07 LC 21 9106
House
Bill 35
By:
Representatives Benton of the
31st,
Teilhet of the
40th,
Collins of the
27th,
England of the
108th,
Kaiser of the
59th,
and others
A
BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
AN ACT
To
amend Chapter 1 of Title 10 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating
to selling and other trade practices, so as to define certain terms; to provide
that a person may request a security freeze on his or her credit report; to
provide for procedures; to provide for the imposition of a security freeze on a
consumer´s records by a consumer credit reporting agency; to provide for
requirements for consumer credit reporting agencies relative to implementing
such security freeze; to provide for a temporary or specific lifting of such
freeze; to provide for the lifting of such security freeze under certain
conditions; to provide for applicability; to provide for related matters; to
repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION
1.
Chapter
1 of Title 10 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to selling and
other trade practices, is amended by inserting at the end thereof a new article
to read as follows:
"ARTICLE
35
10-1-930.
As
used in this article, the term:
(1)
'Consumer credit report' means a report assembled, evaluated, or maintained by a
consumer credit reporting agency which bears on a consumer´s
creditworthiness, credit standing, or credit capacity.
(2)
'Consumer credit reporting agency' means an entity that regularly engages in the
practice of furnishing consumer credit reports to third parties bearing on a
consumer´s creditworthiness, credit standing, or credit capacity by
assembling or evaluating and maintaining public record information and credit
account information from persons who furnish that information regularly and in
the ordinary course of business.
10-1-931.
(a)
Any person may request that a security freeze be placed on his or her consumer
credit report by sending a request in writing by certified mail or by overnight
mail to a consumer credit reporting agency at an address designated by the
consumer credit reporting agency to receive such requests.
(b)
A security freeze imposed pursuant to subsection (a) of this Code section shall
remain in effect until the consumer requests that the security freeze be removed
as provided in Code Section 10-1-935.
10-1-932.
(a)
Within three business days after receipt of a request for a security freeze as
provided in Code Section 10-1-931, a consumer credit reporting agency shall
place a security freeze on all the records relating to the requesting consumer.
Thereafter, the consumer credit reporting agency shall not disclose any
information relating to the consumer´s records except as otherwise
expressly provided in this article; provided, however, that the agency may
disclose the fact that a freeze has been implemented on such person´s
records.
(b)
Upon receipt of a request for a security freeze pursuant to Code Section
10-1-931, the consumer credit reporting agency shall, within five business days
of placing the freeze:
(1)
Send a written confirmation of the placement of a security freeze to the
consumer;
(2)
Inform the consumer in writing of the process of placing the freeze, removing
the freeze, and allowing access to information from such consumer credit report
for a specific party or a specific period of time while the freeze is in
place;
(3)
Provide the consumer with a unique personal identification number, password, or
other device to be used by the consumer when providing authorization for the
release of his or her consumer credit report for a specific party or a specific
period of time or when permanently removing the freeze; and
(4)
Provide the consumer with the secure electronic contact method established
pursuant to Code Section 10-1-938.
(c)
A consumer credit reporting agency may charge a consumer a fee not to exceed
$5.00 for the placement, removal, or temporary lift of a freeze or for the
issuance or replacement of a personal identification number or password;
provided, however, that no consumer credit reporting agency shall charge a fee
to a victim of identity theft who has submitted a copy of a signed 'ID Theft
Affidavit' designed by the Federal Trade Commission or a valid police report
filed with a local law enforcement agency.
10-1-933.
If a security freeze is in place, a consumer credit reporting agency shall not
change the consumer´s name, date of birth, social security number, or
address in a consumer credit report unless a written confirmation of the change
has been mailed to the consumer within 30 days prior to the change being posted.
In the case of an address change, the written confirmation shall be sent to both
the new address and the former address. Such written confirmation is not
required for technical modifications of the official information of or relating
to such consumer, including name and street abbreviations, complete spellings,
or transposition of numbers or letters.
10-1-934.
(a)
A consumer may request that his or her consumer credit report be accessed for a
specific party or a specific period of time while a freeze is in place. Any such
request shall be made by certified mail or through the secure electronic
contact method established pursuant to Code Section 10-1-938, shall include the
unique personal identification number or password provided by the consumer
credit reporting agency pursuant to Code Section 10-1-932, and shall be
accompanied by any applicable fee.
(b)
A consumer credit reporting agency shall comply with a request from a consumer
temporarily to lift a freeze on a consumer credit report upon compliance with
subsection (a) of this Code section as follows:
(1)
For any request received prior to January 1, 2008, compliance shall be within
five business days after receipt of the request;
(2)
For any request received between January 1, 2008, and January 1, 2009,
compliance shall be within two business days after receipt of the request;
and
(3)
For any request received on or after January 1, 2009, compliance shall be not
later than the close of the business day following the day on which the request
was received.
