Rep. Mary E. Flowers
Filed: 4/26/2007
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1 | AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 2293
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2 | AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 2293 by replacing | ||||||
3 | everything after the enacting clause with the following:
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4 | "Section 5. The Currency Exchange Act is amended by | ||||||
5 | changing Sections 1, 4.3, 8, and 19.3 and by adding Sections | ||||||
6 | 2.5 and 2.7 as follows:
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7 | (205 ILCS 405/1) (from Ch. 17, par. 4802)
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8 | Sec. 1. Definitions; application of Act. For the purposes | ||||||
9 | of this Act:
"Community currency exchange" means
any person, | ||||||
10 | firm, association, partnership, limited liability company, or
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11 | corporation, except an
ambulatory currency exchange as | ||||||
12 | hereinafter defined, banks incorporated
under the laws of this | ||||||
13 | State and National Banks organized pursuant to the
laws of the | ||||||
14 | United States, engaged in the business or service of, and
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15 | providing facilities for, cashing checks, drafts, money orders | ||||||
16 | or any other
evidences of money acceptable to such community |
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1 | currency exchange, for a
fee or service charge or other | ||||||
2 | consideration, or engaged in the business of
selling or issuing | ||||||
3 | money orders under his or their or its name, or any
other money | ||||||
4 | orders (other than United States Post Office money orders,
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5 | Postal Telegraph Company money orders, or Western Union | ||||||
6 | Telegraph Company
money orders), or engaged in both such | ||||||
7 | businesses, or engaged in performing
any one or more of the | ||||||
8 | foregoing services.
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9 | "Ambulatory Currency Exchange" means any person, firm, | ||||||
10 | association,
partnership, limited liability company, or | ||||||
11 | corporation, except banks organized under the laws of this
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12 | State and National Banks organized pursuant to the laws of the | ||||||
13 | United
States, engaged in one or both of the foregoing | ||||||
14 | businesses, or engaged in
performing any one or more of the | ||||||
15 | foregoing services, solely on the
premises of the employer | ||||||
16 | whose employees are being served.
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17 | "Location" when used with reference to an ambulatory | ||||||
18 | currency exchange
means the premises of the employer whose | ||||||
19 | employees are or are to be served
by an ambulatory currency | ||||||
20 | exchange.
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21 | "Director" means the Director of Financial Institutions. | ||||||
22 | "Payday loan" shall have the same meaning as in the Payday | ||||||
23 | Loan Reform Act. | ||||||
24 | "Public utility" shall have the same meaning as in the | ||||||
25 | Public Utilities Act. | ||||||
26 | "Refund anticipation loan" shall have the same meaning in |
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1 | the Tax Refund Anticipation Loan Disclosure Act.
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2 | Nothing in this Act shall be held to apply to any person, | ||||||
3 | firm,
association, partnership, limited liability company, or | ||||||
4 | corporation who is
engaged primarily in the
business of | ||||||
5 | transporting for hire, bullion, currency, securities,
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6 | negotiable or non-negotiable documents, jewels or other | ||||||
7 | property of great
monetary value and who in the course of such | ||||||
8 | business and only as an
incident thereto, cashes checks, | ||||||
9 | drafts, money orders or other evidences of
money directly for, | ||||||
10 | or for the employees of and with the funds of and at a
cost only | ||||||
11 | to, the person, firm, association, partnership, limited | ||||||
12 | liability
company, or corporation for
whom he or it is then | ||||||
13 | actually transporting such bullion, currency,
securities, | ||||||
14 | negotiable or non-negotiable documents, jewels, or other
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15 | property of great monetary value, pursuant to a written | ||||||
16 | contract for such
transportation and all incidents thereof, nor | ||||||
17 | shall it apply to any person,
firm, association, partnership, | ||||||
18 | limited liability company, or corporation
engaged in the | ||||||
19 | business of
selling tangible personal property at retail who, | ||||||
20 | in the course of such
business and only as an incident thereto, | ||||||
21 | cashes checks, drafts, money
orders or other evidences of | ||||||
22 | money.
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23 | (Source: P.A. 90-545, eff. 1-1-98.)
