Full Text of HB2783 100th General Assembly
HB2783enr 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | AN ACT concerning regulation.
| 2 | | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
| 3 | | represented in the General Assembly:
| 4 | | Section 5. The Collection Agency Act is amended by changing | 5 | | Sections 2, 5, 7, 8a, 8c, 9.22, 13.1, 13.2, 16, 17, 27, and 30 | 6 | | and by adding Sections 2.5 and 4.6 as follows:
| 7 | | (225 ILCS 425/2) (from Ch. 111, par. 2002)
| 8 | | (Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2026)
| 9 | | Sec. 2. Definitions. In this Act:
| 10 | | "Address of record" means the designated address recorded | 11 | | by the Department in the applicant's or licensee's application | 12 | | file or license file as maintained by the Department's | 13 | | licensure maintenance unit. It is the duty of the applicant or | 14 | | licensee to inform the Department of any change of address and | 15 | | those changes must be made either through the Department's | 16 | | website or by contacting the Department. | 17 | | "Board" means the Collection Agency Licensing and | 18 | | Disciplinary Board. | 19 | | "Charge-off balance" means an account principal and other | 20 | | legally collectible costs, expenses, and interest accrued | 21 | | prior to the charge-off date, less any payments or settlement. | 22 | | "Charge-off date" means the date on which a receivable is | 23 | | treated as a loss or expense. |
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| 1 | | "Collection agency" means any person who, in the ordinary | 2 | | course of business, regularly, on behalf of himself or herself | 3 | | or others, engages in the collection of a debt. | 4 | | "Consumer debt" or "consumer credit" means money or
| 5 | | property, or their equivalent, due or owing or alleged to be
| 6 | | due or owing from a natural person by reason of a consumer | 7 | | credit transaction. | 8 | | "Credit transaction" means a transaction between a natural | 9 | | person and another person in which property, service, or money | 10 | | is acquired on credit by that natural person from such other | 11 | | person primarily for personal, family, or household purposes. | 12 | | "Creditor" means a person who extends consumer credit to a | 13 | | debtor. | 14 | | "Current balance" means the charge-off balance plus any | 15 | | legally collectible costs, expenses, and interest, less any | 16 | | credits or payments. | 17 | | "Debt" means money, property, or their equivalent which is | 18 | | due or owing or alleged to be due or owing from a person to | 19 | | another person. | 20 | | "Debt buyer" means a person or entity that is engaged in | 21 | | the business of purchasing delinquent or charged-off consumer | 22 | | loans or consumer credit accounts or other delinquent consumer | 23 | | debt for collection purposes, whether it collects the debt | 24 | | itself or hires a third-party for collection or an | 25 | | attorney-at-law for litigation in order to collect such debt. | 26 | | "Debtor" means a person from whom a collection agency seeks |
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| 1 | | to collect a consumer or commercial debt that is due and owing | 2 | | or alleged to be due and owing from such person. | 3 | | "Department" means the Department of Financial and | 4 | | Professional Regulation. | 5 | | "Email address of record" means the designated email | 6 | | address recorded by the Department in the applicant's | 7 | | application file or the licensee's license file, as maintained | 8 | | by the Department's licensure maintenance unit. | 9 | | "Person" means a natural person, partnership, corporation, | 10 | | limited liability company, trust, estate, cooperative, | 11 | | association, or other similar entity.
| 12 | | "Licensed collection agency" means a person who is licensed | 13 | | under this Act to engage in the practice of debt collection in | 14 | | Illinois. | 15 | | "Multi-state licensing system" means a web-based platform | 16 | | that allows licensure applicants to submit their applications | 17 | | and renewals to the Department online. | 18 | | "Secretary" means the Secretary of Financial and | 19 | | Professional Regulation. | 20 | | (Source: P.A. 99-227, eff. 8-3-15; 99-500, eff. 1-29-16.)
| 21 | | (225 ILCS 425/2.5 new) | 22 | | Sec. 2.5. Address of record; email address of record. All | 23 | | applicants and licensees shall: | 24 | | (1) provide a valid address and email address to the | 25 | | Department, which shall serve as the address of record and |
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| 1 | | email address or record, respectively, at the time of | 2 | | application for licensure or renewal of a license; and | 3 | | (2) inform the Department of any change of address of | 4 | | record or email address of record within 14 days after such | 5 | | change either through the Department's website or through a | 6 | | multi-state licensing system as designated by the | 7 | | Secretary. | 8 | | (225 ILCS 425/4.6 new) | 9 | | Sec. 4.6. Multi-state licensing system. The Secretary may | 10 | | require participation in a third-party, multi-state licensing | 11 | | system for licensing under this Act. The multi-state licensing | 12 | | system may share regulatory information and maintain records in | 13 | | compliance with the provisions of this Act. The multi-state | 14 | | licensing system may charge the applicant an administration | 15 | | fee.
