CERTIFICATION OF ENROLLMENT

 

                   ENGROSSED HOUSE BILL 1603

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                        54th Legislature

                      1995 Regular Session

Passed by the House March 8, 1995

  Yeas 97   Nays 1

 

 

 

 

Speaker of the

       House of Representatives

 

Passed by the Senate April 7, 1995

  Yeas 39   Nays 0

               CERTIFICATE

 

I, Timothy A. Martin, Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives of the State of Washington, do hereby certify that the attached is ENGROSSED HOUSE BILL 1603 as passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate on the dates hereon set forth.

 

 

 

 

President of the Senate

 

                               Chief Clerk

 

 

Approved Place Style On Codes above, and Style Off Codes below.

                                     FILED

          

 

 

Governor of the State of Washington

                        Secretary of State

                       State of Washington


                  _______________________________________________

 

                             ENGROSSED HOUSE BILL 1603

                  _______________________________________________

 

                     Passed Legislature - 1995 Regular Session

 

State of Washington              54th Legislature             1995 Regular Session

 

By Representatives L. Thomas, Morris, Huff, Campbell, Smith, Beeksma and Kessler

 

Read first time 02/01/95.  Referred to Committee on Financial Institutions & Insurance.

 

Disclosing deposit account information.



     AN ACT Relating to deposit account information; adding new sections to chapter 30.22 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 9.38 RCW; and prescribing penalties.

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

 

     NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1.  The definitions in this section apply throughout sections 1 through 3 of this act.

     (1) "Customer" means any person, partnership, limited partnership, corporation, trust, or other legal entity that is transacting or has transacted business with a financial institution, that is using or has used the services of an institution, or for which a financial institution has acted or is acting as a fiduciary.

     (2) "Financial institution" means state and national banks and trust companies, state and federal savings banks, state and federal savings and loan associations, and state and federal credit unions.

     (3) "Law enforcement officer" means an employee of a public law enforcement agency organized under the authority of a county, city, or town and designated to obtain deposit account information by the chief law enforcement officer of that agency. 

 

     NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2.  (1) If a financial institution discloses information in good faith concerning its customer or customers in accordance with this section, it shall not be liable to its customers or others for such disclosure or its consequences.  Good faith will be presumed if the financial institution follows the procedures set forth in this section.

     (2) A request for financial records made by a law enforcement officer shall be submitted to the financial institution in writing stating that the officer is conducting a criminal investigation of actual or attempted withdrawals from an account at the institution and that the officer reasonably believes a statutory notice of dishonor has been given pursuant to RCW 62A.3-515, fifteen days have elapsed, and the item remains unpaid.  The request shall include the name and number of the account and be accompanied by a copy of:

     (a) The front and back of at least one unpaid check or draft drawn on the account that has been presented for payment no fewer than two times or has been drawn on a closed account; and

     (b) A statement of the dates or time period relevant to the investigation.

     (3) To the extent permitted by federal law, under subsection (2) of this section a financial institution shall within a reasonable time disclose to a requesting law enforcement officer so much of the following information as has been requested concerning the account upon which the dishonored check or draft was drawn, to the extent the records can be located:

     (a) The date the account was opened; the details and amount of the opening deposit to the account; and if closed, the reason the account was closed, the date the account was closed, and balance at date of closing;

     (b) A copy of the statements of the account for the relevant period including dates under investigation and the preceding and following thirty days and the closing statement, if the account was closed;

     (c) A copy of the front and back of the signature card; and

     (d) If the account was closed by the financial institution, the name of the person notified of its closing and a copy of the notice of the account's closing and whether such notice was returned undelivered.

     (4) Financial institutions may charge requesting parties a reasonable fee for the actual costs of providing services under this chapter.  These fees may not exceed rates charged to federal agencies for similar requests.  In the event an investigation results in conviction, the court may order the defendant to pay costs incurred by law enforcement under chapter . . ., Laws of 1995 (this act). 

 

     NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3.  Records obtained pursuant to this chapter shall be admitted as evidence in all courts of this state, under Washington rule of evidence 902, when accompanied by a certificate substantially in the following form:

 

                                    CERTIFICATE

 

1. The accompanying documents are true and correct copies of the records of [name of financial institution].  The records were made in the regular course of business of the financial institution at or near the time of the acts, events, or conditions which they reflect.

2. They are produced in response to a request made under section 2 of this act.

3. The undersigned is authorized to execute this certificate.  I CERTIFY, under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of Washington, that the foregoing statements are true and correct.

 

                                                                  

Date                                 Signature

 

                                                                  

Place of Signing                     Type or Print Name/Title/

                                           Telephone No. 

 

     NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4.  A new section is added to chapter 9.38 RCW to read as follows:

     (1) It is a gross misdemeanor for a deposit account applicant to knowingly make any false statement to a financial institution regarding:

     (a) The applicant's identity;

     (b) Past convictions for crimes involving fraud or deception; or

     (c) Outstanding judgments on checks or drafts issued by the applicant.

     (2) Each violation of subsection (1) of this section after the third violation is a class C felony punishable as provided in chapter 9A.20 RCW. 

 

     NEW SECTION.  Sec. 5.  Section 4 of this act does not create a duty for financial institutions to request the information set forth in section 4(1) of this act. 

 

     NEW SECTION.  Sec. 6.  Sections 1 through 3 and 5 of this act are each added to chapter 30.22 RCW. 

 

     NEW SECTION.  Sec. 7.  If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected. 

 


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