Cal. Code Regs. Tit. 10, § 1620.11 - PACE Solicitor Enrollment Standards and Processes

(a) Every program administrator shall establish and maintain a written process for enrolling a PACE solicitor that complies with the requirements of this rule.

(1) A program administrator may not authorize a PACE solicitor or a PACE solicitor agent to solicit a property owner to enter into an assessment contract until the program administrator enrolls the PACE solicitor and PACE solicitor agent.

(2) A program administrator may not fund a home improvement contract if the PACE financing was solicited by a person not enrolled as a PACE solicitor or PACE solicitor agent, unless the person was not required to be enrolled as a PACE solicitor or PACE solicitor agent at the time of solicitation.

(b) The written enrollment process must include, at a minimum, the following requirements:

(1) Provisions requiring an enrolled PACE solicitor to maintain in good standing any license or registration from the Contractors' State License Board required by law.

(2) Provisions requiring an enrolled PACE solicitor to comply with the laws regarding PACE programs applicable to the activities of PACE solicitors, including but not limited to those set forth in division 7 of the Streets and Highways Code, division 16 of the Public Resources Code, and division 9 of the Financial Code.

(3) Provisions that restrict enrollment to PACE solicitors that agree to comply with the following requirements:

(A)

1. An enrolled PACE solicitor may only solicit a property owner to enter into an assessment contract arranged by the program administrator to finance efficiency improvements that are approved under the PACE program administered by the program administrator.

2. This subparagraph shall not restrict the ability of a PACE solicitor to offer other home improvements or to arrange financing for a property owner through other means, including the PACE programs of other licensed program administrators with whom the PACE solicitor is enrolled.

3. A PACE solicitor shall notify the program administrator if a property owner is considering PACE programs of other licensed program administrators so the program administrator may ensure multiple assessment contracts are not recorded for the same efficiency improvements.

(B) A PACE solicitor must deliver a copy of the assessment contract and the disclosures required by Streets and Highways Code section 5898.16 or 5898.17 to a property owner, if under the arrangement with the program administrator, the PACE solicitor agrees to deliver these documents. This provision shall not relieve a program administrator from any obligation to ensure a property owner receives the PACE disclosures required by law.

(C)

1. The PACE solicitor will not begin work on a home improvement contract financed by an assessment contract if the conditions of subdivision (a) of Streets and Highways Code section 5940 are met, unless the property owner waives his or her right to cancel on the home improvement contract as provided under subdivision (e) of that section.

2. The PACE solicitor will not execute a home improvement contract nor begin work under a home improvement contract that is financed by an assessment contract unless the criteria set forth in Financial Code section 22684 are satisfied.

(D) The PACE solicitor will be responsible for the actions of a PACE solicitor agent when the agent is acting on behalf of the PACE solicitor. This provision does not affect any responsibility a program administrator may otherwise have for the acts of a PACE solicitor or a PACE solicitor agent.

(E) The PACE solicitor will require each PACE solicitor agent employed or retained by the PACE solicitor to undertake the training and testing required by Financial Code section 22681.

(F) The PACE solicitor will notify the program administrator of property owner inquiries and complaints regarding the assessment contract and the home improvement contract that are unresolved to the property owner's satisfaction for a month or more.

(G) The PACE solicitor will not make any statement or representation in regard to a PACE program that the PACE solicitor knows, or reasonably should have known, to be false, misleading, or deceptive, or that omits material information that is necessary to make any statement made not false, misleading or deceptive.

(H) The PACE solicitor will only advertise a PACE program in accordance with the program administrator's procedures to prevent deceptive advertising and will maintain advertising of PACE financing as required by the program administrator to conduct a periodic compliance review.

(I) The PACE solicitor will notify the program administrator if the PACE solicitor knows that the property owner has sought, authorized, or obtained any other PACE assessment on the property.

(J) A PACE solicitor will maintain a process for responding to complaints about PACE financing that includes any requirements developed by the program administrator to expedite resolution of the complaints and to review complaint resolutions as a component of the periodic review of the PACE solicitor.

(c) A program administrator shall establish and maintain a written process to evaluate readily and publicly available information on a PACE solicitor for the purpose of obtaining information on the qualifications of a PACE solicitor and a PACE solicitor agent for enrollment, and to conduct the review of the PACE solicitor required by subdivision (e) of Financial Code section 22680 and section 1620.13 of these rules.

(1) To review readily and publicly available information about each PACE solicitor, a program administrator shall establish and implement a process for reviewing the following.

(A) The Contractors State License Board's website.

(B) One or more business or consumer rating website, if applicable.

(C) The Department of Financial Protection and Innovation's website.

(D) Any other source identified by the program administrator as necessary to evaluate the readily and publicly available information on a PACE solicitor, such as subscription-based services or court records.

(2)

(A) The process established and maintained by the program administrator need not include a review of all publicly available information, provided that the process is designed to include a review of a sufficient sample of public sources of information that is likely to contain consumer feedback regarding the business practices of a PACE solicitor.

(B) The process established and maintained by the program administrator shall include a review of all of the current and past licenses and registrations the PACE solicitor holds or has held with the Contractors State License Board, to the extent this information is readily and publicly available.

(3) The program administrator shall establish standards for evaluating public information obtained pursuant to this rule to guide the program administrator in making any of the findings in subdivision (e) of Financial Code section 22680 in accordance with the requirements of section 1620.13 of these rules.

(A) The standards shall provide a benchmark for the program administrator to evaluate past civil and criminal actions, license or registration discipline, and consumer complaints involving the PACE solicitor that are related to the functions of a PACE solicitor.