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24 | (205 ILCS 405/2.5 new)
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25 | Sec. 2.5. State business with currency exchanges. No State |
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1 | agencies shall enter into or renew any contracts with any | ||||||
2 | community currency exchange or ambulatory currency exchange | ||||||
3 | for any business if the community currency exchange or | ||||||
4 | ambulatory currency exchange fails to agree to limit any | ||||||
5 | required transaction fees for accepting utility bill payments | ||||||
6 | to no higher than $0.75 per payment. Each community currency | ||||||
7 | exchange and ambulatory currency exchange bidding for any State | ||||||
8 | business shall, as part of its application, provide copies of | ||||||
9 | any contracts it maintains with public utilities showing that | ||||||
10 | no fees in excess of those in this Section shall be accepted or | ||||||
11 | required by the community currency exchange or ambulatory | ||||||
12 | currency exchange. | ||||||
13 | (205 ILCS 405/2.7 new)
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14 | Sec. 2.7. State agencies and exclusive agreements. No State | ||||||
15 | agency shall enter into an exclusive agreement with a community | ||||||
16 | currency exchange or ambulatory currency exchange or exchanges | ||||||
17 | for the delivery of any service unless the State agency shall | ||||||
18 | make a determination that there is no other economically | ||||||
19 | feasible method of providing the contracted-for service.
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20 | (205 ILCS 405/4.3) (from Ch. 17, par. 4811)
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21 | Sec. 4.3. Upon receipt of an application from an ambulatory | ||||||
22 | currency
exchange for the conduct of its business at a location | ||||||
23 | to be served by
it, the Director of Financial Institutions | ||||||
24 | shall
cause an investigation to be made to determine whether to |
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1 | issue
said license. No fee shall be charged for the | ||||||
2 | investigation of an
application for a location license. The
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3 | Director shall employ the following criteria
in making his | ||||||
4 | determination:
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5 | (1) the economic benefit and convenience to the persons to | ||||||
6 | be
served at the location for which a license has been | ||||||
7 | requested;
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8 | (2) the effect that granting a license will have on the
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9 | financial stability of community currency exchanges;
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10 | (2)
(3) safety benefits, if any, which may accrue from the | ||||||
11 | granting of the
location license;
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12 | (3)
(4) the effects, if any, which granting of a license | ||||||
13 | will
have on traffic, and traffic congestion in the immediate | ||||||
14 | area
of the location to be served;
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15 | (4) the availability of free or reduced-cost checking | ||||||
16 | account services within the community to be served by the | ||||||
17 | license; and
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18 | (5) such other factors as the Director shall deem proper | ||||||
19 | and relevant.
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20 | (Source: P.A. 85-1356.)
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21 | (205 ILCS 405/8) (from Ch. 17, par. 4815)
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22 | Sec. 8. A community or an ambulatory currency exchange | ||||||
23 | shall not be
conducted as a department of another business. It | ||||||
24 | must be an entity,
financed and conducted as a separate | ||||||
25 | business unit. This shall not prevent
a community or an |
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1 | ambulatory currency exchange from leasing a part of the
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2 | premises of another business for the conduct of this business | ||||||
3 | on the same
premises; provided, that no community currency | ||||||
4 | exchange shall be conducted
on the same premises with a | ||||||
5 | business whose chief source of revenue is
derived from the sale | ||||||
6 | of alcoholic liquor for consumption on the premises or whose | ||||||
7 | chief source of revenue is derived from the sale of payday | ||||||
8 | loans or refund anticipation loans ;
provided, further, that no | ||||||
9 | community currency exchange hereafter licensed
for the first | ||||||
10 | time shall share any room with any other business, trade or
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11 | profession nor shall it occupy any room from which there is | ||||||
12 | direct access
to a room occupied by any other business, trade | ||||||
13 | or profession.
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14 | (Source: Laws 1951, p. 562.)
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15 | (205 ILCS 405/19.3) (from Ch. 17, par. 4838)
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16 | Sec. 19.3. (A) The General Assembly hereby finds and | ||||||
17 | declares: community
currency exchanges and ambulatory currency | ||||||
18 | exchanges provide important and
vital services to Illinois | ||||||
19 | citizens. In so doing, they transact extensive
business | ||||||
20 | involving check cashing and the writing of money orders in | ||||||
21 | communities
in which banking services are generally | ||||||
22 | unavailable. Customers of currency
exchanges who receive these | ||||||
23 | services must be protected from being charged
unreasonable and | ||||||
24 | unconscionable rates for cashing checks and purchasing
money | ||||||
25 | orders. The Illinois Department of Financial Institutions has |
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1 | the
responsibility for regulating the operations of currency | ||||||
2 | exchanges and has
the expertise to determine reasonable maximum | ||||||
3 | rates to be charged for check
cashing and money order | ||||||
4 | purchases. Therefore, it is in the public interest,
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5 | convenience, welfare and good to have the Department establish | ||||||
6 | reasonable
maximum rate schedules for check cashing and the | ||||||
7 | issuance of money orders
and to require community and | ||||||
8 | ambulatory currency exchanges to prominently
display to the | ||||||
9 | public the fees charged for all services.
