010.

 

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