Florida Senate - 2017                                    SB 1028
       
       
        
       By Senator Thurston
       
       
       
       
       
       33-00798-17                                           20171028__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to consumer credit; creating s.
    3         501.0119, F.S.; defining the term “predatory lending
    4         scheme”; requiring consumer credit reporting agencies
    5         to report certain adverse credit information as
    6         neutral credit information; requiring persons,
    7         entities, and creditors to treat certain adverse
    8         credit information as neutral credit information;
    9         prohibiting creditors from denying credit to a
   10         consumer based solely upon certain adverse credit
   11         information; providing an effective date.
   12          
   13  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   14  
   15         Section 1. Section 501.0119, Florida Statutes, is created
   16  to read:
   17         501.0119 Consideration of certain adverse information in
   18  consumer credit reports.—
   19         (1) As used in this section, the term “predatory lending
   20  scheme” means unscrupulous actions carried out by a lender to
   21  entice, induce, or assist a borrower in taking a mortgage that
   22  carries high fees, a high interest rate, strips the borrower of
   23  equity, or places the borrower in a lower credit rated loan to
   24  the benefit of the lender.
   25         (2) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, each
   26  consumer credit reporting agency that compiles and maintains
   27  files on consumers’ credit on a nationwide basis and that
   28  conducts business in this state shall report adverse credit
   29  information directly related to a predatory lending scheme as
   30  neutral credit information.
   31         (3) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a person or
   32  entity that conducts business in this state shall treat adverse
   33  credit information directly related to a predatory lending
   34  scheme as neutral credit information when considering the
   35  consumer’s application for any purpose and for which a consumer
   36  credit check is performed.
   37         (4) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a creditor
   38  that conducts business in this state shall treat adverse credit
   39  information directly related to a predatory lending scheme as
   40  neutral credit information and may not deny credit to a consumer
   41  based solely upon such information.
   42         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2017.