SB691: Bill Text

SB691,14,12 1. As a condition of the sale, assignment, or transfer, the student loan servicer shall require the new student loan servicer to honor all benefits originally represented as available to the student loan borrower during the repayment of the student education loan and preserve the availability of these benefits, including any benefits for which the student loan borrower has not yet qualified.

SB691,14,17 2. Within 45 days after the sale, assignment, or transfer, the student loan servicer shall transfer to the new student loan servicer all information regarding the student loan borrower, the account of the student loan borrower, and the student education loan of the student loan borrower, including the repayment status of the student loan borrower and any benefits associated with the student education loan.

SB691,14,20 3. The sale, assignment, or transfer of the servicing of the student education loan shall be completed at least 7 days before the next payment on the student education loan is due.

SB691,15,2 (e) A student loan servicer that obtains the right to service a student education loan shall adopt policies and procedures to verify that the student loan servicer has received all information regarding the student loan borrower, the account of the student loan borrower, and the student education loan of the student loan borrower, including the repayment status of the student loan borrower and any benefits associated with the student education loan.

SB691,15,3 (3) A student loan servicer may not do any of the following:

SB691,15,5 (a) Directly or indirectly employ a scheme, device, or artifice to defraud or mislead any student loan borrower.

SB691,15,11 (b) Engage in an unfair or deceptive practice toward any person or misrepresent or omit any material information in connection with the servicing of a student education loan, including misrepresenting the amount, nature, or terms of any fee or payment due or claimed to be due on a student education loan, the terms and conditions of the loan agreement, or the student loan borrower's obligations under the loan.

SB691,15,12 (c) Obtain property by fraud or misrepresentation.

SB691,15,14 (d) Misapply student education loan payments to the outstanding balance of a student education loan.

SB691,15,16 (e) Provide inaccurate information to a credit bureau, thereby harming the determination of a student loan borrower's creditworthiness.

SB691,15,20 (f) Fail to report both the favorable and unfavorable payment history of a student loan borrower to a nationally recognized consumer credit bureau at least annually if the student loan servicer regularly reports information to such a credit bureau.

SB691,15,25 (g) Refuse to communicate with an authorized representative of a student loan borrower who provides a written authorization signed by the student loan borrower, except that the student loan servicer may adopt procedures reasonably related to verifying that the representative is in fact authorized to act on behalf of the student loan borrower.

SB691,16,3 (h) Make any false statement or omit a material fact in connection with information or reports filed with a governmental agency or in connection with an investigation conducted by the office or another governmental agency.

SB691,16,6 (i) Fail to evaluate a student loan borrower for an income-based repayment program prior to placing the student loan borrower in forbearance or default, if an income-based repayment program is available to the student loan borrower.

SB691,16,9 (j) Violate any applicable federal law or regulation relating to student education loan servicing, including the federal Truth in Lending Act, 15 USC 1601 to 1667f, and regulations adopted under that act.

SB691,16,12 (4) (a) A student loan borrower injured by violation of this section may bring an action in any court of competent jurisdiction and recover the damages, fees, and penalties set forth in par. (b).

SB691,16,15 (b) A student loan servicer that fails to comply with any requirement imposed under this section with respect to a student loan borrower is liable in an amount equal to the sum of all of the following:

SB691,16,17 1. Any actual damages sustained by the student loan borrower as result of the violation.

SB691,16,20 2. If the student loan borrower establishes by a preponderance of the evidence that the violation was willful or intentional, a monetary award equal to 2 times the amount of actual damages.

SB691,16,23 3. In the case of any successful action by the student loan borrower to enforce the liability set out in this paragraph, the costs of the action, together with reasonable attorney fees, as determined by the court.

SB691,17,3 (c) For purposes of par. (b), actual damages includes damages caused by emotional distress or mental anguish with or without accompanying physical injury proximately caused by a violation of this section.

SB691,17,5 (d) The remedies provided in this subsection do not preclude the availability of other remedies that may be available to a student loan borrower.

SB691,17,7 224.107 Office powers and duties. (1) The office may conduct investigations and examinations as follows:

SB691,17,12 (a) For purposes of initial licensing, renewal, suspension, or revocation or of investigation to determine compliance with this subchapter, the office may access, receive, and use any books, accounts, records, files, documents, information, or evidence belonging to a licensee or person under examination, including any of the following:

SB691,17,13 1. Criminal, civil, and administrative history information.

SB691,17,15 2. Personal history and experience information, including independent credit reports obtained from a consumer reporting agency, as defined in 15 USC 1681a.

SB691,17,18 3. Any other documents, information, or evidence the office considers relevant to the inquiry or investigation regardless of the location, possession, control, or custody of the documents, information, or evidence.

