The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do
enact as follows:
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1Section
1. 73.0301 (1) (d) 6. of the statutes is amended to read:
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73.0301
(1) (d) 6. A license or certificate of registration issued by the
3department of financial institutions, or a division of it, under ss. 138.09, 138.12,
4138.14, 202.12 to 202.14, 202.22,
203.03, 217.06, 218.0101 to 218.0163, 218.02,
5218.04, 218.05, 224.72, 224.725, 224.93 or under subch. IV of ch. 551.
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6Section
2. 108.227 (1) (e) 6. of the statutes is amended to read:
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1108.227
(1) (e) 6. A license or certificate of registration issued by the
2department of financial institutions, or a division of it, under ss. 138.09, 138.12,
3138.14, 202.12 to 202.14, 202.22,
203.03, 217.06, 218.0101 to 218.0163, 218.02,
4218.04, 218.05, 224.72, 224.725, 224.93 or under subch. IV of ch. 551.
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5Section
3
. 138.09 (1a) (c) of the statutes is created to read:
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138.09
(1a) (c) Providers of earned income access services required to register
7under s. 203.03 (1).
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8Section
4
. 138.14 (3) of the statutes is amended to read:
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138.14
(3) Exemptions. This section does not apply to banks, savings banks,
10savings and loan associations, trust companies, credit unions, or any of their
11affiliates
or to providers of earned income access services required to register under
12s. 203.03 (1).
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13Section
5. Chapter 203 of the statutes is created to read:
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CHAPTER 203
15
earned income access services
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16203.01 Definitions. In this chapter:
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17(1) “Consumer” means an individual who resides in this state.
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18(2) “Division" means the division of banking.
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19(3) “Earned but unpaid income” means money that is based on wages,
20compensation, or other income that a consumer represents, and that a provider
21determines, has been earned by or has accrued to the benefit of the consumer but that
22has not, at the time the proceeds are provided, been paid to the consumer by an
23obligor.
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1(4) “Earned income access service” means the business of delivering proceeds
2to consumers before the date on which obligors are obligated to pay salary, wages, or
3other benefits.
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4(5) “Mandatory payment” means an amount a provider determines a consumer
5must pay to the provider as a condition of receiving proceeds.
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6(6) “Nonmandatory payment” means an amount paid by a consumer or an
7obligor to a provider that is not a mandatory payment. “Nonmandatory payment”
8includes any of the following:
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(a) A fee imposed by the provider for delivery or expedited delivery of proceeds
10to the consumer, as long as the provider offers the consumer at least one option of
11receiving proceeds at no cost.
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(b) An amount paid by the obligor to the provider on the consumer's behalf that
13entitles the consumer to receive proceeds at no cost to the consumer.
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(c) A subscription or membership fee imposed by the provider for a group of
15services that includes earned income access services, as long as the provider offers
16the consumer at least one option of receiving proceeds at no cost.
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(d) A tip or gratuity paid by the consumer to the provider, as long as the provider
18offers the consumer at least one option of receiving proceeds at no cost.
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19(7) (a) “Nonrecourse" means that a provider may not compel or attempt to
20compel repayment by a consumer of outstanding proceeds or nonmandatory
21payments owed by the consumer to the provider using any of the following means:
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1. A civil suit against the consumer in court.
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2. Using a 3rd party to pursue collection of outstanding proceeds or
24nonmandatory payments on the provider's behalf.
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3. Selling the debt to a 3rd-party collector or debt buyer.
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1(b) “Nonrecourse” does not include the use by a provider of any of the means
2described under par. (a) 1. to 3. to compel or attempt to compel repayment of
3outstanding proceeds or nonmandatory payments incurred by a consumer through
4fraudulent means.
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5(8) “Obligor” means an employer, independent contractor, or other person that
6is legally obligated to pay a consumer a sum of money on an hourly, project-based,
7piecework, or other basis. “Obligor” does not include the customer of an obligor or
8a 3rd party that has an obligation to make a payment to a consumer based solely on
9the consumer's agency relationship with the obligor.
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10(9) “Outstanding proceeds” means proceeds provided to a consumer by a
11provider but not yet repaid to the provider.
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12(10) “Proceeds” means the amount of earned but unpaid income that a provider
13provides to a consumer.
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14(11) “Provider” means a person that is not an individual and that is in the
15business of offering and providing earned income access services to consumers.
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16203.02 Powers of the division.
