By:  Carona                                            S.B. No. 566
         Line and page numbers may not match official copy.
         Bill not drafted by TLC or Senate E&E.
                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-1                                   AN ACT
 1-2     relating to certain charges included in a retail installment
 1-3     agreement.
 1-4           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
 1-5           SECTION 1. Subsections (b)and (c), Section 345.251, Finance
 1-6     Code, are amended to read as follows:
 1-7           (b)  If a documentary fee is charged under this section the
 1-8     fee:
 1-9                 (1)  must be charged to cash buyers and credit buyers;
1-10                 (2)  may not exceed $75 [$50]; and
1-11                 (3)  must be disclosed on the retail installment
1-12     contract as a separate itemized charge.
1-13           (c)  A preliminary work sheet on which a sale price is
1-14     computed and that is shown to the retail buyer, an order from the
1-15     buyer, or a retail installment contract must include in reasonable
1-16     proximity to the place on the document where the documentary fee is
1-17     disclosed:
1-18                 (1)  the amount of the fee; and
1-19                 (2)  the following notice in type that is bold-faced,
1-20     capitalized, or underlined or otherwise conspicuously set out from
1-21     the surrounding written material:
1-22                 "A DOCUMENTARY FEE IS NOT AN OFFICIAL FEE. A
1-23     DOCUMENTARY FEE IS NOT REQUIRED BY LAW, BUT MAY BE CHARGED TO
 2-1     BUYERS FOR HANDLING DOCUMENTS AND PERFORMING SERVICES RELATING TO
 2-2     THE CLOSING OF A SALE. A DOCUMENTARY FEE MAY NOT EXCEED $75 [$50].
 2-3     THIS NOTICE IS REQUIRED BY LAW."
 2-4           SECTION 2. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives a
 2-5     vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
 2-6     provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
 2-7     Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
 2-8     Act takes effect September 1, 2001.