HOUSE BILL No. 5301

 

October 11, 2007, Introduced by Reps. Gaffney, Angerer, Tobocman, Byrnes, Simpson, Accavitti, Johnson, Miller, Melton, Young, Kathleen Law, Hopgood, Brown, Valentine, Hammel, Robert Jones, Mayes, Vagnozzi, Gonzales, Virgil Smith and Dean and referred to the Committee on Banking and Financial Services.

 

     A bill to amend 2002 PA 660, entitled

 

"Consumer mortgage protection act,"

 

by amending sections 10 and 11 (MCL 445.1640 and 445.1641).

 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

 

     Sec. 10. (1) The attorney general or the prosecuting attorney

 

for the county where an alleged violation occurred may bring an

 

action against a person to do 1 or more of the following:

 

     (a) Obtain a declaratory judgment that a method, act, or

 

practice of the person is a violation of this act.

 

     (b) Enjoin a person who is engaging or about to engage in a

 

method, act, or practice that is a violation of this act.

 

     (c) Obtain a civil fine of not more than $10,000.00 for the

 

first offense and not more than $20,000.00 for the second and any

 

subsequent offense under subsection (2).


 

     (2) In addition to any other remedies or penalties imposed by

 

this act, a creditor, a member, officer, director, or employee of a

 

creditor, or any other person that violates this act or an order

 

made or rule promulgated under this act, or directly or indirectly

 

counsels, aids, or abets in a violation, is responsible for a civil

 

fine of not more than $3,000.00 for each violation, except that a

 

person shall not be fined more than $30,000.00 for a transaction

 

resulting in more than 1 violation, plus the costs of

 

investigation.

 

     Sec. 11. (1) A person is not liable for a violation under

 

section 10 if the person shows that the violation was an

 

unintentional and bona fide error notwithstanding the maintenance

 

of procedures reasonably adopted to avoid the error. Examples of a

 

bona fide error include clerical, calculation, computer

 

malfunction, programming, or printing errors. An error in legal

 

judgment with respect to a person's obligations under this act is

 

not a bona fide error.

 

     (2) A person is not liable for a violation under section 10

 

if, within 60 days after discovery of the violation and before the

 

institution of an action under section 10, the person notifies the

 

borrower or buyer of the violation and corrects the violation in a

 

manner that, to the extent it is reasonably possible to do so,

 

restores the borrower or buyer to the position in which the

 

borrower or buyer would have been if the violation had not

 

occurred.

 

     (3) The person alleged to have violated this act has the

 

burden of proving that he or she is not liable as provided under


 

this section. A creditor, a member, officer, director, or employee

 

of a creditor, or any other person that knowingly violates this act

 

or an order made or rule promulgated under this act is guilty of a

 

misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not more than $15,000.00,

 

imprisonment for not more than 1 year, or both.

 

     Enacting section 1. This amendatory act does not take effect

 

unless all of the following bills of the 94th Legislature are

 

enacted into law:

 

     (a) Senate Bill No.____ or House Bill No. 5294(request no.

 

02456'07 *).

 

     (b) Senate Bill No.____ or House Bill No. 5295(request no.

 

04909'07 *).

 

     (c) Senate Bill No.____ or House Bill No. 5296(request no.

 

04910'07 *).

 

     (d) Senate Bill No.____ or House Bill No. 5297(request no.

 

04911'07 *).

 

     (e) Senate Bill No.____ or House Bill No. 5298(request no.

 

04912'07 *).

 

     (f) Senate Bill No.____ or House Bill No. 5299(request no.

 

04913'07 *).

 

     (g) Senate Bill No.____ or House Bill No. 5300(request no.

 

05435'07).

 

     (h) Senate Bill No.____ or House Bill No. 5302(request no.

 

05437'07).

 

     (i) Senate Bill No.____ or House Bill No. 5303(request no.

 

05438'07).