07 LC 34
0946
House
Bill 130
By:
Representatives Hill of the
21st,
Mills of the
25th,
Meadows of the
5th,
England of the
108th,
and Benton of the
31st
A
BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
AN ACT
To
amend Article 34 of Chapter 1 of Title 10 of the Official Code of Georgia
Annotated, relative to protection from identity theft, so as to provide for
security freezes; to provide for definitions; to provide for procedures for
placing, removing, and temporarily lifting a security freeze; to provide for
related matters; to provide for an effective date; to repeal conflicting laws;
and for other purposes.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION
1.
Article
34 of Chapter 1 of Title 10 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating
to identity theft, is amended by adding new Code sections to read as
follows:
"10-1-913.
(a)
As used in this Code section and in Code Section 10-1-914, the
term:
(1)
'Consumer' means a natural individual residing in this state.
(2)
'Consumer credit report' means any written, oral, or other communication of any
information by a consumer credit reporting agency bearing on a consumer´s
creditworthiness, credit standing, or credit capacity which is used or is
expected to be used or collected, in whole or in part, for the purpose of
serving as a factor in establishing the consumer´s eligibility for any of
the following:
(A)
Credit to be used primarily for personal, family, or household
purposes;
(B)
Employment purposes; or
(C)
Any other purpose authorized under 15 U.S.C. Section 1681b. The definition of a
'consumer credit report' encompasses the exclusions to the definition of a
consumer report as set forth in 15 U.S.C. Section 1681a(d)(2).
(3)
'Consumer credit reporting agency' means any person who, for monetary fees,
dues, or on a cooperative nonprofit basis, regularly engages in whole or in part
in the practice of assembling or evaluating consumer credit information or other
information on consumers for the purpose of furnishing consumer credit reports
to third parties.
(4)
'Person' means any individual, partnership, corporation, trust, estate,
cooperative, association, government, or governmental subdivision or agency, or
other entity.
(5)
'Proper identification' means information generally deemed sufficient to
identify a person for consumer reporting agency purposes under 15 U.S.C. Section
1681 et seq.
(6)
'Security freeze' means a restriction placed on a consumer credit report at the
request of the consumer that prohibits a consumer credit reporting agency from
releasing all or any part of the consumer´s consumer credit report or any
information derived from the consumer´s consumer credit report for a
purpose relating to the extension of credit without the express authorization of
the consumer.
10-1-914.
(a)
A consumer may place a security freeze on the consumer´s credit report by
making a request in writing by certified mail to a consumer credit reporting
agency. A security freeze shall prohibit, subject to exceptions in subsection
(l) of this Code section, the consumer credit reporting agency from releasing
the consumer´s credit report or credit score without the prior express
authorization of the consumer as provided in subsection (d) or (e) of this Code
section. Nothing in this subsection prevents a consumer credit reporting agency
from advising a third party that a security freeze is in effect with respect to
the consumer´s credit report.
(b)
A consumer credit reporting agency shall place a security freeze on a
consumer´s credit report no later than five business days after receiving
the consumer´s written request sent by certified mail.
(c)
The consumer credit reporting agency shall send a written confirmation of the
security freeze to the consumer within ten business days of placing the security
freeze and at the same time shall provide the consumer with a unique personal
identification number or password, other than the consumer´s social
security number, to be used by the consumer when providing authorization for the
release of the consumer´s credit report for a specific period of
time.
(d)
If the consumer wishes to allow the consumer´s credit report to be accessed
for a specific period of time while a security freeze is in place, the consumer
shall contact the consumer credit reporting agency through the contact method
established by the consumer credit reporting agency, request that the security
freeze be temporarily lifted, and provide all of the following:
(1)
Proper identification;
(2)
The unique personal identification number or password provided by the consumer
credit reporting agency pursuant to subsection (c) of this Code
section;
(3)
The proper information regarding the time period for which the report shall be
available to users of the consumer credit report; and
(4)
The proper fee as may be required by the consumer credit reporting
agency.
(e)
A consumer credit reporting agency may develop procedures involving the use of
telephone, facsimile, the Internet, or other electronic media to receive and
process a request from a consumer to temporarily lift a security freeze on a
consumer credit report pursuant to subsection (d) of this Code
section.
(f)
A consumer credit reporting agency that receives a request from a consumer to
temporarily lift a security freeze on a consumer credit report pursuant to
subsection (d) or (e) of this section shall comply with the request no later
than three business days after receiving the request.
(g)
A consumer credit reporting agency shall remove or temporarily lift a security
freeze placed on a consumer´s credit report only in the following
cases:
(1)
Upon the consumer´s request, pursuant to subsection (d), (e), or (j) of
this Code section; and
(2)
If the consumer´s credit report was frozen due to a material
misrepresentation of fact by the consumer. If a consumer credit reporting
agency intends to remove a security freeze upon a consumer´s credit report
pursuant to this paragraph, the consumer credit reporting agency shall notify
the consumer in writing prior to removing the security freeze on the
consumer´s credit report.
(h)
If a third party requests access to a consumer credit report on which a security
freeze is in effect and this request is in connection with an application for
credit or any other use related to the extension of credit and the consumer does
not allow the consumer´s credit report to be accessed for that specific
period of time, the third party may treat the application as
incomplete.
