PRIA, Government Policy, Made Personal

Summary

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau cannot make rules or take enforcement action against a car dealer that mainly sells, leases, or services motor vehicles. The Bureau also cannot supervise or order penalties against those dealers for that core business. There are limits. The Bureau can act when a dealer also does mortgage or real-estate financing, runs a business line that makes vehicle loans or leases directly to buyers and keeps the loan contracts, or offers other consumer financial products not tied to vehicles. Other federal agencies keep their powers over these dealers, and the Federal Trade Commission may make consumer-protection rules for them. The Board of Governors and the FTC must work with the Office of Service Member Affairs to educate and help service members and their families and to track and handle complaints. Motor vehicle means cars, boats, motorcycles, RVs, and other titled vehicles. Motor vehicle dealer means a person licensed by a state who takes title to or holds vehicles.

Title 12, §5519

Banks and Banking, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Sale, servicing, and leasing of motor vehicles excluded

Except as permitted in subsection (b), the Bureau may not exercise any rulemaking, supervisory, enforcement or any other authority, including any authority to order assessments, over a motor vehicle dealer that is predominantly engaged in the sale and servicing of motor vehicles, the leasing and servicing of motor vehicles, or both.

(b)Certain functions excepted

Subsection (a) shall not apply to any person, to the extent that such person—

(1)provides consumers with any services related to residential or commercial mortgages or self-financing transactions involving real property;

(2)operates a line of business—

(A)that involves the extension of retail credit or retail leases involving motor vehicles; and

(B)in which—

(i)the extension of retail credit or retail leases are provided directly to consumers; and

(ii)the contract governing such extension of retail credit or retail leases is not routinely assigned to an unaffiliated third party finance or leasing source; or

(3)offers or provides a consumer financial product or service not involving or related to the sale, financing, leasing, rental, repair, refurbishment, maintenance, or other servicing of motor vehicles, motor vehicle parts, or any related or ancillary product or service.

(c)Preservation of authorities of other agencies

Except as provided in subsections (b) and (d), nothing in this title, including subtitle F, shall be construed as modifying, limiting, or superseding the operation of any provision of Federal law, or otherwise affecting the authority of the Board of Governors, the Federal Trade Commission, or any other Federal agency, with respect to a person described in subsection (a).

(d)Federal Trade Commission authority

Notwithstanding section 57a of title 15, the Federal Trade Commission is authorized to prescribe rules under section 45 and 57a(a)(1)(B) of title 15. in accordance with section 553 of title 5, with respect to a person described in subsection (a).

(e)Coordination with Office of Service Member Affairs

The Board of Governors and the Federal Trade Commission shall coordinate with the Office of Service Member Affairs, to ensure that—

(1)service members and their families are educated and empowered to make better informed decisions regarding consumer financial products and services offered by motor vehicle dealers, with a focus on motor vehicle dealers in the proximity of military installations; and

(2)complaints by service members and their families concerning such motor vehicle dealers are effectively monitored and responded to, and where appropriate, enforcement action is pursued by the authorized agencies.

(f)Definitions

For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply:

(1)Motor vehicle

The term “motor vehicle” means—

(A)any self-propelled vehicle designed for transporting persons or property on a street, highway, or other road;

(B)recreational boats and marine equipment;

(C)motorcycles;

(D)motor homes, recreational vehicle trailers, and slide-in campers, as those terms are defined in section 571.3 and 575.103 (d) of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor thereto; and

(E)other vehicles that are titled and sold through dealers.

(2)Motor vehicle dealer

The term “motor vehicle dealer” means any person or resident in the United States, or any territory of the United States, who—

(A)is licensed by a State, a territory of the United States, or the District of Columbia to engage in the sale of motor vehicles; and

(B)takes title to, holds an ownership in, or takes physical custody of motor vehicles.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

This title, referred to in subsec. (c), is title X of Pub. L. 111–203, July 21, 2010, 124 Stat. 1955, known as the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010, which enacted this subchapter and enacted, amended, and repealed numerous other sections and notes in the Code. For complete classification of title X to the Code, see

Short Title

note set out under section 5301 of this title and Tables. Subtitle F, referred to in subsec. (c), is subtitle F (§§ 1061–1067) of title X of Pub. L. 111–203, July 21, 2010, 124 Stat. 2035, which is classified generally to part F (§ 5581 et seq.) of this subchapter. For complete classification of subtitle F to the Code, see Tables.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

Section effective on the designated transfer date, see section 1029A of Pub. L. 111–203, set out as a note under section 5511 of this title.

§5519 Exclusion for Auto Dealers