| 16 | | (225 ILCS 425/5) (from Ch. 111, par. 2008)
| 17 | | (Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2026)
| 18 | | Sec. 5. Application for original license. Application for | 19 | | an original license shall be made to the Secretary on
forms | 20 | | provided by the Department or through a multi-state licensing | 21 | | system as designated by the Secretary , shall be accompanied by | 22 | | the required fee
and shall state:
| 23 | | (1) the applicant's name and address;
| 24 | | (2) the names and addresses of the officers of the |
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| 1 | | collection agency
and, if the collection agency is a | 2 | | corporation, the names and addresses
of all persons owning | 3 | | 10% or more of the stock of such corporation, if the | 4 | | collection agency is a partnership, the names and addresses | 5 | | of all partners of the partnership holding a 10% or more | 6 | | interest in the partnership, if the collection agency is a | 7 | | limited liability company, the names and addresses of all | 8 | | members holding 10% or more interest in the limited | 9 | | liability company, and if the collection agency is any | 10 | | other legal business entity, the names and addresses of all | 11 | | persons owning 10% or more interest in the entity; and
| 12 | | (3) such other information as the Department may deem | 13 | | necessary.
| 14 | | (Source: P.A. 99-227, eff. 8-3-15.)
| 15 | | (225 ILCS 425/7) (from Ch. 111, par. 2010)
| 16 | | (Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2026)
| 17 | | Sec. 7. Qualifications for license. In order to be | 18 | | qualified to obtain a license or a renewal license under this | 19 | | Act, a collection agency's officers shall:
| 20 | | (a) be of
good moral character and of the age of 18 | 21 | | years or more;
| 22 | | (b) (blank); and
| 23 | | (c) have an acceptable credit rating, have no | 24 | | unsatisfied judgments; and not
have been officers and | 25 | | owners of 10% or more interest of a former licensee or |
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| 1 | | registrant under this Act whose license was licenses or | 2 | | certificates
were suspended or revoked without subsequent | 3 | | restoration reinstatement .
| 4 | | (Source: P.A. 99-227, eff. 8-3-15.)
| 5 | | (225 ILCS 425/8a) (from Ch. 111, par. 2011a)
| 6 | | (Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2026)
| 7 | | Sec. 8a. Fees. | 8 | | (a) The
fees for the administration and enforcement of this | 9 | | Act, including but not
limited to original licensure, renewal, | 10 | | and restoration, shall be set by the Department by rule. All | 11 | | fees are The fees shall be
nonrefundable.
| 12 | | (b) All fees collected under this Act by the Department | 13 | | shall be deposited into the General
Professions Dedicated Fund | 14 | | and shall be appropriated to the Department for the
ordinary | 15 | | and contingent expenses of the Department in the administration | 16 | | of
this Act.
| 17 | | (c) The administration fee charged by the multi-state | 18 | | licensing system shall be paid directly to the multi-state | 19 | | licensing system. | 20 | | (Source: P.A. 99-227, eff. 8-3-15.)
| 21 | | (225 ILCS 425/8c) (from Ch. 111, par. 2011c)
| 22 | | (Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2026)
| 23 | | Sec. 8c.
(a) Each licensed collection agency shall at all | 24 | | times maintain a
separate bank account in which all monies |
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| 1 | | received on debts shall
be deposited, referred to as a "Trust | 2 | | Account", except that
negotiable instruments received may be | 3 | | forwarded directly to a creditor if
such procedure is provided | 4 | | for by a writing executed by the creditor.
