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.
