HB2293ham001 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Rep. Mary E. Flowers

Filed: 4/26/2007

09500HB2293ham001 LRB095 01217 MJR 35556 a

AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 2293

AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 2293 by replacing everything after the enacting clause with the following:

"Section 5. The Currency Exchange Act is amended by changing Sections 1, 4.3, 8, and 19.3 and by adding Sections 2.5 and 2.7 as follows:

(205 ILCS 405/1) (from Ch. 17, par. 4802)

Sec. 1. Definitions; application of Act. For the purposes of this Act: "Community currency exchange" means any person, firm, association, partnership, limited liability company, or corporation, except an ambulatory currency exchange as hereinafter defined, banks incorporated under the laws of this State and National Banks organized pursuant to the laws of the United States, engaged in the business or service of, and providing facilities for, cashing checks, drafts, money orders or any other evidences of money acceptable to such community currency exchange, for a fee or service charge or other consideration, or engaged in the business of selling or issuing money orders under his or their or its name, or any other money orders (other than United States Post Office money orders, Postal Telegraph Company money orders, or Western Union Telegraph Company money orders), or engaged in both such businesses, or engaged in performing any one or more of the foregoing services.

"Ambulatory Currency Exchange" means any person, firm, association, partnership, limited liability company, or corporation, except banks organized under the laws of this State and National Banks organized pursuant to the laws of the United States, engaged in one or both of the foregoing businesses, or engaged in performing any one or more of the foregoing services, solely on the premises of the employer whose employees are being served.

"Location" when used with reference to an ambulatory currency exchange means the premises of the employer whose employees are or are to be served by an ambulatory currency exchange.

"Director" means the Director of Financial Institutions.

"Payday loan" shall have the same meaning as in the Payday Loan Reform Act.

"Public utility" shall have the same meaning as in the Public Utilities Act.

"Refund anticipation loan" shall have the same meaning in the Tax Refund Anticipation Loan Disclosure Act.

Nothing in this Act shall be held to apply to any person, firm, association, partnership, limited liability company, or corporation who is engaged primarily in the business of transporting for hire, bullion, currency, securities, negotiable or non-negotiable documents, jewels or other property of great monetary value and who in the course of such business and only as an incident thereto, cashes checks, drafts, money orders or other evidences of money directly for, or for the employees of and with the funds of and at a cost only to, the person, firm, association, partnership, limited liability company, or corporation for whom he or it is then actually transporting such bullion, currency, securities, negotiable or non-negotiable documents, jewels, or other property of great monetary value, pursuant to a written contract for such transportation and all incidents thereof, nor shall it apply to any person, firm, association, partnership, limited liability company, or corporation engaged in the business of selling tangible personal property at retail who, in the course of such business and only as an incident thereto, cashes checks, drafts, money orders or other evidences of money.

(Source: P.A. 90-545, eff. 1-1-98.)

(205 ILCS 405/2.5 new)

Sec. 2.5. State business with currency exchanges. No State agencies shall enter into or renew any contracts with any community currency exchange or ambulatory currency exchange for any business if the community currency exchange or ambulatory currency exchange fails to agree to limit any required transaction fees for accepting utility bill payments to no higher than $0.75 per payment. Each community currency exchange and ambulatory currency exchange bidding for any State business shall, as part of its application, provide copies of any contracts it maintains with public utilities showing that no fees in excess of those in this Section shall be accepted or required by the community currency exchange or ambulatory currency exchange.

(205 ILCS 405/2.7 new)

Sec. 2.7. State agencies and exclusive agreements. No State agency shall enter into an exclusive agreement with a community currency exchange or ambulatory currency exchange or exchanges for the delivery of any service unless the State agency shall make a determination that there is no other economically feasible method of providing the contracted-for service.

(205 ILCS 405/4.3) (from Ch. 17, par. 4811)

Sec. 4.3. Upon receipt of an application from an ambulatory currency exchange for the conduct of its business at a location to be served by it, the Director of Financial Institutions shall cause an investigation to be made to determine whether to issue said license. No fee shall be charged for the investigation of an application for a location license. The Director shall employ the following criteria in making his determination:

(1) the economic benefit and convenience to the persons to be served at the location for which a license has been requested;

(2) the effect that granting a license will have on the financial stability of community currency exchanges;

(2) (3) safety benefits, if any, which may accrue from the granting of the location license;

(3) (4) the effects, if any, which granting of a license will have on traffic, and traffic congestion in the immediate area of the location to be served;

(4) the availability of free or reduced-cost checking account services within the community to be served by the license; and

(5) such other factors as the Director shall deem proper and relevant.