Monies received | 5 | | shall be so deposited within 5 business days after
posting to | 6 | | the agency's books of account.
| 7 | | There shall be sufficient funds in the trust account at all | 8 | | times to pay
the creditors the amount due them.
| 9 | | (b) The trust account shall be established in a bank, | 10 | | savings and loan
association, or other recognized depository | 11 | | which is federally or State
insured or otherwise secured as | 12 | | defined by rule. Such account may be
interest bearing. The | 13 | | licensee shall pay to the creditor interest earned
on funds on | 14 | | deposit after the sixtieth day.
| 15 | | (c) Notwithstanding any contractual arrangement, every | 16 | | client of a
licensee shall within 60 days after the close of | 17 | | each calendar month, account
and pay to the licensee collection | 18 | | agency all sums owed to the collection
agency for payments | 19 | | received by the client during that calendar month on debts
in | 20 | | possession of the collection agency. If a client fails to pay | 21 | | the licensee
any sum due under this Section, the licensee | 22 | | shall, in addition to other
remedies provided by law, have the | 23 | | right to offset any money due the licensee
under this Section | 24 | | against any moneys due the client.
| 25 | | (d) Each collection agency shall keep on file the name of | 26 | | the
bank,
savings and loan association, or other recognized |
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| 1 | | depository in which each
trust account is maintained, the name | 2 | | of each trust account, and the names
of the persons authorized | 3 | | to withdraw funds from each account.
| 4 | | The collection agency, within 30 days of the time of a | 5 | | change of
depository or person authorized to make withdrawal, | 6 | | shall update its files
to reflect such change.
| 7 | | An examination and audit of an agency's trust accounts may | 8 | | be made by the
Department as the Department deems appropriate.
| 9 | | A trust account financial report shall be submitted | 10 | | annually on forms
provided by the Department.
| 11 | | (Source: P.A. 99-227, eff. 8-3-15.)
| 12 | | (225 ILCS 425/9.22) (from Ch. 111, par. 2034)
| 13 | | (Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2026)
| 14 | | Sec. 9.22. Administrative Procedure Act. The Illinois | 15 | | Administrative
Procedure Act is hereby expressly adopted and | 16 | | incorporated herein as if all of
the provisions of that Act | 17 | | were included in this Act, except that the provision
of | 18 | | subsection (d) of Section 10-65 of the Illinois Administrative | 19 | | Procedure Act
that provides that at hearings the licensee has | 20 | | the right to show compliance
with all lawful requirements for | 21 | | retention, continuation or renewal of the
license is | 22 | | specifically excluded. For the purposes of this Act the notice
| 23 | | required under Section 10-25 of the Administrative Procedure | 24 | | Act is deemed
sufficient when mailed or emailed to the | 25 | | applicant or licensee at the address of record or email address |
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| 1 | | of record of a party .
| 2 | | (Source: P.A. 99-227, eff. 8-3-15.)
| 3 | | (225 ILCS 425/13.1) (from Ch. 111, par. 2038.1)
| 4 | | (Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2026)
| 5 | | Sec. 13.1. Collection Agency Licensing and Disciplinary | 6 | | Board; members; qualifications; duties. | 7 | | (a) There
is created in the Department the Collection | 8 | | Agency Licensing and
Disciplinary Board composed of 7 members | 9 | | appointed by the Secretary. Five
members of the Board shall be | 10 | | employed in a collection agency licensed
under this Act and 2 | 11 | | members of the Board shall represent the general
public, shall | 12 | | not be employed by or possess an ownership interest in any
| 13 | | collection agency licensed under this Act, and shall have no | 14 | | family or business connection with the practice of collection | 15 | | agencies.
| 16 | | (b) Each of the members appointed to the Board, except for | 17 | | the public members, shall have at least 5 years of active | 18 | | collection agency experience. | 19 | | (c) The Board shall annually elect a chairperson from among | 20 | | its members. The members of the Board shall receive no
| 21 | | compensation for their services, but shall be reimbursed for | 22 | | their necessary
expenses as authorized by the Department while | 23 | | engaged in their duties.
| 24 | | (d) Members shall serve for a term of 4 years and until | 25 | | their successors are
appointed and qualified. No Board member |
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| 1 | | shall be appointed to more than 2 full consecutive
terms. A | 2 | | partial term of more than 2 years shall be considered a full | 3 | | term. Appointments to
fill vacancies for the unexpired portion | 4 | | of a vacated term shall be made in the
same manner as original | 5 | | appointments. All members shall serve until their successors | 6 | | are appointed and qualified.
| 7 | | (e) The Secretary may remove any member of the Board for | 8 | | cause at any time before the expiration of his or her term. The | 9 | | Secretary shall be the sole arbiter of cause. | 10 | | (f) The majority of the Board shall constitute a quorum. A | 11 | | vacancy in the membership of the Board shall not impair the | 12 | | right of a quorum to exercise all the duties of the Board. | 13 | | (g) Members of the Board shall have no liability in any | 14 | | action based upon any disciplinary proceeding or other activity | 15 | | performed in good faith as a member of the Board. Members of | 16 | | the Board shall be immune from suit in any action based upon | 17 | | disciplinary proceedings or other acts performed in good faith | 18 | | as members of the Board.
