SB-0343, As Passed Senate, May 2, 2007

SUBSTITUTE FOR

SENATE BILL NO. 343

     A bill to amend 1981 PA 125, entitled

"The secondary mortgage loan act,"

by amending section 27 (MCL 493.77), as amended by 1997 PA 91.

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

     Sec. 27. (1) In addition to the penalties provided by this

act, a violation of this act with respect to a particular secondary

mortgage loan transaction is also subject to the penalty and remedy

provisions of the credit reform act, 1995 PA 162, MCL 445.1851 to

445.1864.

     (2) A person, association, nonprofit corporation, common law

trust, joint stock company, limited liability company, or any other

group of individuals, however organized, or any owner, partner,

member, officer, director, trustee, employee, agent, broker, or

representative thereof who or which willfully or intentionally

engages in this state in the business of making secondary mortgage

loans without a license as required under this act, does any of the

following is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not

more than $5,000.00 $15,000.00, imprisonment for not more than 3

years 1 year, or both: .

     (a) Engages in this state in the business of making secondary

mortgage loans without a license as required under this act.

     (b) Coerces or induces a real estate appraiser to inflate the

value of real property used as collateral for a secondary mortgage

loan, including, but not limited to, by doing any of the following:

     (i) Representing or implying that a real estate appraiser will

not be selected to conduct an appraisal of the real property or

selected for future appraisal work unless the appraiser agrees in

advance to a value, range of values, or minimum value for the real

property.

     (ii) Representing or implying that a real estate appraiser will

not be paid for an appraisal unless the appraiser agrees in advance

to a value, range of values, or minimum value for the real

property.

     (3) A person who violates this act or directly or indirectly

counsels, aids, or abets in a violation is liable, in addition to

other penalties and forfeitures imposed by this act, for a civil

fine of not more than $1,000.00 $3,000.00 for each offense

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. The civil fine shall be sued for

and recovered by the commissioner and shall be collected and

enforced by summary proceedings by the attorney general.

     (4) Whether or not he or she seeks damages or has an adequate

remedy at law, a person, a county prosecutor, or the attorney

general may bring an action to do any of the following:

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

practice is a violation of this act.

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

engage in, a method, act, or practice that violates this act.

     (c) Recover actual damages resulting from a violation of this

act or $250.00, whichever is greater, together with reasonable

attorneys' fees and the costs of bringing the action.

     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. 342.

     (b) Senate Bill No. 356.