10-1-935.
(a)
A consumer may request that the security freeze be removed from his or her
consumer credit report. Any such request shall be made by certified mail or
through the secure electronic contact method established pursuant to Code
Section 10-1-938, shall include the unique personal identification number or
password provided by the consumer credit reporting agency pursuant to Code
Section 10-1-932, and shall be accompanied by any applicable fee.
(b)
A consumer credit reporting agency shall remove a security freeze within three
business days of receiving a request for removal and compliance with the
provisions of subsection (a) of this Code section.
10-1-936.
A
consumer credit reporting agency may remove or temporarily lift a freeze placed
on the consumer credit report of or relating to a consumer only:
(1)
Upon consumer request, pursuant to Code Section 10-1-934 or 10-1-935;
or
(2)
If the consumer credit report of or relating to such consumer was frozen due to
a material misrepresentation of fact by the consumer. If a consumer credit
reporting agency intends to remove a freeze upon a consumer credit report
pursuant to this paragraph, the consumer credit reporting agency shall notify
the consumer in writing 30 days prior to removing the freeze on such consumer
credit report.
10-1-937.
If
a third party requests access to a consumer credit report on which a security
freeze is in effect and the consumer does not allow his or her consumer credit
report to be accessed, the third party may treat the application as
incomplete.
10-1-938.
No
later than January 1, 2008, any consumer credit reporting agency doing business
in this state shall select and develop a secure electronic contact method, which
may include the use of telephone, facsimile, the Internet, or other secure
electronic means, by which to receive and process requests from consumers to
remove or to lift temporarily a freeze on a consumer credit report pursuant to
Code Sections 10-1-934 and 10-1-935.
10-1-939.
The following entities shall not be required to place a security freeze on a
consumer credit report:
(1)
A consumer credit reporting agency that acts only as a reseller of credit
information by assembling and merging information contained in the data base of
another consumer credit reporting agency or multiple consumer credit reporting
agencies and does not maintain a permanent data base of credit information from
which new consumer credit reports are produced; provided, however, that any such
agency shall honor any security freeze placed on a consumer credit report by
another consumer credit reporting agency;
(2)
A check services or fraud prevention services company which issues reports on
incidents of fraud or authorizations for the purpose of approving or processing
negotiable instruments, electronic funds transfers, or similar methods of
payments; or
(3)
A deposit account information service company which issues reports regarding
account closures due to fraud, substantial overdrafts, automated teller machine
abuse, or 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.
10-1-940.
The
provisions of this article shall not apply to the use of a consumer credit
report by any of the following:
(1)
A person or entity, or a subsidiary, affiliate, or agent of that person or
entity, or an assignee of a financial obligation owing by the consumer to that
person or entity, or a prospective assignee of a financial obligation owing by
the consumer to that person or entity in conjunction with the proposed purchase
of the financial obligation, with which the consumer has or had prior to
assignment an account or contract, including a demand deposit account, or to
whom the consumer issued a negotiable instrument, for the purposes of reviewing
the account or collecting the financial obligation owing for the account,
contract, or negotiable instrument. For purposes of this paragraph, 'reviewing
the account' includes activities related to account maintenance, monitoring,
credit line increases, and account upgrades and enhancements;
(2)
A subsidiary, affiliate, agent, assignee, or prospective assignee of a person to
whom the consumer has authorized access to credit information pursuant to Code
Section 10-1-934 for purposes of facilitating the extension of credit or other
permissible use;
(3)
Any state or local agency, law enforcement agency, court, private collection
agency, or person acting pursuant to a court order, warrant, or
subpoena;
(4)
A child support agency acting pursuant to Title IV, Part D of the federal Social
Security Act, 42 U.S.C. Section 651, et seq.;
(5)
The state or its political subdivisions or its agents or assigns acting to
investigate fraud, acting to investigate or collect delinquent taxes or unpaid
court orders, or acting to fulfill any of its other statutory responsibilities
provided such responsibilities are consistent with a permissible purpose under
15 U.S.C. Section 1681b;
(6)
The use of credit information for the purposes of prescreening as provided for
by the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 U.S.C. Section 1681;
(7)
Any person or entity administering a credit file monitoring subscription or
similar service to which the consumer has subscribed; or
(8)
Any person or entity for the purpose of providing a consumer with a copy of his
or her consumer credit report or score upon the request of such
consumer."
SECTION
2.
All
laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.