By Patterson S.B. No. 752
74R4501 DWS-D
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to regulation of businesses conducting currency exchange
1-3 or transmission.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Section 1(6), Article 350, Revised Statutes, is
1-6 amended to read as follows:
1-7 (6) "Currency transmission" means engaging in the
1-8 business of receiving currency for the purpose of transmitting the
1-9 currency or its equivalent by wire, computer modem, facsimile, or
1-10 other electronic means, or through the use of a financial
1-11 institution, financial intermediary, the federal reserve system, or
1-12 other <a similar electronic or> funds transfer network, including
1-13 the physical transportation of currency by courier.
1-14 SECTION 2. Section 3(c), Article 350, Revised Statutes, is
1-15 amended to read as follows:
1-16 (c) A retailer, wholesaler, or service provider who, in the
1-17 ordinary course of business, accepts currency of a country or
1-18 government other than the United States in payment for goods sold
1-19 or services provided is eligible for an exemption from licensing
1-20 under this article. A person requesting an exemption under this
1-21 subsection must notify <annually file an application with> the
1-22 commissioner in writing that the person qualifies for and intends
1-23 to assert the exemption and must certify that the person will
1-24 conduct the person's currency exchange activities in a manner that
2-1 maintains the person's eligibility for the exemption<, accompanied
2-2 by a nonrefundable license exemption application fee in an amount
2-3 to be set by the commissioner to recover the cost of administering
2-4 this subsection>. The commissioner shall grant an exemption to a
2-5 person under this subsection if the commissioner determines that
2-6 the person making the request is eligible under this subsection.
2-7 The commissioner in accordance with the examination provisions of
2-8 this article may examine a person to verify the exempt status. The
2-9 retailer, wholesaler, or service provider is not eligible for an
2-10 exemption <may not be exempted under this subsection or an
2-11 exemption may be suspended or revoked> if:
2-12 (1) the value of the goods or services purchased in a
2-13 single transaction exceeds $10,000;
2-14 (2) the change given or made as a result of the
2-15 transaction exceeds $100;
2-16 (3) an attempt is made to structure transactions in a
2-17 way to evade the licensing requirements of this article or to avoid
2-18 using a licensed currency exchange business;
2-19 (4) the retailer, wholesaler, or service provider is
2-20 engaged in the business of cashing checks, drafts, or other
2-21 monetary instruments for a fee or other consideration and is not
2-22 otherwise exempted from licensing under this article; or
2-23 (5) the retailer, wholesaler, or service provider
2-24 would not be eligible for a license under Section 8 of this
2-25 article.
2-26 SECTION 3. Section 8, Article 350, Revised Statutes, is
2-27 amended by adding Subsection (e) to read as follows:
3-1 (e) A person is not eligible for a license, and a person who
3-2 holds a license shall surrender the license to the commissioner, if
3-3 the person or a principal of the person has at any time been
3-4 convicted of a felony under Chapter 34, Penal Code, or a similar
3-5 provision of the laws of another state or the United States
3-6 involving the laundering of money that is the product of or
3-7 proceeds from criminal activity.
3-8 SECTION 4. Section 10, Article 350, Revised Statutes, is
3-9 amended by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsections (c) and
3-10 (d) to read as follows:
3-11 (a) A person who is licensed under this article shall post a
3-12 bond with a qualified surety company doing business in this state
3-13 that is acceptable to the commissioner or an irrevocable letter of
3-14 credit issued by a qualified financial institution that is
3-15 acceptable to the commissioner. The bond or letter of credit shall
3-16 be in an amount determined by the commissioner. The commissioner
3-17 shall determine the amount of the bond or letter of credit based on
3-18 the dollar volume of the licensee's currency exchange or
3-19 transmission business and the number of locations from which the
3-20 person operates, but the bond or letter of credit must be at least
3-21 $25,000 for a person conducting a currency exchange business and at
3-22 least $250,000 for a person conducting a currency transmission
3-23 business.
3-24 (c) Instead of the bond or letter of credit required under
3-25 Subsection (a) of this section, a licensee, with the prior written
3-26 permission of the commission, may deposit with the commissioner
3-27 United States currency or cash equivalent instruments or securities
4-1 acceptable to the commissioner. The amount of currency or the fair
4-2 market value of the instruments or securities must be an amount
4-3 equal to or exceeding the amount required for the bond or letter of
4-4 credit under Subsection (a) of this section. The commissioner may
4-5 adopt rules to implement this subsection.
4-6 (d) A fee under Section 5 of this article, expenses under
4-7 Section 11 of this article, or a civil penalty under Section 15 of
4-8 this article may be paid out of and collected from the proceeds of
4-9 a bond, letter of credit, or deposit under this section.
4-10 SECTION 5. Article 350, Revised Statutes, is amended by
4-11 adding Section 13A to read as follows:
4-12 Sec. 13A. FRAUDULENTLY STRUCTURED TRANSACTION. (a) A
4-13 person, for the purpose of evading a reporting or record-keeping
4-14 requirement of 31 U.S.C. Section 5313, 31 C.F.R. Part 103, Article
4-15 351, Revised Statutes, this article, or a rule adopted under this
4-16 article, may not with respect to a transaction with a licensee:
4-17 (1) cause or attempt to cause the licensee to:
4-18 (A) not maintain a record or file a report
4-19 required by a law listed by this subsection; or
4-20 (B) maintain a record or file a report required
4-21 by a law listed by this subsection that contains a material
4-22 omission or misstatement of fact; or
4-23 (2) fraudulently structure the transaction.
4-24 (b) For the purposes of this article, a person fraudulently
4-25 structures a transaction if the person conducts or attempts to
4-26 conduct a transaction in any amount of currency with a licensee in
4-27 a manner having the purpose of evading a record-keeping or
5-1 reporting requirement of a law listed by Subsection (a), including
5-2 the division of a single amount of currency into smaller amounts or
5-3 the conduct of a transaction or series of transactions in amounts
5-4 equal to or less than the reporting or record-keeping threshold of
5-5 a law listed by Subsection (a).
5-6 (c) A transaction is not required to exceed a record-keeping
5-7 or reporting threshold of a single licensee on a single day to be a
5-8 fraudulently structured transaction.
5-9 SECTION 6. Section 14(a), Article 350, Revised Statutes, is
5-10 amended to read as follows:
5-11 (a) A person commits an offense if the person knowingly:
5-12 (1) violates a requirement of this article;
5-13 (2) makes a false, fictitious, or fraudulent
5-14 statement, representation, or entry in a record or report required
5-15 under 31 U.S.C. Section 5313, 31 C.F.R. Part 103, Article 351,
5-16 Revised Statutes, this article, or a rule adopted under this
5-17 article; or
5-18 (3) fraudulently structures or attempts to
5-19 fraudulently structure a transaction in violation of Section 13A of
5-20 this article.
5-21 SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 1995.
5-22 SECTION 8. The importance of this legislation and the
5-23 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
5-24 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
5-25 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
5-26 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.