| 1 | Representative(s) Adams offered the following: |
| 2 |
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| 3 | Amendment (with title amendment) |
| 4 | Remove lines 44 through 257 and insert: |
| 5 | information contained within the consumer report to a third |
| 6 | party without the express authorization of the consumer. This |
| 7 | section does not prevent a consumer reporting agency from |
| 8 | advising a third party that a security freeze is in effect with |
| 9 | respect to the consumer report. For purposes of this part, the |
| 10 | term "consumer report" has the same meaning set forth in 15 |
| 11 | U.S.C. s. 1681a(d). |
| 12 | (2) A consumer may place a security freeze on his or her |
| 13 | consumer report by: |
| 14 | (a) Making a request in writing by certified mail to a |
| 15 | consumer reporting agency. |
| 16 | (b) Including information that properly identifies the |
| 17 | consumer. |
| 18 | (c) Paying a fee authorized under this section. |
| 19 | (3) A consumer reporting agency shall place a security |
| 20 | freeze on a consumer report no later than 5 business days after |
| 21 | receiving a request from the consumer. |
| 22 | (4) The consumer reporting agency shall send a written |
| 23 | confirmation of the security freeze to the consumer within 10 |
| 24 | business days after instituting the security freeze and shall |
| 25 | provide the consumer with a unique personal identification |
| 26 | number or password to be used by the consumer when providing |
| 27 | authorization for the removal of a security freeze on his or her |
| 28 | consumer report pursuant to subsection (5) or subsection (11). |
| 29 | (5) A consumer may allow his or her consumer report to be |
| 30 | accessed for a designated period of time while a security freeze |
| 31 | is in effect by contacting the consumer reporting agency and |
| 32 | requesting that the freeze be temporarily lifted. The consumer |
| 33 | must provide the following information to the consumer reporting |
| 34 | agency as part of the request: |
| 35 | (a) Proper identification as determined by the consumer |
| 36 | reporting agency. |
| 37 | (b) The unique personal identification number or password |
| 38 | provided by the consumer reporting agency pursuant to subsection |
| 39 | (4). |
| 40 | (c) Information specifying the period of time for which |
| 41 | the report shall be made available. |
| 42 | (d) Payment of a fee authorized by this section. |
| 43 | (6) A consumer reporting agency that receives a request |
| 44 | from a consumer to temporarily lift a freeze on a consumer |
| 45 | report pursuant to subsection (5) shall comply with the request |
| 46 | no later than 3 business days after receiving the request. |
| 47 | (7) No later than July 1, 2007, a consumer reporting |
| 48 | agency doing business in this state shall select and develop a |
| 49 | secure electronic contact method, which may include the use of |
| 50 | telephone, fax, the Internet, or other secure electronic means, |
| 51 | by which to receive and process requests from consumers to |
| 52 | temporarily lift a freeze on a consumer report pursuant to |
| 53 | subsection (5). |
| 54 | (8) A consumer reporting agency shall temporarily lift or |
| 55 | remove a security freeze placed on a consumer report only in the |
| 56 | following instances: |
| 57 | (a) Upon consumer request, pursuant to subsection (5) or |
| 58 | subsection (11). |
| 59 | (b) If the consumer report was frozen due to a material |
| 60 | misrepresentation of fact by the consumer. If a consumer |
| 61 | reporting agency intends to remove a security freeze on a |
| 62 | consumer report pursuant to this paragraph, the consumer |
| 63 | reporting agency shall notify the consumer in writing prior to |
| 64 | removing the security freeze. |
| 65 | (9) A third party requesting access to a consumer report |
| 66 | on which a security freeze is in effect in connection with an |
| 67 | application for credit or other permissible use may treat the |
| 68 | application as incomplete if the consumer has not authorized a |
| 69 | temporary lifting of the security freeze for the period of time |
| 70 | during which the request is made. |
| 71 | (10) If a consumer requests a security freeze, the |
| 72 | consumer reporting agency shall disclose to the consumer all |
| 73 | information relevant to the process of instituting, temporarily |
| 74 | lifting, and removing a security freeze and shall include the |
| 75 | disclosure required by subsection (17). |
| 76 | (11) A security freeze shall remain in place until the |
| 77 | consumer requests that it be removed. A consumer reporting |
| 78 | agency shall remove a security freeze within 3 business days |
| 79 | after receiving a request for removal from the consumer, who, |
| 80 | upon making the request for removal, must provide the following: |
| 81 | (a) Proper identification as determined by the consumer |
| 82 | reporting agency. |
