Provides relative to consumer loans

House Bill 952 amends Louisiana's consumer loan regulatory framework by revising maximum finance charge rates, increasing certain fees, and establishing new borrower protections. The bill restructures the tiered interest rate system under R.S. 9:3519(A) by raising the ceiling amounts and lowering some applicable rates: loans up to ten thousand dollars remain at thirty-six percent annually, loans exceeding ten thousand but not exceeding twenty thousand dollars decrease to thirty percent annually, and loans exceeding twenty thousand dollars are set at twenty-four percent annually. The origination fee permitted under R.S. 9:3530(A)(1) increases from fifty dollars to seventy-five dollars. Additionally, the bill creates three new statutory provisions: R.S. 9:3530.1 requires licensed lenders who offer disaster assistance programs following Federal Emergency Management Agency major disaster declarations to notify affected borrowers within ten days with specified information; R.S. 9:3530.2 mandates a sixty-day suspension of late charges, delinquency fees, repossession actions, and collection lawsuits in designated parishes following such declarations, with prescription paused during the suspension period; and R.S. 9:3530.3 requires licensed lenders to offer borrowers free credit education seminars addressing topics such as budgeting, credit scores, savings, credit reports, and identity theft prevention.

Licensed consumer loan lenders face increased regulatory costs through amendments to R.S. 9:3561.1, which raise the initial application, survey, and license fee from six hundred fifty dollars to nine hundred dollars and the annual renewal fee from five hundred dollars to seven hundred fifty dollars. Borrowers benefit from expanded protections under the new provisions: those affected by FEMA-declared major disasters gain automatic notification of available assistance programs and automatic suspension of collection actions and fees for sixty days, with the running of prescription tolled during this period. All borrowers gain access to free, voluntary credit education programs covering practical financial literacy topics. Licensed lenders must adjust their loan documentation and collection procedures to comply with the revised finance charge tiers, which generally expand the lower-rate brackets and may increase overall permissible lending costs for smaller loans while slightly reducing rates on larger loans.

House Bill 952 operates within Louisiana's existing consumer loan regulatory scheme established in the Consumer Finance Law, codified primarily in Title 9 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes. The finance charge amendments modify the tiered structure that has governed maximum permissible rates since earlier regulatory frameworks, affecting both licensed lenders and supervised financial organizations. The new disaster-related provisions incorporate federal definitions from 42 United States Code Section 5122(2) regarding FEMA major disaster declarations, creating automatic state-law remedies triggered by federal action. The financial literacy requirement intersects with existing lender obligations under R.S. 9:3530 and represents an expansion of consumer protection mandates without constitutional impediment, as states retain broad authority to regulate consumer credit transactions. The suspension of prescription provision operates in conjunction with Civil Code Article 3498, which governs prescription in contract matters, effectively tolling the running of prescription periods during the declared suspension window.