(Source: P.A. 85-1356.)

(205 ILCS 405/8) (from Ch. 17, par. 4815)

Sec. 8. A community or an ambulatory currency exchange shall not be conducted as a department of another business. It must be an entity, financed and conducted as a separate business unit. This shall not prevent a community or an ambulatory currency exchange from leasing a part of the premises of another business for the conduct of this business on the same premises; provided, that no community currency exchange shall be conducted on the same premises with a business whose chief source of revenue is derived from the sale of alcoholic liquor for consumption on the premises or whose chief source of revenue is derived from the sale of payday loans or refund anticipation loans; provided, further, that no community currency exchange hereafter licensed for the first time shall share any room with any other business, trade or profession nor shall it occupy any room from which there is direct access to a room occupied by any other business, trade or profession.

(Source: Laws 1951, p. 562.)

(205 ILCS 405/19.3) (from Ch. 17, par. 4838)

Sec. 19.3. (A) The General Assembly hereby finds and declares: community currency exchanges and ambulatory currency exchanges provide important and vital services to Illinois citizens. In so doing, they transact extensive business involving check cashing and the writing of money orders in communities in which banking services are generally unavailable. Customers of currency exchanges who receive these services must be protected from being charged unreasonable and unconscionable rates for cashing checks and purchasing money orders. The Illinois Department of Financial Institutions has the responsibility for regulating the operations of currency exchanges and has the expertise to determine reasonable maximum rates to be charged for check cashing and money order purchases. Therefore, it is in the public interest, convenience, welfare and good to have the Department establish reasonable maximum rate schedules for check cashing and the issuance of money orders and to require community and ambulatory currency exchanges to prominently display to the public the fees charged for all services. The Director shall review, each year, the cost of operation of the Currency Exchange Division and the revenue generated from currency exchange examinations and report to the General Assembly if the need exists for an increase in the fees mandated by this Act to maintain the Currency Exchange Division at a fiscally self-sufficient level. The Director shall include in such report the total amount of funds remitted to the State and delivered to the State Treasurer by currency exchanges pursuant to the Uniform Disposition of Unclaimed Property Act.

(B) The Director shall, by rules adopted in accordance with the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act, expeditiously formulate and issue schedules of reasonable maximum rates which can be charged for check cashing and writing of money orders by community currency exchanges and ambulatory currency exchanges.

(1) In determining the maximum rate schedules for the purposes of this Section the Director shall take into account:

(a) Rates charged in the past for the cashing of checks and the issuance of money orders by community and ambulatory currency exchanges.

(b) Rates charged by banks or other business entities for rendering the same or similar services and the factors upon which those rates are based.

(c) The income, cost and expense of the operation of currency exchanges.

(d) Rates charged by currency exchanges or other similar entities located in other states for the same or similar services and the factors upon which those rates are based.

(e) Rates charged by the United States Postal Service for the issuing of money orders and the factors upon which those rates are based.

(f) A reasonable profit for a currency exchange operation.

(g) The financial impact upon low-income customers in the community.

(h) The availability of free or reduced-cost checking account services within the community.

(2) (a) The schedule of reasonable maximum rates established pursuant to this Section may be modified by the Director from time to time pursuant to rules adopted in accordance with the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act.

(b) Upon the filing of a verified petition setting forth allegations demonstrating reasonable cause to believe that the schedule of maximum rates previously issued and promulgated should be adjusted, the Director shall expeditiously:

(i) reject the petition if it fails to demonstrate reasonable cause to believe that an adjustment is necessary; or

(ii) conduct such hearings, in accordance with this Section, as may be necessary to determine whether the petition should be granted in whole or in part.

(c) No petition may be filed pursuant to subparagraph (a) of paragraph (2) of subsection (B) unless:

(i) at least nine months have expired since the last promulgation of schedules of maximum rates; and

(ii) at least one-fourth of all community currency exchange licensees join in a petition or, in the case of ambulatory currency exchanges, a licensee or licensees authorized to serve at least 100 locations join in a petition.

(3) Any currency exchange may charge lower fees than those of the applicable maximum fee schedule after filing with the Director a schedule of fees it proposes to use.

(Source: P.A. 91-16, eff. 7-1-99.)

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.".