Introduced By: Senators Tavares and Connors
Date Introduced : February 10, 1998
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
SECTION 1. Section 19-9-32 of the General Laws in Chapter 19-9 entitled "Community Obligations and Banking Offenses" is hereby amended to read as follows:
19-9-32. Disclosure of arson conviction. -- (a)
Every financial institution making loans within this state secured
by an interest in real estate {DEL shall DEL} {ADD may ADD}
require applicants therefore to disclose whether or not the applicant
or applicants have been convicted of any degree of the crime of
arson as described in chapter 4 of title 11 within ten (10) years
prior to the date of application.
(b) A financial institution may use the existence of an arson conviction within ten (10) years of the application date as a reason to deny the application.
(c) Failure to disclose the existence of an arson conviction when requested upon a mortgage application shall be a misdemeanor punishable by a sentence of not more than one (1) year imprisonment.
(d) The mortgage application form shall indicate the existence of a criminal penalty for failure to disclose a conviction for arson.
(e) For the purpose of this section, the term "applicant" shall mean a natural person, trust, partnership, association, corporation or other form of business organization; provided, however, that if the applicant is a trust, the beneficiaries thereof shall be included, and if the applicant is a partnership, association, corporation or other form of business organization, each member, director, shareholder owning more than twenty percent (20%) of the common stock issued by the corporation, and principal officer thereof shall be included.
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.
