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U.S. Code as of:
01/19/04
Section 1691d. Applicability of other laws
(a) Requests for signature of husband and wife for creation of
valid lien, etc.
A request for the signature of both parties to a marriage for the
purpose of creating a valid lien, passing clear title, waiving
inchoate rights to property, or assigning earnings, shall not
constitute discrimination under this subchapter: Provided, however,
That this provision shall not be construed to permit a creditor to
take sex or marital status into account in connection with the
evaluation of creditworthiness of any applicant.
(b) State property laws affecting creditworthiness
Consideration or application of State property laws directly or
indirectly affecting creditworthiness shall not constitute
discrimination for purposes of this subchapter.
(c) State laws prohibiting separate extension of consumer credit to
husband and wife
Any provision of State law which prohibits the separate extension
of consumer credit to each party to a marriage shall not apply in
any case where each party to a marriage voluntarily applies for
separate credit from the same creditor: Provided, That in any case
where such a State law is so preempted, each party to the marriage
shall be solely responsible for the debt so contracted.
(d) Combining credit accounts of husband and wife with same
creditor to determine permissible finance charges or loan
ceilings under Federal or State laws
When each party to a marriage separately and voluntarily applies
for and obtains separate credit accounts with the same creditor,
those accounts shall not be aggregated or otherwise combined for
purposes of determining permissible finance charges or permissible
loan ceilings under the laws of any State or of the United States.
(e) Election of remedies under subchapter or State law; nature of
relief determining applicability
Where the same act or omission constitutes a violation of this
subchapter and of applicable State law, a person aggrieved by such
conduct may bring a legal action to recover monetary damages either
under this subchapter or under such State law, but not both. This
election of remedies shall not apply to court actions in which the
relief sought does not include monetary damages or to
administrative actions.
(f) Compliance with inconsistent State laws; determination of
inconsistency
This subchapter does not annul, alter, or affect, or exempt any
person subject to the provisions of this subchapter from complying
with, the laws of any State with respect to credit discrimination,
except to the extent that those laws are inconsistent with any
provision of this subchapter, and then only to the extent of the
inconsistency. The Board is authorized to determine whether such
inconsistencies exist. The Board may not determine that any State
law is inconsistent with any provision of this subchapter if the
Board determines that such law gives greater protection to the
applicant.
(g) Exemption by regulation of credit transactions covered by State
law; failure to comply with State law
The Board shall by regulation exempt from the requirements of
sections 1691 and 1691a of this title any class of credit
transactions within any State if it determines that under the law
of that State that class of transactions is subject to requirements
substantially similar to those imposed under this subchapter or
that such law gives greater protection to the applicant, and that
there is adequate provision for enforcement. Failure to comply with
any requirement of such State law in any transaction so exempted
shall constitute a violation of this subchapter for the purposes of
section 1691e of this title.
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