| Page 2 of 2 < |
Bill Would Allow For-Profit Debt Firms to Operate
"The bill's a disgrace," Sen. Brian E. Frosh (D-Montgomery) said.
(James M Thresher - Twp)
TOOLBOX
   Resize
COMMENT
 Discussion Policy
 CLOSE
Comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.
Who's Blogging  |
Croxson yesterday called the inquiries a "review" and acknowledged that Maryland and other states have "asked for records to ensure that the company is complying with [consumer protection] laws."
The office of Attorney General Douglas Gansler has not taken a position on the bill to license for-profit companies. "For all the information we have given to Maryland, they've decided not to oppose this law," Croxson said.
Steven Silverman, chief of the attorney general's consumer protection division, said he had "great faith" in Maryland's financial regulators to oversee the for-profit industry "along with the nonprofit." He said the bill has been amended to beef up reporting requirements by any for-profit company detailing success rates in eliminating debt.
Rep. Brian Feldman (D-Montgomery), the bill's House sponsor, said he is confident that the law regulating nonprofit debt counseling firms would provide tools to "go after bad apples" in the for-profit industry.
"Just because a company is nonprofit doesn't make them any less likely to behave untowardly than a for-profit," he said. The IRS in recent years revoked the licenses of 11 nonprofits in Maryland; nine are challenging the move. "We're going to end up with zero companies doing what is in some cases a good service," Feldman said.
The O'Malley administration also has not taken a position on the bill. But Sarah Bloom Raskin, Maryland's commissioner of financial regulation, said she is skeptical that the General Assembly would license for-profit companies knowing little about their performance.
"Given the subprime loan and foreclosure crisis we see now . . . I think we need to evaluate the demand for debt management services in Maryland and impact on consumers," she said.
