By: Carona  S.B. No. 1388
         (In the Senate - Filed March 7, 2013; March 18, 2013, read
  first time and referred to Committee on Business and Commerce;
  April 2, 2013, reported adversely, with favorable Committee
  Substitute by the following vote:  Yeas 9, Nays 0; April 2, 2013,
  sent to printer.)
 
  COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 1388 By:  Carona
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
 
  relating to identity recovery services; imposing a fee.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 348.208, Finance Code, is amended by
  amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (b-1) to read as
  follows:
         (b)  A retail installment contract may include as a separate
  charge an amount for:
               (1)  motor vehicle property damage or bodily injury
  liability insurance;
               (2)  mechanical breakdown insurance;
               (3)  participation in a motor vehicle theft protection
  plan;
               (4)  insurance to reimburse the retail buyer for the
  amount computed by subtracting the proceeds of the buyer's basic
  collision policy on the motor vehicle from the amount owed on the
  vehicle if the vehicle has been rendered a total loss;
               (5)  a warranty or service contract relating to the
  motor vehicle;
               (6)  an identity recovery service contract [defined by
  Section 1306.003, Occupations Code]; or
               (7)  a debt cancellation agreement if the agreement is
  included as a term of a retail installment contract under Section
  348.124.
         (b-1)  In this section, "identity recovery service contract"
  means an agreement:
               (1)  to provide identity recovery, as defined by
  Section 1304.003, Occupations Code;
               (2)  that is entered into for a separately stated
  consideration and for a specified term; and
               (3)  that is financed through a retail installment
  contract.
         SECTION 2.  Section 353.207, Finance Code, is amended by
  amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (b-1) to read as
  follows:
         (b)  A retail installment contract may include as a separate
  charge an amount for:
               (1)  motor vehicle property damage or bodily injury
  liability insurance;
               (2)  mechanical breakdown insurance;
               (3)  participation in a motor vehicle theft protection
  plan;
               (4)  insurance to pay all or part of the amount computed
  by subtracting the proceeds of the retail buyer's basic collision
  policy on the commercial vehicle from the amount owed on the vehicle
  in the event of a total loss or theft of the vehicle;
               (5)  a warranty or service contract relating to the
  commercial vehicle;
               (6)  an identity recovery service contract [defined by
  Section 1306.003, Occupations Code]; or
               (7)  a debt cancellation agreement.
         (b-1)  In this section, "identity recovery service contract"
  means an agreement:
               (1)  to provide identity recovery, as defined by
  Section 1304.003, Occupations Code;
               (2)  that is entered into for a separately stated
  consideration and for a specified term; and
               (3)  that is financed through a retail installment
  contract.
         SECTION 3.  Subsections (a) and (b), Section 1304.003,
  Occupations Code, are amended to read as follows:
         (a)  In this chapter:
               (1)  "Identity recovery" means a process, through a
  limited power of attorney and the assistance of an identity
  recovery expert, that returns the identity of an identity theft
  victim to pre-identity theft event status.
               (2)  "Service[, "service] contract" means an
  agreement[:
               [(1)]  that is entered into for a separately stated
  consideration and for a specified term[; and
               [(2)]  under which a provider agrees to:
                     (A)  repair, replace, or maintain a product, or
  provide indemnification for the repair, replacement, or
  maintenance of a product, for operational or structural failure or
  damage caused by a defect in materials or workmanship or by normal
  wear; or
                     (B)  provide identity recovery, if the service
  contract is financed under Chapter 348 or 353, Finance Code.
         (b)  A service contract described by Subsection (a)(2)(A)
  may also provide for:
               (1)  incidental payment or indemnity under limited
  circumstances, including towing, rental, and emergency road
  service;
               (2)  the repair or replacement of a product for damage
  resulting from a power surge or for accidental damage incurred in
  handling the product; or
               (3)  identity recovery, [as defined by Section
  1306.002,] if the service contract is financed under Chapter 348 or
  353, Finance Code.
         SECTION 4.  Subchapter C, Chapter 1304, Occupations Code, is
  amended by adding Section 1304.1035 to read as follows:
         Sec. 1304.1035.  QUARTERLY REPORT REQUIRED; FEE.  Not later
  than the 30th day after the date each calendar quarter ends, a
  provider must report to the department the number of service
  contracts described by Section 1304.003(a)(2)(B) that were sold or
  issued to consumers in this state during the most recent calendar
  quarter and must submit a fee of $1 for each contract to the
  department.
         SECTION 5.  Section 1304.104, Occupations Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         Sec. 1304.104.  INFORMATION CONCERNING NUMBER OF SERVICE
  CONTRACTS SOLD OR ISSUED.  Information concerning the number of
  service contracts sold or issued by a provider that is submitted
  under Section 1304.103 or 1304.1035 is a trade secret to which
  Section 552.110, Government Code, applies.
         SECTION 6.  Subsection (c), Section 2306.003, Occupations
  Code, is amended to read as follows:
         (c)  A vehicle protection product may also include identity
  recovery, as defined by Section 1304.003 [1306.002], if the vehicle
  protection product is financed under Chapter 348 or 353, Finance
  Code.
         SECTION 7.  Chapter 1306, Occupations Code, is repealed.
         SECTION 8.  (a)  The changes in law made by this Act apply
  only to a contract entered into or renewed on or after the effective
  date of this Act.  A contract entered into or renewed before the
  effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect
  immediately before the effective date of this Act, and that law is
  continued in effect for that purpose.
         (b)  The repeal of Chapter 1306, Occupations Code, by this
  Act does not apply to a violation of that chapter that occurs before
  the effective date of the repeal. A violation that occurs before
  the effective date of the repeal is governed by the law as it
  existed on the date the violation occurred, and the former law is
  continued in effect for that purpose.  For purposes of this
  subsection, a violation occurred before the effective date of the
  repeal if any element of the violation occurred before that date.
         SECTION 9.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.
 
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