§ 100

Secretary of Financial and Professional Regulation; functions and powers. The functions and powers of the Secretary shall include the following: (1) to issue or refuse to issue any license as provided by this Act; (2) to revoke or suspend for cause any license issued under this Act; (3) to keep records of all licenses issued under this Act; (4) to receive, consider, investigate, and act upon complaints made by any person in connection with any licensed consumer legal funding company in this State or unlicensed consumer legal funding activity; (5) to prescribe the forms of and receive: (A) applications for licenses; and (B) all reports and all books and records required to be made by any licensee under this Act, including annual audited financial statements and annual reports of consumer legal funding activity; (6) to subpoena documents and witnesses and compel their attendance and production, to administer oaths, and to require the production of any books, papers, or other materials relevant to any inquiry authorized by this Act; (7) to issue orders against any person: (A) if the Secretary has reasonable cause to believe that an unsafe, unsound, or unlawful practice has occurred, is occurring, or is about to occur; (B) if any person has violated, is violating, or is about to violate any law, rule, or written agreement with the Secretary; or (C) for the purpose of administering the provisions of this Act and any rule adopted in accordance with this Act; (8) to address any inquiries to any licensee, or the officers of the licensee, in relation to the licensee's activities and conditions or any other matter connected with its affairs, and it shall be the duty of any licensee or person so addressed to promptly reply in writing to those inquiries; the Secretary may also require reports from any licensee at any time the Secretary chooses; (9) to examine the books and records of every licensee under this Act; (10) to enforce the provisions of this Act; (11) to levy fees, fines, and charges for services performed in administering this Act; the aggregate of all fees collected by the Secretary on and after the effective date of this Act shall be paid promptly after receipt, accompanied by a detailed statement of fees paid, into the Financial Institutions Fund; the amounts deposited into that Fund shall be used for the ordinary and contingent expenses of the Department; nothing in this Act shall prevent the continuation of the practice of paying expenses involving salaries, retirement, social security, and State-paid insurance of State officers by appropriation from the General Revenue Fund or any other fund; (12) to appoint examiners, supervisors, experts, and special assistants as needed to effectively and efficiently administer this Act; (13) to conduct hearings for the purpose of: (A) appeals of orders of the Secretary; (B) suspensions or revocations of licenses; (C) fining of licensees or unlicensed persons or entities; (D) investigating: (i) complaints against licensees or unlicensed persons or entities; or (ii) annual gross delinquency rates; and (E) carrying out the purposes of this Act; (14) to exercise visitorial power over a licensee; (15) to enter into cooperative agreements with state regulatory authorities of other states to provide for examination of corporate offices or branches of those states and to accept reports of those examinations; (16) to assign an examiner or examiners to monitor the affairs of a licensee with whatever frequency the Secretary determines appropriate and to charge the licensee for reasonable and necessary expenses of the Secretary if in the opinion of the Secretary an emergency exists or appears likely to occur; (17) to impose civil penalties of up to $50 per day against a licensee for failing to respond to a regulatory request or reporting requirement; and (18) to enter into agreements in connection with the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System and Registry.

Legislative History

(Source: P.A. 102-987, eff. 5-27-22.)