Colo. Rev. Stat. § 5-20-103

Current through 11/5/2024 election

Section 5-20-103 - Definitions

As used in this article 20, unless the context otherwise requires:

(1) "Administrator" means the administrator designated in section 5-6-103.

(2) "Consumer reporting agency" has the meaning established in section 5-18-103 (4).

(3) "Education expenses" means any expense related, in whole or in part, expressly to financing postsecondary education, regardless of whether the debt incurred by a student to pay those expenses is owed to the provider of postsecondary education whose school, program, or facility the student attends.

(4) "Record" means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in perceivable form.

(5) "Servicing" means:

(a)

(I) Receiving any scheduled periodic payments from a borrower or notification of such payments; and

(II) Applying payments to the borrower's account pursuant to the terms of a student education loan or of the contract governing the servicing;

(b) During a period when no payment is required on a student education loan:

(I) Maintaining account records for the student education loan; and

(II) Communicating with the borrower regarding the student education loan, on behalf of the loan's holder; or

(c) Interactions with a borrower, including activities to help prevent default on obligations arising from student education loans, conducted to facilitate the activities described in subsection (5)(a) or (5)(b) of this section.

(6) "Student education loan":

(a) Means a loan that is made, insured, or guaranteed under Title IV of the federal "Higher Education Act of 1965", 20 U.S.C. sec. 1070 et seq., as amended, or that is extended to a student loan borrower for the purpose of funding, in whole or in part, education expenses. The term includes a loan that is extended in order to refinance or consolidate a student loan borrower's existing student education loans.

(b) Does not include a loan under an open-end credit plan, as defined in Regulation Z, 12 CFR 1026.2 (a)(20), or a loan that is secured by real property, regardless of the purpose for the loan.

(7) "Student loan borrower" or "borrower" means:

(a) An individual who has received or agreed to pay a student education loan; and

(b) For purposes of this part 1 only, an individual who shares responsibility with the individual specified in subsection (7)(a) of this section for repaying the student education loan.

(8) "Student loan servicer":

(a) Means a person that:

(I)

(A) Receives any scheduled periodic payments from a student loan borrower or notification of the payments; and

(B) Applies payments to the student loan borrower's account pursuant to the terms of the student education loan or of the contract governing the servicing;

(II) During a period when no payment is required on a student education loan:

(A) Maintains account records for the loan; and

(B) Communicates with the student loan borrower regarding the loan, on behalf of the loan's holder; or

(III) Interacts with a student loan borrower, including activities to help prevent default on obligations arising from education loans, conducted to facilitate the activities described in subsection (8)(a)(I) or (8)(a)(II) of this section;

(b) Does not include:

(I) A bank, trust company, or industrial loan company doing business under the authority of, or in accordance with, a license, certificate, or charter issued by the United States or any state, district, territory, or commonwealth of the United States that is authorized to transact business in this state;

(II) A federally chartered savings and loan association, federal savings bank, or federal credit union that is authorized to transact business in this state;

(III) A savings and loan association, savings bank, or credit union organized under the laws of this or any other state that is authorized to transact business in this state;

(IV) Except as otherwise provided in section 5-20-203, a collection agency, as defined in section 5-16-103 (3), whether or not licensed pursuant to section 5-16-120, whose student loan debt collection business involves collecting or attempting to collect on defaulted student loans; except that a collection agency that also services nondefaulted student loans as part of its business is a student loan servicer. For the purpose of this subsection (8)(b)(IV), "defaulted student loans" means federal student loans for which no payment has been received for two hundred seventy days or more or private education loans in default according to the terms of the loan documents. This subsection (8)(b)(IV) does not exempt a collection agency from complying with the requirements of the "Colorado Fair Debt Collection Practices Act", article 16 of this title 5.

(V) An agency, instrumentality, or political subdivision of this state, but only to the extent that servicing is performed through section 23-1-112 and pursuant to article 3.1 of title 23. This subsection (8)(b)(V) does not exempt a nongovernmental entity that performs student loan servicing pursuant to a contract with an agency, instrumentality, or political subdivision of the state.

C.R.S. § 5-20-103

Amended by 2021 Ch. 378, §4, eff. 6/29/2021.

Added by 2019 Ch. 157, §2, eff. 8/2/2019.

L. 2019: Entire article added, (SB 19-002), ch. 1856, p. 1856, § 2, effective August 2.

Section 19 of chapter 378 (SB 21-057), Session Laws of Colorado 2021, provides that the act changing this section applies to conduct occurring on or after June 29, 2021, including collection of debts arising out of loans issued before June 29, 2021.