As Amended
SEC. 81-18-21. Maintenance and investigation of business records; biennial investigation; examination fee; department authorized to examine persons suspected of conducting business requiring a license. [Repealed effective July 1, 2007].
(1) Any person required to be licensed under this chapter shall maintain in its offices, or such other location as the department shall permit, the books, accounts and records necessary for the department to determine whether or not the person is complying with the provisions of this chapter and the rules and regulations adopted by the department under this chapter. These books, accounts and records shall be maintained apart and separate from any other business in which the person is involved and may represent historical data for three (3) years preceding the date of the last license application date forward. The books, accounts and records shall be kept in a secure location under conditions that will not lead to their damage or destruction. If the mortgage company wishes to keep the files in a location other than the location listed on the license or registration certificate, then the company first must submit a written request on a form designated by the department and gain written approval from the commissioner before storing the files in a different location.
(2) To assure compliance with the provisions of this chapter, the department may examine the books and records of any licensee without notice during normal business hours. The commissioner shall charge the licensee an examination fee in an amount not less than Three Hundred Dollars ($300.00) nor more than Six Hundred Dollars ($600.00) for each office or location within the State of Mississippi, plus any actual expenses incurred while examining the licensee's records or books that are located outside the State of Mississippi. However, in no event shall a licensee be examined more than once in a two-year period unless for cause shown based upon consumer complaint and/or other exigent reasons as determined by the commissioner.
(3) The department, its designated officers and employees, or its duly authorized representatives, for the purposes of discovering violations of this chapter and for the purpose of determining whether any person or individual reasonably suspected by the commissioner of conducting business that requires a license or registration under this chapter, may investigate those persons and individuals and examine all relevant books, records and papers employed by those persons or individuals in the transaction of business, and may summon witnesses and examine them under oath concerning matters as to the business of those persons, or other such matters as may be relevant to the discovery of violations of this chapter including, without limitation, the conduct of business without a license or registration as required under this chapter.
(4) The department, in its discretion, may disclose information concerning any violation of this chapter or any rule, regulation, or order under this chapter, provided the information is derived from a final order of the department.
(5) Examinations and investigations conducted under this chapter and information obtained by the department, except as provided in subsection (4) of this section, in the course of its duties under this chapter are confidential.
(6) In the absence of malice, fraud or bad faith a person is not subject to civil liability arising from the filing of a complaint with the department, furnishing other information required by this chapter, information required by the department under the authority granted in this chapter, or information voluntarily given to the department related to allegations that a licensee or prospective licensee has violated this chapter.
SOURCES: Laws, 2000, Ch.579, §11, SB3100; Laws, 2002, ch. 500, § 12, HB 1522; Laws, 2004, ch. 364, § 12, HB 788, eff from and after passage (approved Apr. 20, 2004.).
PREVIOUS VERSIONS: Pre-2004.