AN ACT Relating to
requiring a bond or other security from persons seeking a license to sell
checks, drafts, or money orders; amending RCW 31.45.030; and declaring an
emergency.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF
WASHINGTON:
Sec. 1. RCW 31.45.030 and 1991 c
355 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) Except as provided
in RCW 31.45.020, no check casher or seller may engage in business without
first obtaining a license from the supervisor in accordance with this chapter.
(2) Each application
for a license shall be in writing in a form prescribed by the supervisor and
shall contain the following information:
(a) The legal name,
residence, and business address of the applicant and, if the applicant is a
partnership, association, or corporation, of every member, officer, and
director thereof;
(b) The location where
the initial registered office of the applicant will be located in this state;
(c) The complete
address of any other locations at which the applicant proposes to engage in
business as a check casher or seller;
(d) Such other data,
financial statements, and pertinent information as the supervisor may require
with respect to the applicant, its directors, trustees, officers, members, or
agents.
(3) Any information in
the application regarding the personal residential address or telephone number
of the applicant is exempt from the public records disclosure requirements of
chapter 42.17 RCW.
(4) The application shall
be filed together with an investigation and supervision fee established by rule
by the supervisor. Such fees collected shall be deposited to the credit of the
banking examination fund in accordance with RCW 43.19.095.
(5)(a) ((If the applicant intends
to engage in the business of selling checks, drafts, money orders, or other
commercial paper serving the same purpose, the supervisor shall require the
applicant to obtain and maintain an adequate fidelity bond or blanket fidelity
bond covering each officer, employee, or agent having access to funds collected
by or for the licensee. The bond shall be for the protection of the public
against loss suffered through embezzlement by any person having access to funds
collected by or for the licensee or having authority to draw against such
funds, or from mysterious disappearance, theft, holdup, or burglary)) Before granting a
license to sell checks, drafts, or money orders under this chapter, the
supervisor shall require that the licensee file with the supervisor a surety
bond running to the state of Washington, which bond shall be issued by a surety
insurer which meets the requirements of chapter 48.28 RCW, and be in a format
acceptable to the supervisor. The supervisor shall adopt rules to determine
the penal sum of the bond that shall be filed by each licensee. The bond shall
be conditioned upon the licensee paying all persons who purchase checks,
drafts, or money orders from the licensee the face value of any check, draft,
or money order which is dishonored by the drawee bank, savings bank, or savings
and loan association due to insufficient funds or by reason of the account
having been closed. The bond shall only be liable for the face value of the
dishonored check, draft, or money order, and shall not be liable for any
interest or consequential damages.
The bond shall be
continuous and may be canceled by the surety upon the surety giving written
notice to the supervisor and licensee of its intent to cancel the bond. The
cancellation is effective thirty days after the notice is received by the
supervisor. Whether or not the bond is renewed, continued, reinstated,
reissued, or otherwise extended, replaced, or modified, including increases or
decreases in the penal sum, it shall be considered one continuous obligation,
and the surety upon the bond shall not be liable in an aggregate or cumulative
amount exceeding the penal sum set forth on the face of the bond. In no event
shall the penal sum, or any portion thereof, at two or more points in time be
added together in determining the surety's liability. The bond shall not be
liable for any liability of the licensee for tortious acts, whether or not such
liability is imposed by statute or common law, or is imposed by contract. The
bond shall not be a substitute or supplement to any liability or other
insurance required by law or by the contract. If the surety desires to make
payment without awaiting court action against it, the penal sum of the bond
shall be reduced to the extent of any payment made by the surety in good faith
under the bond.
Any person who is a
purchaser of a check, draft, or money order from the licensee having a claim
against the licensee for the dishonor of any check, draft, or money order by
the drawee bank, savings bank, or savings and loan association due to
insufficient funds or by reason of the account having been closed, may bring
suit upon such bond or deposit in the superior court of the county in which the
check, draft, or money order was purchased, or in the superior court of a county
in which the licensee maintains a place of business. Jurisdiction shall be
exclusively in the superior court. Any such action must be brought not later
than one year after the dishonor of the check, draft, or money order on which
the claim is based. In the event valid claims against a bond or deposit exceed
the amount of the bond or deposit, each claimant shall only be entitled to a
pro rata amount, based on the amount of the claim as it is valid against the
bond, or deposit, without regard to the date of filing of any claim or action.
(b) In lieu of ((providing a bond, the
licensee may deposit with the supervisor security in the form and amount
determined by the supervisor sufficient to protect the public against loss
suffered through embezzlement by any person having access to funds collected by
or for the licensee or having authority to draw against such funds, or from
mysterious disappearance, theft, holdup, or burglary)) the surety bond
required by this section, the applicant may file with the supervisor a deposit
consisting of cash or other security acceptable to the supervisor in an amount
equal to the penal sum of the required bond. The supervisor may adopt rules
necessary for the proper administration of the security. A deposit given
instead of the bond required by this section shall not be deemed an asset of
the licensee for the purpose of complying with the liquid asset provisions of
this chapter.
(c) Such security may
be sold by the supervisor at public auction if it becomes necessary to satisfy
the requirements of this chapter. Notice of the sale shall be served upon the
licensee who placed the security personally or by mail. If notice is served by
mail, service shall be addressed to the licensee at its address as it appears
in the records of the supervisor. Bearer bonds of the United States or the
state of Washington without a prevailing market price must be sold at public
auction. Such bonds having a prevailing market price may be sold at private
sale not lower than the prevailing market price. Upon any sale, any surplus
above amounts due shall be returned to the licensee, and the licensee shall
deposit with the supervisor additional security sufficient to meet the amount
required by the supervisor. A deposit given instead of the bond required by
this section shall not be deemed an asset of the licensee for the purpose of
complying with the liquid asset provisions of this chapter.
NEW SECTION.
Sec. 2. This act is necessary
for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or
support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and shall
take effect immediately.