SB691,18,2 (b) For the purposes of investigating violations or complaints arising under this subchapter or of examination, the office may review, investigate, or examine any licensee or person subject to this subchapter as often as necessary in order to carry out the purposes of this subchapter. The office may direct, subpoena, or order the attendance of and examine under oath any person whose testimony may be required about the student education loan or the business or subject matter of the examination or investigation and may direct, subpoena, or order the person to produce books, accounts, records, files, and any other documents the office considers relevant to the inquiry.

SB691,18,14 (c) In making an examination or investigation authorized by this section, the office may control access to any documents and records of the licensee or person under examination or investigation. The office may take possession of the documents and records or place a person in exclusive charge of the documents and records in the place where they are usually kept. During the period of control, a person may not remove or attempt to remove any of the documents and records except pursuant to a court order or with the consent of the office. Unless the office has reasonable grounds to believe the documents or records of the licensee or person have been, or are at risk of being, altered or destroyed for purposes of concealing a violation of this subchapter, the licensee or owner of the documents and records may have access to the documents or records as necessary to conduct its ordinary business affairs.

SB691,18,16 (d) In order to carry out the purposes of this section, the office may do any of the following:

SB691,18,19 1. Retain attorneys, accountants, or other professionals and specialists as examiners, auditors, or investigators to conduct or assist in the conduct of examinations or investigations.

SB691,18,23 2. Enter into agreements or relationships with other government officials or regulatory associations in order to improve efficiencies and reduce regulatory burden by sharing resources, standardized or uniform methods or procedures, and documents, records, information, or evidence obtained under this section.

SB691,19,3 3. Use, hire, contract for, or employ public or privately available analytical systems, methods, or software to examine or investigate the licensee or person subject to this subchapter.

SB691,19,5 4. Accept and rely on examination or investigation reports made by other government officials, within or outside this state.

SB691,19,10 5. Accept audit reports made by an independent certified public accountant for the licensee or person subject to this subchapter in the course of that part of the examination covering the same general subject matter as the audit and may incorporate the audit report in a report of examination, report of investigation, or other writing of the office.

SB691,19,14 (e) A licensee or person subject to investigation or examination under this section may not knowingly withhold, abstract, remove, mutilate, or destroy any books, physical records, computer records, or other information relating to information regulated under this subchapter.

SB691,19,17 (f) The costs of an investigation conducted by the office shall be paid by the licensee or person being investigated. Funds received by the office under this paragraph shall be credited to the appropriation account under s. 20.144 (1) (g).

SB691,19,20 (2) The office may do any of the following to address a violation of this subchapter, any rule promulgated under this subchapter, or any order issued under this subchapter:

SB691,20,2 (a) Issue an order requiring a student loan servicer to cease and desist from a violation, to correct the conditions resulting from the violation, and to take actions to prevent such violations in the future. As part of the order, the office may require the student loan servicer to reimburse persons injured by the violation. A student loan servicer that violates an order issued under this paragraph shall, for each violation, forfeit not more than $1,000 per day for each day the violation continues.

SB691,20,7 (b) Commence administrative proceedings on its own initiative, or commence civil actions through the department of justice, to restrain by temporary or permanent injunction a person from violating this subchapter, to recover any fees or penalties owed under this subchapter, or to seek relief available under this subchapter on behalf of student loan borrowers.

SB691,20,9 (c) Suspend, revoke, or refuse to renew a license issued under s. 224.105 as provided in s. 224.105 (11).

SB691,20,10 (3) The office may promulgate rules to implement this subchapter.

SB691,5 Section 5 . Nonstatutory provisions.

SB691,20,16 (1) (a) No later than the 90th day after the effective date of this paragraph, the department of financial institutions shall determine whether it can fully implement the provisions created in this act as subch. V of ch. 224 by the 90th day after the effective date of this paragraph, and shall provide notice of this determination to the legislative reference bureau by that date.

SB691,20,24 (b) If the notice of the department of financial institutions under par. (a) states that the department cannot fully implement the provisions created in this act as subch. V of ch. 224 by the 90th day after the effective date of this paragraph, the department shall provide notice to the legislative reference bureau of the date on which the provisions created in this act as subch. V of ch. 224 will be fully implemented, which date may not be later than January 1, 2023, and the legislative reference bureau shall publish a notice in the Wisconsin Administrative Register that specifies this date.

SB691,6 Section 6. Effective dates. This act takes effect on the day after publication, except as follows:

SB691,21,6 (1) The treatment of ss. 15.01 (6), 15.02 (3) (c) 1., and 15.185 (6) and subch. V of ch. 224 takes effect on the 90th day after the day of publication, or on the date specified in the notice published in the Wisconsin Administrative Register under Section 5 (1) (b ) of this act, whichever is later.

SB691,21,7 (End)