Money Transmission Act.

Existing law, the Money Transmission Act, provides for the regulation of money transmissions and, unless an exemption applies, requires the licensure by the Commissioner of Business Oversight of persons, including corporations and limited liability companies, to engage in this activity. Existing law declares the need to regulate money transmission businesses in the state, to maintain public confidence in financial institutions doing business in this state, and to preserve the health, safety, and general welfare of the people of California. Under existing law, a licensee under the act is required to file various reports with the commissioner with specified information, including the total volume of activities, number of transactions conducted, and outstanding money transmissions in California and the United States in a given calendar year quarter, as specified. Existing law makes it a felony to intentionally make a false statement, misrepresentation, or false certification in a record filed or required to be maintained under the act, or to knowingly engage in an activity for which a license is required without being licensed or exempt from licensure. This bill would exempt from the requirements of the act a transaction in which the recipient of the money or other monetary value is an agent of the payee pursuant to a preexisting written contract and delivery of the money or other monetary value to the agent satisfies the payor's obligation to the payee. The bill would revise and reorganize various provisions of the act relating to, among other things, the definition of relevant terms under the act and the required contents of license applications and customer receipts. The bill would require that the report described above also include, if feasible, whether an outstanding money transmission was conducted via a mobile application or an Internet Web site. By expanding the scope of an existing crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would authorize the commissioner to exercise any power set forth in the act with respect to a money transmission business, if necessary for the general welfare of the public, regardless of the licensure status of the money transmission business. The bill would revise provisions relating to the commissioner's authority to provide guidance to prospective applicants for a license to operate a money transmission business. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.