AN ACT Relating to checks and checking account information; and adding new sections to chapter 30.22 RCW.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The following definitions shall apply throughout sections 1 through 3 of this act:

(1) "Customer" means any person, partnership, limited partnership, corporation, trust or other legal entity, which is transacting or has transacted business with a financial institution, or which 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 a public employee having as a primary function the enforcement of criminal laws in general, or any employee of or any individual commissioned by any municipal, county, or state agency, or combination thereof, having as its primary function the enforcement of criminal laws in general.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. (1) If a financial institution discloses information concerning its customer or customers in accordance with this section it shall not be liable to its customer or others for such disclosure or its consequences.

(2) A request for customer financial records made by or on behalf of a person who is in possession of a check or draft drawn, issued, or endorsed to him or to his order or to bearer or in blank, shall be submitted to the financial institution in writing, stating that the check or draft drawn by the customer has been returned to the holder unpaid and remains unpaid after the statutory notice provided in RCW 62A.3-520 has been given and the notice period has passed without payment. The request shall be accompanied with:

(a) A copy of the front and back of the returned check or draft; and

(b) Ten dollars as payment to the financial institution for the cost of producing and copying the requested financial records.

(3) A financial institution receiving a request for customer financial records, pursuant to subsection (2) of this section, may within a reasonable time disclose to the requesting party the following information concerning the account upon which the dishonored check or draft was drawn:

(a) The date the account was opened and, if closed, the closing date of the account;

(b) The last known address and phone number (if any) of the drawer according to the account records of the financial institution; and

(c) A copy of the statement of account which would include the period five calendar days prior to the date the check or draft was drawn through the tenth calendar day after the check or draft was drawn.

(4) 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 investigating checks drawn on an account at the institution. 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:

(b) The statement of the critical date concerning the account investigation; and

(c) Ten dollars as payment to the financial institution for the cost of producing and copying the requested financial records.

(5) A financial institution receiving a request for customer financial records, pursuant to subsection (4) of this section, shall within a reasonable time disclose to the law enforcement officer the following information concerning the account upon which the dishonored check or draft was drawn:

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

(b) If the account was closed, the name of the person notified of its closing;

(c) A copy of the statements of the account for the period which includes the critical date of the investigation and the preceding and following thirty days and the closing statement, if the account was closed;

(d) A copy of the notice of the account's closing and whether such notice was returned undelivered.

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

CERTIFICATE

1. The accompanying documents are true and correct copies of the records of the financial institution named on the documents which 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.

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NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. Sections 1 through 3 of this act are each added to chapter 30.22 RCW.