| 83 | (b) The unique personal identification number or password |
| 84 | provided by the consumer reporting agency pursuant to subsection |
| 85 | (4). |
| 86 | (c) Payment of a fee authorized by this section. |
| 87 | (12) The provisions of this section do not apply to the |
| 88 | use of a consumer report by the following persons or for the |
| 89 | following reasons: |
| 90 | (a) A person to whom the consumer owes a financial |
| 91 | obligation or a subsidiary, affiliate, or agent of the person, |
| 92 | or an assignee of a financial obligation owed by the consumer to |
| 93 | the person, or a prospective assignee of a financial obligation |
| 94 | owed by the consumer to the person in conjunction with the |
| 95 | proposed purchase of the financial obligation, with which the |
| 96 | consumer has or had prior to assignment an account or contract, |
| 97 | including a deposit account, or to whom the consumer issued a |
| 98 | negotiable instrument, for the purposes of reviewing the account |
| 99 | or collecting the financial obligation owed for the account, |
| 100 | contract, or negotiable instrument. For purposes of this |
| 101 | paragraph, "reviewing the account" includes activities related |
| 102 | to account maintenance, monitoring, credit line increases, and |
| 103 | account upgrades and enhancements. |
| 104 | (b) A subsidiary, affiliate, agent, assignee, or |
| 105 | prospective assignee of a person to whom access has been granted |
| 106 | under this section for purposes of facilitating the extension of |
| 107 | credit or other permissible use. |
| 108 | (c) A state agency acting within its lawful investigative |
| 109 | or regulatory authority. |
| 110 | (d) A state or local law enforcement agency acting to |
| 111 | investigate a crime or conducting a criminal background check. |
| 112 | (e) Any person administering a credit file monitoring |
| 113 | subscription service to which the consumer has subscribed. |
| 114 | (f) Any person for the purpose of providing a consumer |
| 115 | with a copy of the consumer report upon the consumer's request. |
| 116 | (g) Pursuant to a court order lawfully entered. |
| 117 | (h) The use of credit information for the purposes of |
| 118 | prescreening as provided for by the federal Fair Credit |
| 119 | Reporting Act. |
| 120 | (i) Any insurance company for use in setting or adjusting |
| 121 | a rate, adjusting a claim, or underwriting for insurance |
| 122 | purposes. |
| 123 | (j) A consumer reporting agency's database or file which |
| 124 | consists entirely of information concerning, and is used solely |
| 125 | for, one or more of the following: |
| 126 | 1. Criminal record information. |
| 127 | 2. Personal loss history information. |
| 128 | 3. Fraud prevention or detection. |
| 129 | 4. Tenant screening. |
| 130 | 5. Employment screening. |
| 131 | (13)(a) A consumer reporting agency may charge a |
| 132 | reasonable fee, not to exceed $10, to a consumer who elects to |
| 133 | place, remove, or temporarily lift a security freeze on his or |
| 134 | her consumer report. |
| 135 | (b) A consumer reporting agency shall not charge any fee: |
| 136 | 1. To a consumer 65 years of age or older for the initial |
| 137 | placement or removal of a security freeze; or |
| 138 | 2. To a victim of identity theft who has submitted, at the |
| 139 | time the security freeze is requested, a copy of a valid |
| 140 | investigative or incident report or complaint with a law |
| 141 | enforcement agency about the unlawful use of the victim's |
| 142 | identifying information by another person. |
| 143 | (c) A consumer reporting agency may charge a reasonable |
| 144 | fee, not to exceed $10, if the consumer fails to retain the |
| 145 | original personal identification number or password provided by |
| 146 | the consumer reporting agency and the agency must reissue the |
| 147 | personal identification number or password or provide a new |
| 148 | personal identification number or password to the consumer. |
| 149 | (14) If a security freeze is in effect, a consumer |
| 150 | reporting agency shall not change any of the following official |
| 151 | information in a consumer report without sending a written |
| 152 | confirmation of the change to the consumer within 30 days after |
| 153 | the change is posted to the consumer's file: |
| 154 | (a) Name. |
| 155 | (b) Address. |
| 156 | (c) Date of birth. |
| 157 | (d) Social security number. |
| 158 |
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| 159 | Written confirmation is not required for technical corrections |
| 160 | of a consumer's official information, including name and street |
| 161 | abbreviations, complete spellings, or transposition of numbers |
| 162 | or letters. In the case of an address change, the written |
| 163 | confirmation shall be sent to both the new address and the |
| 164 | former address. |
| 165 | (15) The provisions of this section do not apply to the |
| 166 | following entities: |