| 19 | | (Source: P.A. 99-227, eff. 8-3-15.)
| 20 | | (225 ILCS 425/13.2) (from Ch. 111, par. 2038.2)
| 21 | | (Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2026)
| 22 | | Sec. 13.2. Powers and duties of Department. The Department | 23 | | shall
exercise the powers and duties prescribed by the Civil | 24 | | Administrative Code
of Illinois for the administration of | 25 | | licensing Acts and shall exercise
such other powers and duties |
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| 1 | | necessary for effectuating the purposes of
this Act.
| 2 | | Subject to the provisions of this Act, the Department may: | 3 | | (1) Conduct hearings on proceedings to refuse to issue | 4 | | or renew or to revoke licenses or suspend, place on | 5 | | probation, or reprimand persons licensed under this Act. | 6 | | (2) Formulate rules required for the administration of | 7 | | this Act. | 8 | | (3) Obtain written recommendations from the Board | 9 | | regarding standards of professional conduct, formal | 10 | | disciplinary actions and the formulation of rules | 11 | | affecting these matters. Notice of proposed rulemaking | 12 | | shall be transmitted to the Board and the
Department shall | 13 | | review the response of the Board Board's responses and any | 14 | | recommendations made in the response
therein .
The | 15 | | Department may solicit the advice of the Board on any | 16 | | matter relating
to the administration and enforcement of | 17 | | this Act.
| 18 | | (4) (Blank). Maintain rosters of the names and | 19 | | addresses of all licensees and all persons whose licenses | 20 | | have been suspended, revoked, or denied renewal for cause | 21 | | within the previous calendar year. These rosters shall be | 22 | | available upon written request and payment of the required | 23 | | fee as established by rule. | 24 | | (Source: P.A. 99-227, eff. 8-3-15.)
| 25 | | (225 ILCS 425/16)
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| 1 | | (Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2026)
| 2 | | Sec. 16. Investigation; notice and hearing. The Department | 3 | | may
investigate the actions or qualifications of any applicant | 4 | | or of any person rendering or offering to render collection | 5 | | agency services or any person holding or
claiming to hold a | 6 | | license as a collection agency. The Department shall, before
| 7 | | refusing to issue or renew, revoking, suspending, placing on | 8 | | probation, reprimanding, or taking any other disciplinary | 9 | | action under Section 9 of this Act, at least 30 days before
the | 10 | | date set for the hearing, (i) notify the accused in writing of | 11 | | the charges made and the time and place for the hearing on the | 12 | | charges, (ii) direct him or her
to
file his or her written | 13 | | answer to the charges with the Department under oath within 20 | 14 | | days after the
service
on him or her of the notice, and (iii) | 15 | | inform the accused that if he or she fails to
file an answer
| 16 | | default will be taken against him or her or his or her license | 17 | | may be
suspended, revoked, or placed on probation, or other | 18 | | disciplinary action may be taken with regard to the license, | 19 | | including limiting the scope, nature, or extent of his or her | 20 | | practice, as the Department may consider proper. At the time | 21 | | and place fixed in
the notice, the Department shall proceed to | 22 | | hear the charges. The parties or
their counsel shall be | 23 | | accorded ample opportunity to present any pertinent | 24 | | statements,
testimony, evidence, and arguments. The Department | 25 | | may continue the hearing from time to time. Nothing in this
| 26 | | Section
shall be construed to require that a hearing be |
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| 1 | | commenced and completed in one
day. At the discretion of the | 2 | | Secretary, after having first received the
recommendation of | 3 | | the Board, the accused person's license
may be suspended or | 4 | | revoked, if the evidence constitutes sufficient grounds for
| 5 | | such action under this Act. If the person fails to file an | 6 | | answer after receiving notice, his or her license may, in the | 7 | | discretion of the Department, be suspended, revoked, or placed | 8 | | on probation, or the Department may take whatever disciplinary | 9 | | action it considers proper, including limiting the scope, | 10 | | nature, or extent of the person's practice or the imposition of | 11 | | a fine, without a hearing, if the act or acts charged | 12 | | constitute sufficient grounds for such action under this Act. | 13 | | Written or electronic This written notice may be served by | 14 | | personal delivery , or certified mail , or email to the applicant | 15 | | or licensee respondent at the address of record or email | 16 | | address of record .