(B) In establishing the standards, the program administrator shall consider the frequency of activity, the volume of the activity, whether the activity resulted in consumer harm, the time since the activity, evidence of rehabilitation, restitution, and accountability.

(4) The program administrator shall document the results of the review of publicly available information and maintain the documentation of findings in its books and records as required by section 1620.07 of these rules.

(d)

(1) A program administrator shall notify the Commissioner of the enrollment, or cancellation or withdrawal of enrollment, of a PACE solicitor and a solicitor agent through a daily electronic transfer of data between 7:00 p.m. and 3:00 a.m. Pacific Standard Time.

(A) The program administrator shall upload a .TXT file containing information required by subparagraph (d)(2)(a) of this section for each enrolled, canceled, or withdrawn PACE solicitor and solicitor agent.

(B) If a program administrator cancels or withdraws the enrollment of a PACE solicitor or solicitor agent, the program administrator must update the record for the PACE solicitor or solicitor agent to reflect both that the PACE solicitor or solicitor agent is no longer enrolled, and the date enrollment ended.

(C) The removal of PACE solicitor or solicitor agent record from the data file will not remove the PACE solicitor or solicitor agent from the Department's records and the Department's records will continue to reflect the PACE solicitor or solicitor agent as enrolled with the program administrator until the program administrator reports that the enrollment has ended and provides the date enrollment ended.

(D) If a PACE solicitor is not required by CSLB to have a CSLB license number, the program administrator shall provide the federal employer identification number (EIN) of the PACE solicitor and maintain in its books and records documentation and an explanation supporting the reason that the PACE solicitor is not subject to or exempt from licensure by the Contractors State License Board.

(E) The transferred data may not contain duplicate records. A record is a duplicate for a PACE solicitor if the record contains the same CSLB license number and physical address as another record, or if the record contains the same EIN and physical address of another record.

(F) The daily transfer of data must include records for all enrolled, canceled, and withdrawn PACE solicitors and solicitor agents and is not limited to the records amended that day.

(2)

(A) The data submitted in the .TXT file for PACE solicitors shall include the following required fields: the program administrator legal name, the name under which the program is marketed, the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System (NMLS) Unique Identifier of the program administrator, the PACE solicitor legal business name, the Contractors State License Board license number of the PACE solicitor or "exempt" if the PACE solicitor is not required to be licensed by the CSLB, the physical address of the PACE solicitor, the business phone number of the PACE solicitor, the primary business email address of the PACE solicitor, the status of the enrollment (whether enrolled or not enrolled); the tracking number used by the program administrator for the PACE solicitor, and a contact name and number for the PACE solicitor.

(B) The data shall include the following conditional fields: if the PACE solicitor is not required by CSLB to have a Contractors State License Board license, then the program administrator shall provide the federal Employer Identification Number (EIN) of the PACE solicitor; and if the enrollment status of the PACE solicitor is canceled or withdrawn, then the program administrator shall provide the date enrollment ended.

(C) The data shall include the following fields, if the following information is available to the program administrator and applicable to the PACE solicitor: the DBA of the PACE solicitor; the CSLB license classification of the PACE solicitor; the mailing address of the PACE solicitor; the business FAX number of the PACE solicitor; the business website of the PACE solicitor; the mobile phone number of the contact person for the PACE solicitor; and the email address of the contact person for the PACE solicitor.

(3)

(A) The data submitted in the .TXT file for solicitor agents shall include the following required fields: the program administrator legal name, the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System (NMLS) Unique Identifier of the program administrator, the first and last name of each PACE solicitor agent, the phone number of the PACE solicitor agent, the contact email of the PACE solicitor agent, the identification number used by the program administrator to track the PACE solicitor agent, the mailing address of the PACE solicitor agent, the enrollment date of the PACE solicitor agent, the enrollment status of the PACE solicitor agent (enrolled or not enrolled), the identity of the PACE solicitor employing or retaining the PACE solicitor agent, and the program administrator's identification number for the PACE solicitor employing or retaining the PACE solicitor agent.

(B) The data shall include the following conditional field: if the enrollment status of the PACE solicitor agent is canceled or withdrawn, then a program administrator must provide the date enrollment ended.

(C)

1. The data shall include the PACE solicitor agent's middle name, if the information is available to the program administrator and applicable to the PACE solicitor agent.

2. The data shall include the PACE solicitor agent's CSLB Home Improvement Salesperson (HIS) registration number unless the PACE solicitor agent is not required by the CSLB to be registered with the CSLB.

(4) The Commissioner may reject electronic records that fail to meet the formatting standard necessary to populate the Department's database, which shall include string, numeric, and date data types for the corresponding data fields, and shall notify the program administrator by email of any rejected records.

(5) A program administrator who receives notice of a rejected record shall correct the formatting deficiency and resubmit the record the following day in accordance with the electronic file transfer schedule in paragraph (d)(1).

Notes

Cal. Code Regs. Tit. 10, § 1620.11

Note: Authority cited: Section 22150, Financial Code. Reference: Sections 22017 and 22680, Financial Code; and Section 5940, Streets and Highways Code.

1. New section filed 8-5-2021; operative 10-1-2021 (Register 2021, No. 32). Transmission deadline specified in Government Code section 11346.4(b) extended 60 calendar days pursuant to Executive Order N-40-20 and an additional 60 calendar days pursuant to Executive Order N-71-20. Filing deadline specified in Government Code section 11349.3(a) extended 60 calendar days pursuant to Executive Order N-40-20 and an additional 60 calendar days pursuant to Executive Order N-71-20.