Relating to the elimination of the remittance of a portion of certain loan administration fees to the comptroller.
Summary
HB 4738 amends the Texas Finance Code to eliminate the requirement that lenders remit a small portion of certain loan administrative fees to the comptroller. Under current law, a lender making or refinancing certain consumer loans may charge an administrative fee, and a portion of that fee—$1 under one provision and 50 cents under another—could be deposited with the comptroller to support the Finance Commission’s responsibilities. The bill removes those remittance provisions while leaving the underlying authority to charge the administrative fee in place.
The bill does not change the maximum administrative fee amounts, the rule that the fee is earned when the loan is made or refinanced, or the limits on how often the fee may be charged on refinancings. It also includes a standard savings clause preserving liability that accrued before the effective date. The act takes effect January 1, 2026.
Impact
HB 4738 narrows the state’s role in collecting and directing a small portion of loan administration fees under Finance Code Sections 342.201 and 342.308. It removes the statutory language authorizing a portion of those fees to be deposited with the comptroller for finance-commission-related purposes, which means lenders will no longer remit those amounts under the affected provisions after the effective date. The bill primarily affects lenders offering covered consumer loans and the state agencies that previously received or administered those remittances.
Sentiment
The bill appears to have been broadly noncontroversial. It passed the House and Senate with unanimous or near-unanimous support, with no recorded opposition votes in the final passage votes. The absence of committee testimony in the provided record also suggests limited public dispute or debate around the measure.
Contention
There is little visible contention in the available record. The only substantive policy change is the elimination of the remittance of a small portion of administrative fees to the comptroller, which may reduce funding for the Finance Commission’s related responsibilities. Any concern would likely come from state finance or regulatory stakeholders affected by the loss of that dedicated revenue, while lenders may favor the reduced remittance burden. No organized opposition is reflected in the vote history provided.
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