LICENSE REQUIRED

(a) A person must hold a license issued under this chapter to: (1) engage in the business of making, transacting, or negotiating property tax loans; or (2) contract for, charge, or receive, directly or indirectly, in connection with a property tax loan subject to this chapter, a charge, including interest, compensation, consideration, or another expense, authorized under this chapter or Chapter 32, Tax Code. (b) A person may not use any device, subterfuge, or pretense to evade the application of this section. (c) Except as provided by Section 351.003, this chapter does not apply to: (1) any of the following entities or an employee of any of the following entities, if the employee is acting for the benefit of the employer: (A) a bank, savings bank, or savings and loan association, or a subsidiary or an affiliate of a bank, savings bank, or savings and loan association; or (B) a state or federal credit union, or a subsidiary, affiliate, or credit union service organization of a state or federal credit union; or (2) an individual who: (A) is related to the property owner within the second degree of consanguinity or affinity, as determined under Chapter 573, Government Code; or (B) makes five or fewer property tax loans in any consecutive 12-month period from the individual's own funds. (d) A property tax lender licensed under this chapter is not required to be licensed under Chapter 156 or any other provision of this code.