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PA Bulletin, Doc. No. 01-875

NOTICES

Notice of Comments Issued

[31 Pa.B. 2642]

   Section 5(d) and (g) of the Regulatory Review Act (71 P. S. § 745.5(d) and (g)) provide that the designated standing committees may issue comments within 20 days of the close of the public comment period, and the Commission may issue comments within 10 days of the close of the committees' comment period. The Commission's comments are based upon the criteria contained in section 5.1(h) and (i) of the Regulatory Review Act (71 P. S. § 745.5a(h) and (i)).

   The Commission issued comments on the following proposed regulation. The agency must consider these comments in preparing the final-form regulation. The final-form regulation must be submitted by the date indicated.

Final-Form
Submission
Reg. No. Agency/Title Issued Deadline
3-40 Department of Banking 05/03/01 04/02/03
   Mortgage Bankers and
      Brokers;
         Continuing Education

Department of Banking
Regulation No. 3-40
Mortgage Bankers and Brokers; Continuing Education
May 3, 2001

   We submit for consideration the following objections and recommendations regarding this regulation. Each objection or recommendation includes a reference to the criteria in the Regulatory Review Act (71 P. S. § 745.5a(h) and (i)) which have not been met. The Department of Banking (Department) must respond to these Comments when it submits the final-form regulation. If the final-form regulation is not delivered by April 2, 2003, the regulation will be deemed withdrawn.

1.  Section 44.2. Requirements.--Statutory authority; Clarity.

   Under subsection (c), the Department ''may require an applicant for a new license to meet the applicable continuing education requirement . . . if it appears to the Department that the continuing education requirement is being improperly avoided through restructuring of the business or otherwise.'' We have two issues with this subsection.

   First, the Mortgage Bankers and Brokers Act (63 P. S. § 456.04(e)) requires completion of the continuing education requirements to maintain a license. What is the statutory authority to require completion of continuing education requirements prior to granting a license?

   Second, the requirement is vague. Phrases like ''may require'' and ''if it appears'' do not provide adequate notice of the circumstances under which the Department will require an applicant to meet continuing education requirements. Also, this subsection does not list the criteria the Department will use to determine whether the continuing education requirement is being avoided. Therefore, these phrases should be replaced with timelines and criteria in the final-form regulation.

2.  Section 44.3. Reporting, verification and recordkeeping.--Reasonableness; Clarity.

   We have two issues within subsection (b). The first sentence states ''The Department may verify, on a random or other basis, by methods including examination of the licensee and satisfactory completion of the requirements of this chapter.'' This sentence appears to be grammatically incorrect and should be rewritten. As written, it does not state what will be verified.

   The second sentence states ''The Department may assess licensees examination costs for the examinations consistent with section 8(a)(4) of the act (63 P. S. § 456.8(a)(4)).'' Because it addresses a different subject, this sentence should be separated into a new subsection within § 44.3.

3.  Section 44.4. Review and approval.--Clarity.

   This section states ''The Department may review and approve continuing education programs to satisfy the continuing education requirement.'' Also included in this section is the term ''continuing education program,'' which is defined in § 44.1 (relating to definitions). The definition for this term describes what a ''continuing education program'' entails. However, this section does not include a process for the review and approval of a continuing education program. How are continuing education programs approved?

   The review and approval process for continuing education programs should be established through regulation. To allow the opportunity for public comment, the process should be proposed as a separate rulemaking.

JOHN R. MCGINLEY, Jr.,   
Chairperson

[Pa.B. Doc. No. 01-875. Filed for public inspection May 18, 2001, 9:00 a.m.]


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