(i)
If a consumer requests a security freeze pursuant to this Code section, the
consumer credit reporting agency shall disclose to the consumer the process of
placing and temporarily lifting a security freeze and the process for allowing
access to information from the consumer´s credit report for a specific
period of time while the security freeze is in place.
(j)
A security freeze shall remain in place until the consumer requests that the
security freeze be removed. A consumer credit reporting agency shall remove a
security freeze within three business days of receiving a request for removal
from the consumer, who shall provide all of the following:
(1)
Proper identification;
(2)
The unique personal identification number or password provided by the consumer
credit reporting agency pursuant to subsection (c) of this Code section;
and
(3)
The proper fee as may be required by the consumer credit reporting
agency.
(k)
A consumer credit reporting agency shall require proper identification of the
person making a request to place, temporarily lift, or remove a security
freeze.
(l)
By way of example only, and not intending to be exclusive, the provisions of
this Code section shall not apply to the use of a consumer credit report by any
of the following:
(1)
A person, or the person´s subsidiary, affiliate, agent, subcontractor, or
assignee with whom the consumer has, or prior to assignment had, an account,
contract, or debtor-creditor relationship for the purposes of reviewing the
active account or collecting the financial obligation owing for the account,
contract, or debt;
(2)
A subsidiary, affiliate, agent, assignee, or prospective assignee of a person to
whom access has been granted under subsection (d) of this Code section for
purposes of facilitating the extension of credit or other permissible
use;
(3)
Any person acting pursuant to a court order, warrant, or subpoena;
(4)
A state or local agency, or its agents or assigns, which administers a program
for establishing and enforcing child support obligations;
(5)
A state or local agency, or its agents or assigns, acting to investigate fraud,
including Medicaid fraud; acting to investigate or collect delinquent taxes or
assessments, including interest, penalties, and unpaid court orders; or acting
to fulfill any of its other statutory responsibilities;
(6)
A federal, state, or local governmental entity, including law enforcement
agency, court, or their agent or assigns;
(7)
Any person for the use of a credit report for purposes permitted under 15 U.S.C.
Section 1681b(c);
(8)
Any person for the sole purpose of providing a credit file monitoring
subscription service to which the consumer has subscribed;
(9)
Any person for the purpose of providing a consumer with a copy of the
consumer´s credit report or credit score upon the consumer´s
request;
(10)
Any depository financial institution for checking, savings, and investment
accounts; or
(11)
Any person or entity for insurance purposes, including use in setting or
adjusting a rate, adjusting a claim, or underwriting.
(m)
If a security freeze is in place, a consumer credit reporting agency shall not
change any of the following official information in a credit report without
sending a written confirmation of the change to the consumer within 30 days of
the change being posted to the consumer´s file: name, date of birth, social
security number, and address. Written confirmation is not required for
technical modifications of a consumer´s official information, including
name and street abbreviations, complete spellings, or transposition of numbers
or letters. In the case of an address change, the written confirmation shall be
sent to both the new address and the former address.
(n)
The following persons shall not be required to place a security freeze in a
consumer credit report pursuant to this section; provided, however, that any
person that shall not be required to place a security freeze on a consumer
credit report under the provisions of paragraph (3) of this subsection shall be
subject to any security freeze placed on a consumer credit report by another
consumer credit reporting agency from which it obtains information:
(1)
A check services or fraud prevention services company, including reports on
incidents of fraud, or authorizations for the purpose of approving or processing
negotiable instruments, electronic funds transfers, or similar methods of
payment;
(2)
A deposit account information service company, which issues reports regarding
account closures due to fraud, substantial overdrafts, automated teller machine
abuse, or other similar negative information regarding a consumer to inquiring
banks or other financial institutions for use only in reviewing a consumer
request for a deposit account at the inquiring bank or financial
institution;
(3)
Resellers of consumer credit report information that assemble and merge
information contained in a data base of one or more consumer credit reporting
agencies and do not maintain a permanent data base of consumer credit
information from which new consumer credit reports are produced; or
(4)
A consumer credit reporting agency´s data base or file which consists of
information concerning, and used for, one or more of the following: criminal
record information, fraud prevention or detection, personal claim loss history
information, and employment, tenant, or individual background
screening.
(o)
This Code section shall not prevent a consumer credit reporting agency from
charging a fee of no more than $10.00 to a consumer for each security freeze,
removal of the security freeze, or temporary lifting of the security freeze for
a period of time, regarding access to a consumer credit report, except that a
consumer credit reporting agency may not charge any fee to a victim of identity
theft who has submitted a copy of a valid investigative or incident report or
complaint with a law enforcement agency about the unlawful use of the
victim´s identifying information by another person that was filed with the
law enforcement agency no more than 90 days prior to the consumer´s request
for a security freeze. A consumer credit reporting agency may charge a fee of
no more than $5.00 to a consumer for each replacement of a unique personal
identification number or password.
(p)
A person that violates this Code section may be fined by the administrator
appointed pursuant to Code Section 10-1-395 not more than $100.00 for a
violation concerning a specific consumer; provided, however, that in no event
shall the total fine levied by the administrator exceed
$10,000."
SECTION
2.
This
Act shall become effective on July 1, 2007.
SECTION
3.
All
laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.