| 17 | | (Source: P.A. 99-227, eff. 8-3-15.)
| 18 | | (225 ILCS 425/17)
| 19 | | (Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2026)
| 20 | | Sec. 17. Record of hearing; transcript. The Department, at | 21 | | its expense, shall
preserve
a record of all proceedings at the | 22 | | formal hearing of any case. The notice of
hearing, complaint, | 23 | | all other documents in the nature of pleadings, written
motions | 24 | | filed in the proceedings, the transcript of testimony, the | 25 | | report of
the Board, and orders of the Department shall be in |
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| 1 | | the record of the
proceedings. If the respondent orders from | 2 | | the reporting service and pays for a transcript of the record | 3 | | within the time for filing a motion for rehearing under Section | 4 | | 20, the 20 calendar day period within which a motion may be | 5 | | filed shall commence upon the delivery of the transcript to the | 6 | | respondent.
| 7 | | (Source: P.A. 99-227, eff. 8-3-15.)
| 8 | | (225 ILCS 425/27)
| 9 | | (Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2026)
| 10 | | Sec. 27. Certifications of record; costs. The Department | 11 | | shall not be
required to certify any record to the court or | 12 | | file any answer in court or
otherwise appear in any court in a | 13 | | judicial review proceeding, unless and until the Department has | 14 | | received from the plaintiff
payment of the costs of furnishing | 15 | | and certifying the record, which costs shall be determined by | 16 | | the Department. Exhibits shall be certified without cost.
| 17 | | Failure on the part of the plaintiff to file a receipt in court | 18 | | shall be
grounds for dismissal of the action.
| 19 | | (Source: P.A. 99-227, eff. 8-3-15.)
| 20 | | (225 ILCS 425/30) | 21 | | (Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2026) | 22 | | Sec. 30. Expiration, renewal, and restoration of license. | 23 | | The expiration date and renewal period for each license shall | 24 | | be set by rule. A collection agency whose license has expired |
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| 1 | | may restore reinstate its license at any time within 5 years | 2 | | after the expiration thereof, by making a renewal application | 3 | | and by paying the required fee. | 4 | | However, any licensed collection agency whose license has | 5 | | expired while the individual licensed or while a shareholder, | 6 | | partner, or member owning 50% or more of the interest in the | 7 | | collection agency whose license has expired while he or she was | 8 | | (i) on active duty with the Armed Forces of the United States | 9 | | or called into service or training by the State militia; or | 10 | | (ii) in training or education under the supervision of the | 11 | | United States preliminary to induction into the military | 12 | | service, may have his or her license renewed or , restored , or | 13 | | reinstated without paying any lapsed renewal fee or , | 14 | | restoration fee , or reinstatement fee if, within 2 years after | 15 | | termination of the service, training, or education, he or she | 16 | | furnishes the Department with satisfactory evidence of | 17 | | service, training, or education and it has been terminated | 18 | | under honorable conditions. | 19 | | Any collection agency whose license has expired for more | 20 | | than 5 years may have it restored by applying to the | 21 | | Department, paying the required fee, and filing acceptable | 22 | | proof of fitness to have the license restored as set by rule.
| 23 | | (Source: P.A. 99-227, eff. 8-3-15.)
| 24 | | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 25 | | becoming law.
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INDEX
| 2 | |
Statutes amended in order of appearance
| | 3 | | 225 ILCS 425/2 | from Ch. 111, par. 2002 | | 4 | | 225 ILCS 425/2.5 new | | | 5 | | 225 ILCS 425/4.6 new | | | 6 | | 225 ILCS 425/5 | from Ch. 111, par. 2008 | | 7 | | 225 ILCS 425/7 | from Ch. 111, par. 2010 | | 8 | | 225 ILCS 425/8a | from Ch. 111, par. 2011a | | 9 | | 225 ILCS 425/8c | from Ch. 111, par. 2011c | | 10 | | 225 ILCS 425/9.22 | from Ch. 111, par. 2034 | | 11 | | 225 ILCS 425/13.1 | from Ch. 111, par. 2038.1 | | 12 | | 225 ILCS 425/13.2 | from Ch. 111, par. 2038.2 | | 13 | | 225 ILCS 425/16 | | | 14 | | 225 ILCS 425/17 | | | 15 | | 225 ILCS 425/27 | | | 16 | | 225 ILCS 425/30 | |
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