Mortgage agents are slow to get new licenses

Wednesday, June 30, 2004 | 9:16 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Not every law passed by the 2003 Legislature that takes effect Thursday will have its intended impact.

One new law that requires mortgage agents to be licensed by the state hasn't prompted many of the agents to apply, even though their applications are due Thursday, said Scott Bice, director of the state Division of Mortgage Lending.

Bice said there are an estimated 5,800 to 5,900 mortgage agents in Nevada but as many as 3,000 have yet to submit their applications.

Bice said mortgage broker companies have been notified of the licensing requirement. They will be prohibited from paying any agent who is not licensed as of Thursday.

Before Thursday, mortgage agents were required to register with the state, but the new licensing requirement gives the state more teeth to protect the consumer, he said.

In the past, the state didn't have the resources to conduct the background checks. His agency is now running the investigations and if it finds past violations, he can suspend or revoke licenses. A person who suffers disciplinary action can appeal to a state hearing officer to challenge the penalty.

The 2003 Legislature gave the state Department of Motor Vehicles the discretion to start a pilot program that could have started Thursday that would allow two-year registration of cars and trucks instead of one year.

But state officials said there's going to be a delay in kicking off the project.

Tom Jacobs, department spokesman, said it intends to "pursue this (the pilot project) when resources are available." He said the department's computer is tied up putting into effect the programs ordered by the Legislature. "We're going to give it a shot and it probably will be in the fall," he said.

Another new law that gave the state Department of Human Resources the discretion to apply for a federal Medicaid waiver to provide discounted drugs for seniors and disabled people who have incomes that are above the poverty level but are still considered low-income.

Charles Duarte, director of the Medicaid program, said that because Congress passed the Medicare prescription drug act, a large number of the state's low-income elderly will now qualify for the Medicare drug program.

Duarte said he doubted the federal government would give a waiver now that the federal drug program is getting off the ground.

And he said the state is discussing setting up its own low-cost prescription drug program for the disabled whose income is just above the poverty level. But no decision has been reached on that, he said.