Tennessee proposes rules to implement Debt Resolution Services Act, sets $4,000 license fee

Joseph Wharton, associate general counsel in the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance, opened a Jan. 13 rulemaking hearing to solicit public comment on proposed regulations implementing the Debt Resolution Services Act and amending the state's debt management provider registration rules.

Wharton said the proposed chapter for the new Debt Resolution Services Program would “institute the registration and regulation of providers of debt resolution services and to protect the interest of consumers,” and that the proposal establishes a nonrefundable fee of $4,000 for an initial debt resolution service license and a $4,000 renewal fee. He also read provisions requiring applications on a form prescribed by the commissioner, signed under penalty of perjury, and including criminal-history checks and fingerprints as required by TCA section 47-18-5805(b).

Under the proposed rules, a license to provide debt resolution services would…