VT H0648

Consumer Litigation Funding Licensing: Changes consumer litigation funding companies from a "registration" to a "license" requirement, with $200 license fee, $300 application fee, and mandatory surety bond or letter of credit of at least $50,000 or double the largest funded amount in the prior three years

Virtual Currency Regulation: Explicitly includes virtual-currency business activity as a form of money transmission, adds new definitions for "exchange," "transfer," "virtual-currency kiosk," and "virtual-currency transaction," and requires kiosk operators to display Vermont license numbers on machines

Enhanced License Approval Standards: Requires businesses to demonstrate they will operate "honestly, fairly, and efficiently" and that licensing is "in the public interest"; disqualifies applicants with felony convictions within 7 years, or any fraud/money laundering felony regardless of timing

Financial Responsibility Criteria: Commissioner may consider outstanding judgments, tax liens, foreclosures within past 3 years, and patterns of seriously delinquent accounts when evaluating license applications

Money Transmitter Change of Control: Establishes $500 nonrefundable fee for change of control requests with 60-day Commissioner decision deadline; creates exemptions for proxy voting, inheritance, internal reorganizations, and fiduciary acquisitions

Terminology Modernization: Replaces "financial institution" with "regulated entity" in privacy provisions and "lending institution" in discrimination statutes to clarify application to credit unions, trust companies, and licensed lenders

Financial Institution Governance: Requires governing bodies of Vermont financial institutions to meet at least quarterly (four times per year); institutions meeting less than monthly must appoint an executive committee that meets monthly

Lending Limitations: Sets single borrower loan limit at 20% of capital and corporate group limit at 50% of capital; clarifies attribution rules for partnership obligations and corporate group loans

License Renewal and Expiration: Sets December 1 deadline for annual license renewals with automatic December 31 expiration; establishes 15-day appeal window for renewal denials with 60-day Commissioner decision requirement

Reverse Mortgage Consumer Protections: Requires counseling before accepting reverse mortgage applications and prohibits requiring annuity purchases; loans must comply with HUD Home Equity Conversion Mortgage Program or similar federal programs