(1) The division may issue any general or
17special order in execution of or supplementary to this chapter.
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18(2) The division may promulgate such rules as it considers necessary for the
19administration of this chapter.
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20(3) The division has the same power to conduct hearings, take testimony, and
21secure evidence as is provided in ss. 217.17 and 217.18.
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22(4) The division for the purpose of discovering violations of this chapter may
23investigate the business of a provider registered under this chapter that is
24transacted under this chapter and shall investigate convictions reported to the
25division by any district attorney for violation by a provider of this chapter. The place
1of business, if any, books of account, papers, records, safes, and vaults of a provider
2registered under this chapter shall be open to inspection and examination by the
3division for the purpose of such investigation and the division may examine under
4oath all persons whose testimony the division may require relative to such
5investigation.
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6(5) The cost of any investigation, examination, or hearing, including witness
7fees or any other expenses, conducted by the division under this chapter involving
8a provider shall be paid by the provider within 30 days after demand therefor by the
9division, and the state may maintain an action for the recovery of such costs and
10expenses.
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11(6) Actual costs incurred by the division to examine books and records
12maintained outside of this state shall be paid by the provider.
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13203.03 Registration. (1) A provider, including a provider that is not
14physically located in this state, may not provide earned income access services in this
15state without first registering with the division and complying with the bond or letter
16of credit requirements under sub. (5).
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17(2) A provider required to register under sub. (1) shall apply to the division for
18a certificate of registration on a form and in the manner prescribed by the division.
19The application shall include all of the following information:
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(a) The name of the provider.
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(b) The name under which the provider transacts business, if different from
22par. (a).
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(c) The address of the provider's principal office, which may be outside this
24state.
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1(d) The addresses of all of the provider's offices or retail stores, if any, in this
2state.
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(e) If the provider provides earned income access services at a location that is
4not an office or retail store in this state, a brief description of the manner in which
5the provider provides earned income access services.
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(f) The address of the provider's designated agent upon whom service of process
7may be made in this state.
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(g) The provider's federal employer identification number.
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(h) Any other similar information the division requires to administer this
10chapter.
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11(3) Each provider required to register under sub. (1) shall update any
12information provided in its registration application within 15 business days after a
13material change in that information.
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14(4) A provider that submits an application for a certificate of registration under
15sub. (2) shall pay a nonrefundable fee to the division determined in accordance with
16rates set by the division. In setting the rates, the division shall consider the division's
17costs of administering this chapter. The division may require an applicant to submit
18financial and other information the division requires to determine the amount of the
19fee an applicant is required to pay.
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20(5) (a) A provider required to register under sub. (1) shall file with the division,
21and maintain in force, a surety bond that is issued by a surety company admitted to
22do business in this state or an irrevocable letter of credit from a federally insured
23bank or savings and loan association located in this state that meets all of the
24following requirements:
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1. The bond or letter of credit is in an amount equal to $25,000.
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12. The bond or letter of credit is in favor of the state for the benefit of any person
2that is damaged by a violation of this chapter.
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3. The bond or letter of credit is in favor of any person that is damaged by a
4violation of this chapter.
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(b) A person claiming against a bond or letter of credit described under this
6subsection for a violation of this chapter may maintain an action at law against the
7provider that obtained the bond or letter of credit and against the surety or financial
8institution that issued the bond or letter of credit. The surety or financial institution
9is liable only for actual damages and not for punitive damages. The aggregate
10liability of the surety or financial institution to all persons damaged by a provider's
11violation of this chapter does not exceed the amount of the bond or letter of credit.
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12(6) Upon the filing of an application under sub. (2) and the payment of the fee
13required under sub. (4) by a provider, the division shall investigate the relevant facts.
14If the division finds that the character and general fitness and the financial
15responsibility of the provider, and the provider's partners if the provider is a
16partnership, the provider's members if the provider is a limited liability company or
17association, and the provider's officers and directors if the provider is a corporation,
18warrant the belief that the provider's business will be operated in compliance with
19this chapter, the division shall issue a certificate of registration to the provider. If the
20division does not make the finding, the division shall deny the provider's application.
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21(7) The division may not issue a certificate of registration under this section
22to a provider if any of the following applies:
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(a) The provider fails to provide any information required under sub. (2).
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(b) The department of revenue certifies under s. 73.0301 that the provider is
25liable for delinquent taxes.
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1(c) The department of workforce development certifies under s. 108.227 that
2the provider is liable for delinquent unemployment insurance contributions.
