2019
December 4, 2019
OCCC Stakeholder Meeting
On Monday, December 9th, the Office of Consumer Credit Commissioner (OCCC) will convene a stakeholder meeting at 2:30 p.m. to receive comments and suggestions regarding the recent attorney general’s opinion impacting state and local regulation of credit services organizations. Interested cities are invited to attend the meeting in person or via webinar. Further, any interested party may submit written comments to the OCCC by December 12.
Those interested can access further details on the upcoming OCCC stakeholder meeting here.
Travis County District Court Rules in Favor of City of Austin in Payday Suit
On November 27th, the Travis County District Court dismissed TitleMax’s lawsuit challenging the City of Austin’s payday ordinance by granting the city’s plea to the jurisdiction. Like other legal challenges across the state, the court ruled that it did not have jurisdiction over the lawsuit, and that the proper place to challenge a criminal ordinance is a criminal court, not a civil court.
The court’s order can be read here.
August 13, 2019
On August 7, the Texas attorney general’s office received a request for a payday-related opinion. The request asks about “the authority of a credit services organization to assist a consumer with obtaining an extension of consumer credit in a form other than a deferred presentment transaction or motor vehicle title loan.” It appears that some lenders wish to begin offering new loan products. Interested cities can submit comments on the request electronically by submitting them to opinion.committee@texasattorneygeneral.gov.
February 11, 2019
On February 6, the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued proposed changes to federal rules regulating payday lending. The current rules contain a provision that requires a lender to ensure that a borrower can afford to repay a payday loan prior to issuing it. This “ability to pay” or “underwriting requirement” standard is a key consumer protection component, and it would be eliminated under the proposed changes. The CFPB’s web page contains a summary explanation. A comment period will begin once the proposed changes are published in the Federal Register.