| 167 | (a) A check services company, which issues authorizations |
| 168 | for the purpose of approving or processing negotiable |
| 169 | instruments, electronic funds transfers, or similar methods of |
| 170 | payment. |
| 171 | (b) A deposit account information service company, which |
| 172 | issues reports regarding account closures due to fraud, |
| 173 | substantial overdrafts, automatic teller machine abuse, or |
| 174 | similar negative information regarding a consumer to inquiring |
| 175 | banks or other financial institutions for use only in reviewing |
| 176 | a consumer request for a deposit account at the inquiring bank |
| 177 | or financial institution, as defined in s. 655.005(1)(g) or (h), |
| 178 | or in federal law. |
| 179 | (c) A consumer reporting agency that acts only as a |
| 180 | reseller of credit information by assembling and merging |
| 181 | information contained in the database of another consumer |
| 182 | reporting agency or multiple consumer reporting agencies and |
| 183 | does not maintain a permanent database of credit information |
| 184 | from which new consumer reports are produced. However, a |
| 185 | consumer reporting agency shall honor any security freeze |
| 186 | placed, removed, or temporary lifted on a consumer report by |
| 187 | another consumer reporting agency. |
| 188 | (d) A fraud prevention services company issuing reports to |
| 189 | prevent or investigate fraud. |
| 190 | (16) In addition to any other penalties or remedies |
| 191 | provided under law, a person who is aggrieved by a violation of |
| 192 | the provisions of this section may bring a civil action as |
| 193 | authorized by this subsection. |
| 194 | (a) Any person who willfully fails to comply with any |
| 195 | requirement imposed under this section with respect to any |
| 196 | consumer is liable to that consumer for actual damages sustained |
| 197 | by the consumer as a result of the failure of not less than $100 |
| 198 | and not more than $1,000, plus the cost of the action together |
| 199 | with reasonable attorney's fees. |
| 200 | (b) Any individual who obtains a consumer report under |
| 201 | false pretenses or knowingly without a permissible purpose is |
| 202 | liable to the consumer for actual damages sustained by the |
| 203 | consumer as a result of the failure or damages of not less than |
| 204 | $100 and not more than $1,000, whichever is greater. Any person |
| 205 | who obtains a consumer report from a consumer reporting agency |
| 206 | under false pretenses or knowingly without a permissible purpose |
| 207 | is liable to the consumer reporting agency for actual damages |
| 208 | sustained by the consumer reporting agency or $1,000, whichever |
| 209 | is greater. |
| 210 | (c) Punitive damages may be assessed for willful |
| 211 | violations of this section. |
| 212 | (d) Any person who is negligent in failing to comply with |
| 213 | any requirement imposed under this section with respect to any |
| 214 | consumer is liable to that consumer for any actual damages |
| 215 | sustained by the consumer as a result of the failure of not less |
| 216 | than $100 and not more than $1,000. |
| 217 | (e) Upon a finding by the court that an unsuccessful |
| 218 | pleading, motion, or other paper filed in connection with an |
| 219 | action under this subsection was filed in bad faith or for |
| 220 | purposes of harassment, the court shall award to the prevailing |
| 221 | party attorney's fees that are reasonable in relation to the |
| 222 | work performed in responding to the pleading, motion, or other |
| 223 | paper. |
| 224 | (17) Any written disclosure by a consumer reporting |
| 225 | agency, pursuant to 15 U.S.C. s. 1681g, to any consumer residing |
| 226 | in this state shall include a written summary of all rights the |
| 227 | consumer has under this section, and, in the case of a consumer |
| 228 | reporting agency which compiles and maintains consumer reports |
| 229 | on a nationwide basis, a toll-free telephone number which the |
| 230 | consumer can use to communicate with the consumer reporting |
| 231 | agency. The information set forth in paragraph (b) of the |
| 232 | written summary of rights must be in at least 12-point boldface |
| 233 | type. The written summary of rights required under this section |
| 234 | is sufficient if it is substantially in the following form: |
| 235 |
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| 236 | ======= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ======= |
| 237 | Remove lines 19 through 24 and insert: |
| 238 |
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| 239 | applicability; authorizing a consumer reporting agency to charge |
| 240 | a fee to place, remove, or temporarily lift a security freeze; |
| 241 | prohibiting a consumer reporting agency from charging a fee to |
| 242 | specified persons; authorizing the charging of a fee for the |
| 243 | reissuance of a personal identification number; restricting |