Colorado § 5-2-302 - License to make supervised loans - consumer credit unit cash fund - rules - definition.

§ 5-2-302. License to make supervised loans - consumer credit unit cash fund - rules - definition.

(1) The administrator shall receive and act on all applications for licenses to make supervised loans under this code. Applications shall be filed in the manner prescribed by the administrator and shall contain such information as the administrator may reasonably require. No license shall be issued without payment of a nonrefundable license fee. The license year shall be the calendar year.

(2) No license shall be issued unless the administrator, upon investigation, finds that the financial responsibility, character, and fitness of the applicant and of the members, managers, partners, officers, and directors thereof are such as to warrant belief that the business will be operated honestly and fairly within the purposes of this code. In determining financial responsibility of an applicant proposing to engage in making consumer insurance premium loans, the administrator shall consider the liabilities the lender may incur for erroneous cancellation of insurance. The administrator may deny an application for licensure for any of the grounds provided in section 5-2-303.

(3) (a) Upon written request, the applicant is entitled to a hearing on the question of the applicant's qualifications for a license if:

(I) The administrator has notified the applicant in writing that his or her application has been denied; or

(II) The administrator has not issued a license within sixty days after the application for the license was filed.

(b) A request for a hearing may not be made more than sixty days after the administrator has mailed a writing to the applicant notifying the applicant that the application has been denied and stating in substance the administrator's findings supporting denial of the application.

(4) If a supervised lender has more than one place of business, it must obtain a master license. The administrator may authorize the addition of branch locations to the master license. A separate license fee and proof of financial responsibility shall be required for each authorized branch location. Each master license and branch location license shall remain in full force and effect until surrendered, suspended, or revoked.

(5) (a) The application for approval of a branch location license may be more abbreviated than the application for a new or master supervised lender's license. An application for a branch location license may be filed by any means, including facsimile or electronic filing, followed by the license fee required by this section.

(b) Upon receipt of a completed branch location license application and the required license fee, the branch location is automatically licensed for a temporary period not to exceed one hundred twenty days. If the administrator does not deny the branch location application on or before the end of that period, the temporary branch location license shall become permanent. The administrator may deny an application for a branch location for any of the grounds provided in subsection (2) of this section and section 5-2-303.

(c) The administrator's approval of an additional branch location license may be provided by letter. No license certificate need be issued for a licensed branch location. All provisions of this part 3 relating to licenses apply equally to branch location licenses.

(6) No licensee shall change the location of any place of business or license without giving the administrator at least fifteen days prior written notice. The administrator may by rule promulgated in accordance with article 4 of title 24, C.R.S., establish an administrative fee for such a change of address.

(7) (a) Except as provided in subsection (7)(b) of this section, a licensee shall not engage in the business of making supervised loans at any place of business for which the licensee does not hold a license, nor shall a licensee engage in business under any other name than that in the license. The administrator may, by rule, establish an administrative fee for such a change of name. For the purposes of this subsection (7), a consumer insurance premium loan is made at the lender's business office.

(b) (I) Subject to rules adopted by the administrator, nothing in this part 3 prohibits a licensee from permitting its employees to work from a remote location so long as the licensee:

(A) Ensures that no in-person customer interactions are conducted at the remote location and does not designate the remote location to consumers as a business location;

(B) Maintains appropriate safeguards for licensee and consumer data, information, and records, including the use of secure virtual private networks, also known as "VPNs", where appropriate;

(C) Employs appropriate risk-based monitoring and oversight processes of work performed from a remote location and maintains records of the monitoring and oversight processes;

(D) Ensures consumer information and records are not maintained at a remote location;

(E) Ensures consumer and licensee information and records remain accessible and available for regulatory oversight and examination; and

(F) Provides appropriate employee training to ensure employees working from a remote location keep all conversations about and with consumers that are conducted from the remote location confidential, as if conducted from a commercial location, and to ensure that employees working at a remote location work in an environment that is conducive and appropriate to ensuring privacy and confidential conversations.

(II) As used in this subsection (7)(b), "remote location" means a private residence of an employee of a licensee or another location selected by the employee and approved by the licensee.

(8) Each license shall be renewed by payment of a nonrefundable license fee and the filing of a renewal form. The fee and renewal form are due each July 1. If a licensee fails to file the renewal form and pay the appropriate renewal fees by July 1, its license automatically expires.

(9) (Deleted by amendment, L. 2009, (HB 09-1141), ch. 41, p. 157, § 3, effective January 1, 2010.)

(10) Repealed.

(11) (a) There is hereby created in the state treasury the consumer credit unit cash fund, referred to in this subsection (11) as the "fund". The fund consists of all fees collected pursuant to this article 2 and articles 6, 10, 16, 19, and 21 of this title 5 on and after July 1, 2024. The money in the fund is continuously appropriated to the fund by the general assembly to be expended by the administrator to pay for the direct and indirect costs of the administration and enforcement of this article 2 and articles 6, 10, 16, 19, and 21 of this title 5.

(b) The administrator may establish a fee schedule for the payment and collection of fees described in this article 2 and articles 6, 10, 16, 19, and 21 of this title 5.

(c) All interest derived from the deposit and investment of money in the fund is credited to the fund. At the end of each fiscal year, all unexpended and unencumbered money in the fund remains in the fund and shall not be credited or transferred to the general fund or any other fund.

(d) In accordance with section 24-75-402 (3)(c), the alternative maximum reserve for the fund is one-third of the amount expended from the fund during each fiscal year.

(e) On and after July 1, 2024, the administrator shall transfer all fees collected under this article 2 and under articles 10, 16, 19, and 21 of this title 5 to the state treasurer, who shall credit the fees to the fund.

Source: L. 2000: Entire article R&RE, p. 1207, § 1, effective July 1. L. 2009: (1), (8), and (9) amended, (HB 09-1141), ch. 41, p. 157, § 3, effective January 1, 2010. L. 2022: (7) amended, (HB 22-1410), ch. 404, p. 2872, § 1, effective August 10. L. 2023: (8) amended and (10) and (11) added, (SB 23-248), ch. 360, p. 2147, § 2, effective August 7.

Editor's note: (1) This section is similar to former §§ 5-3-503 and 5-6-203, as they existed prior to 2000.

(2) Subsection (10)(b) provided for the repeal of subsection (10), effective July 1, 2026. (See L. 2023, p. 2147.)

ANNOTATION

Law reviews. For article, "State Variations of the Uniform Consumer Credit Code: The Case for Legislative Restraint", see 48 Den. L.J. 239 (1971).