California: State Approves “Mini-CFPB” Expanding Regulatory Authority

On September 25, 2020, the Governor of California signed a package of bills into law aimed at protecting consumers in the state from financial predators and abusive business practices. Included in the package is AB 1864, which establishes the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) and adds 90 positions over the next three years to transform the agency into California’s version of the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).

While timeshare is not a specific target for the new agency, its jurisdiction will cover a broad range of activity engaged in by businesses in the timeshare industry, including consumer sales, loans and financing, consumer credit, advertising, and debt collection.  The legislative authors of the package and the Governor have stated that it is intended to provide authority for aggressive enforcement activity similar to the early years of the CFPB under President Obama.  More details on the legislation can be found here.

As the advocate for issues that affect the vacation ownership industry, ARDA will continue to closely monitor any issues that arise that would adversely impact timeshare developers as the newly created agency is implemented and begins operations.