The Director shall | ||||||
10 | review, each year, the cost of operation of the Currency
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11 | Exchange Division and the revenue generated from currency | ||||||
12 | exchange
examinations and report to the General Assembly if the | ||||||
13 | need exists for an
increase in the fees mandated by this Act to | ||||||
14 | maintain the Currency Exchange
Division at a fiscally | ||||||
15 | self-sufficient level. The Director shall include
in such | ||||||
16 | report the total amount of funds remitted to the State and | ||||||
17 | delivered
to the State Treasurer by currency exchanges pursuant | ||||||
18 | to the Uniform
Disposition of Unclaimed Property Act.
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19 | (B) The Director shall, by rules adopted in accordance with | ||||||
20 | the Illinois
Administrative Procedure Act, expeditiously | ||||||
21 | formulate and issue schedules of
reasonable maximum rates which | ||||||
22 | can be charged for check cashing and writing of
money orders by | ||||||
23 | community currency exchanges and ambulatory currency | ||||||
24 | exchanges.
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25 | (1) In determining the maximum rate schedules for the | ||||||
26 | purposes of this
Section the Director shall take into |
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1 | account:
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2 | (a) Rates charged in the past for the cashing of | ||||||
3 | checks and the issuance
of money orders by community | ||||||
4 | and ambulatory currency exchanges.
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5 | (b) Rates charged by banks or other business | ||||||
6 | entities for rendering the
same or similar services and | ||||||
7 | the factors upon which those rates are based.
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8 | (c) The income, cost and expense of the operation | ||||||
9 | of currency exchanges.
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10 | (d) Rates charged by currency exchanges or other | ||||||
11 | similar entities
located in other states for the same | ||||||
12 | or similar services and the factors upon
which those | ||||||
13 | rates are based.
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14 | (e) Rates charged by the United States Postal | ||||||
15 | Service for the issuing
of money orders and the factors | ||||||
16 | upon which those rates are based.
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17 | (f) A reasonable profit for a currency exchange | ||||||
18 | operation.
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19 | (g) The financial impact upon low-income customers | ||||||
20 | in the community. | ||||||
21 | (h) The availability of free or reduced-cost | ||||||
22 | checking account services within the community.
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23 | (2) (a) The schedule of reasonable maximum rates | ||||||
24 | established pursuant
to this Section may be modified by the | ||||||
25 | Director from time to time pursuant
to rules adopted in | ||||||
26 | accordance with the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act.
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1 | (b) Upon the filing of a verified petition setting | ||||||
2 | forth allegations
demonstrating reasonable cause to | ||||||
3 | believe that the schedule of maximum rates
previously | ||||||
4 | issued and promulgated should be adjusted, the Director | ||||||
5 | shall
expeditiously:
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6 | (i) reject the petition if it fails to demonstrate | ||||||
7 | reasonable cause to
believe that an adjustment is | ||||||
8 | necessary; or
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9 | (ii) conduct such hearings, in accordance with | ||||||
10 | this Section, as may be
necessary to determine whether | ||||||
11 | the petition should be granted in whole or in
part.
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12 | (c) No petition may be filed pursuant to subparagraph | ||||||
13 | (a) of paragraph
(2) of subsection (B) unless:
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14 | (i) at least nine months have expired since the | ||||||
15 | last promulgation of
schedules of maximum rates; and
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16 | (ii) at least one-fourth of all community currency | ||||||
17 | exchange licensees
join in a petition or, in the case | ||||||
18 | of ambulatory currency exchanges, a licensee
or | ||||||
19 | licensees authorized to serve at least 100 locations | ||||||
20 | join in a petition.
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21 | (3) Any currency exchange may charge lower fees than those | ||||||
22 | of the
applicable maximum fee schedule after filing with the | ||||||
23 | Director a schedule of
fees it proposes to use.
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24 | (Source: P.A. 91-16, eff. 7-1-99.)
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25 | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon |
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1 | becoming law.".
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