Consumer finance bill advances

Senators advanced a bill from general file March 5 that would update and amend the state’s consumer finance laws.
LB965, introduced by Boys Town Sen. Rich Pahls at the request of the state Department of Banking and Finance, would make changes to the Nebraska Installment Sales Act (NISA), the Residential Mortgage Licensing Act (RMLA) and the Nebraska Installment Loan Act (NILA).
Among the provisions, the bill would:
• amend NISA to transition the current manual licensing process for installment sales companies onto the electronic Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry (NMLSR);
• allow a licensee to move its place of business anywhere without having to apply for a new license;

• bring the RMLA into compliance with new federal guidelines related to mortgage bankers and loan originators;
• authorize the department to grant a certificate of exemption to a nonprofit organization that promotes affordable housing or provides homeownership education;
• authorize the department to issue a mortgage loan originator license to a person who has had certain misdemeanors or any felony expunged from the record;
• allow the department to issue an emergency order to suspend, limit or restrict a mortgage license under specific circumstances; and
• amend NILA to include other state-regulated financial services entities and industries in the definition of NMLSR.
Pahls said the bill would bring Nebraska into compliance with changes made under the federal Dodd-Frank Act and improve the banking department’s enforcement authority over consumer finance laws.
The bill advanced on a 28-0 vote.