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3(8) A provider's certificate of registration remains in force and effect until the
4division suspends or revokes the certificate of registration in accordance with this
5chapter or the provider surrenders the certificate of registration. A registered
6provider shall, on or before each December 10, pay to the division the annual
7registration fee established by the division for the next succeeding calendar year.
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8(9) A provider may not assign a certificate of registration.
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9(10) A provider shall conspicuously post its certificate of registration at the
10provider's physical place of business, or, if the provider conducts business on an
11Internet site, the provider shall post its registration number on the Internet site.
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12203.04 Provider requirements; limitations. (1) A provider required to
13register under s. 203.03 (1) shall do all of the following:
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(a) Provide proceeds to consumers on a nonrecourse basis and shall treat
15nonmandatory payments as nonrecourse payment obligations.
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(b) Before providing proceeds to a consumer, inform the consumer in writing
17of any nonmandatory payments that may be associated with the provider providing
18earned income access services to consumers.
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(c) Each time the provider provides proceeds to a consumer, inform the
20consumer when the provider will make its first attempt to collect repayment of those
21proceeds from the consumer.
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(d) If the provider attempts to collect repayment of proceeds from a consumer's
23depository institution account, comply with applicable National Automated
24Clearinghouse Association rules.
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1(2) A provider required to register under s. 203.03 (1) may not do any of the
2following:
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(a) Require a consumer to make a mandatory payment.
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(b) Charge a consumer a late fee or any other monetary penalty for failure to
5repay outstanding proceeds.
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(c) Condition the amount of proceeds the provider provides to a consumer on
7the amount of a nonmandatory payment the consumer makes to the provider. This
8paragraph does not prohibit the provider from collecting a nonmandatory payment
9from a consumer that is equal to a percentage of proceeds the provider provides to
10the consumer if the percentage does not change based on the amount of proceeds
11provided to the consumer.
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(d) Condition the frequency with which the provider provides proceeds to a
13consumer on the amount of a nonmandatory payment the consumer makes to the
14provider. This paragraph does not prohibit the provider from collecting a
15nonmandatory payment from a consumer that is equal to a percentage of proceeds
16the provider provides to the consumer if the percentage does not change based on the
17amount of proceeds provided to the consumer.
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(e) Report a consumer's repayment of or failure to repay proceeds to a consumer
19credit reporting agency or a debt collector.
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(f) Require a credit report or credit score to determine a consumer's eligibility
21for earned income access services.
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(g) Provide, sell, or otherwise disclose to a 3rd party, including an obligor, any
23nonpublic personal information collected from or about a consumer. This paragraph
24does not prohibit the provider from providing, selling, or otherwise disclosing
1information to the extent necessary to provide earned income access services to the
2consumer or in accordance with a consumer's written consent.
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3203.045 Interpretation; applicability. (1) If a provider provides proceeds
4to a consumer in accordance with this chapter, the proceeds are not considered credit,
5the provider is not considered a creditor, and a nonmandatory payment made by the
6consumer to the provider is not considered a finance charge under the federal Truth
7in Lending Act,
15 USC 1601 to
1667f.
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8(2) Chapters 421 to 427 do not apply to proceeds a provider provides to a
9consumer in accordance with this chapter.
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10203.05 Reporting requirements; books and records. (1) On or before
11March 10 of each year, a provider required to register under s. 203.03 (1) shall submit
12an annual report to the division that includes all of the following information related
13to earned income access services the provider provided in this state during the prior
14year:
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(a) Gross revenue attributable to those earned income access services.
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(b) The total number of transactions in which the provider provided proceeds
17to consumers.
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(c) The total number of unique consumers to whom the provider provided
19proceeds.
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(d) The total dollar amount of proceeds the provider provided to consumers.
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(e) The total dollar amount of nonmandatory payments the provider received
22from consumers.
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(f) The total number of transactions in which proceeds were provided to
24consumers for which the provider did not receive repayment of any outstanding
25proceeds.
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1(g) The total dollar amount of transactions described under par. (f).
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(h) The total number of transactions in which proceeds were provided to
3consumers for which the provider received partial repayment of outstanding
4proceeds.
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(i) The total dollar amount of transactions described under par. (h) and the total
6dollar amount of unpaid outstanding proceeds attributable to those transactions.
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(j) The total number of transactions in which outstanding proceeds were repaid
8after the original scheduled repayment date.