CERTIFICATION OF ENROLLMENT

 

                   SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 1250

 

 

                   Chapter 368, Laws of 1999

 

 

                        56th Legislature

                      1999 Regular Session

 

 

FINANCIAL INFORMATION PRIVACY--IDENTITY THEFT

 

 

 

                   EFFECTIVE DATE:  1/1/2000

Passed by the House March 4, 1999

  Yeas 95   Nays 0

 

 

        JOHN E. PENNINGTON, JR.

Speaker of the House of Representatives

     

 

 

              FRANK CHOPP

Speaker of the House of Representatives

 

 

 

Passed by the Senate April 23, 1999

  Yeas 44   Nays 0

             CERTIFICATE

 

We, Dean R. Foster and Timothy A. Martin, Co-Chief Clerks of the House of Representatives of the State of Washington, do hereby certify that the attached is SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 1250  as passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate on the dates hereon set forth.

 

 

 

           DEAN R. FOSTER

           April 23, 1999 Chief Clerk

 

 

          TIMOTHY A. MARTIN

                          Chief Clerk

               BRAD OWEN

President of the Senate

 

 

 

Approved May 17, 1999 Place Style On Codes above, and Style Off Codes below.           

                                FILED                

 

             May 17, 1999 - 3:34 p.m.

 

              GARY LOCKE

Governor of the State of Washington

                 Secretary of State

                 State of Washington


H-1932.1  _______________________________________________

 

                    SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 1250

          _______________________________________________

 

             Passed Legislature - 1999 Regular Session

 

State of Washington      56th Legislature     1999 Regular Session

 

By House Committee on Financial Institutions & Insurance (originally sponsored by Representatives McIntire, Keiser, Sullivan, Santos, Benson, Hatfield, Quall, Barlean, Hurst, Dunshee, Bush, Constantine, Dickerson, Rockefeller, O'Brien and Kenney)

 

Read first time 02/22/1999.

  Protecting the privacy of financial information.   


    AN ACT Relating to protecting the privacy of financial information; adding a new chapter to Title 9 RCW; prescribing penalties; and providing an effective date.

 

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

 

    NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1.  INTENT.  The legislature finds that financial information is personal and sensitive information that if unlawfully obtained by others may do significant harm to a person's privacy, financial security, and other interests.  The legislature finds that unscrupulous persons find ever more clever ways, including identity theft, to improperly obtain and use financial information.  The legislature intends to penalize unscrupulous people for improperly obtaining financial information.

 

    NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2.  PROHIBITING ATTEMPTS TO IMPROPERLY OBTAIN FINANCIAL INFORMATION.  (1) No person may obtain or attempt to obtain, or cause to be disclosed or attempt to cause to be disclosed to any person, financial information from a financial information repository:

    (a) By knowingly making a false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or representation to an officer, employee, or agent of a financial information repository with the intent to deceive the officer, employee, or agent into relying on that statement or representation for purposes of releasing the financial information;

    (b) By knowingly making a false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or representation to a customer of a financial information repository with the intent to deceive the customer into releasing financial  information or authorizing the release of such information;

    (c) By knowingly providing any document to an officer, employee, or  agent of a financial information repository, knowing that the document is forged, counterfeit, lost, or stolen; was fraudulently obtained; or contains a false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or representation, if the document is provided with the intent to deceive the officer, employee, or agent to release the financial information.

    (2) No person may request another person to obtain financial  information from a financial information repository and knows or should have known that the person will obtain or attempt to obtain the information from the financial institution repository in any manner described in subsection (1) of this section.

    (3) As used in this section, unless the context clearly requires otherwise:

    (a) "Financial information" means, to the extent it is nonpublic, any of the following information identifiable to the individual that concerns the amount and conditions of an individual's assets, liabilities, or credit:

    (i) Account numbers and balances;

    (ii) Transactional information concerning any account; and

    (iii) Codes, passwords, social security numbers, tax identification numbers, driver's license or permit numbers, state identicard numbers issued by the department of licensing, and other information held for the purpose of account access or transaction initiation.

    (b) "Financial information repository" means any person engaged in the business of providing services to customers who have a credit, deposit, trust, stock, or other financial account or relationship with the person.

    (c) "Person" means an individual, partnership, corporation, or association.

    (4) No provision of this section shall be construed so as to prevent any action by a law enforcement agency, or any officer, employee, or agent of such agency, or any action of an agent of the financial information repository when working in conjunction with a law enforcement agency.

    (5) This section does not apply to:

    (a) Efforts by the financial information repository to test security procedures or systems of the financial institution repository for maintaining the confidentiality of customer information;

    (b) Investigation of alleged employee misconduct or negligence; or

    (c) Efforts to recover financial or personal information of the financial institution obtained or received by another person in any manner described in subsection (1) or (2) of this section.

    (6) Violation of this section is a class C felony.

    (7) A person that violates this section is liable for five hundred dollars or actual damages, whichever is greater, and reasonable attorneys' fees.  If the person violating this section is a business that repeatedly violates this section, that person also violates the consumer protection act, chapter 19.86 RCW.

 

    NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3.  PROHIBITING IDENTITY THEFT.  (1) No person may knowingly use or knowingly transfer a means of identification of another person with the intent to commit, or to aid or abet, any unlawful activity harming or intending to harm the person whose identity is used, or for committing any felony.

    (2) For purposes of this section, "means of identification" means  any information or item that is not describing finances or credit but is personal to or identifiable with any individual or other person, including any current or former name of the person, telephone number, and electronic address or identifier of the individual or any member of his or her family, including the ancestor of such person; any information relating to a change in name, address, telephone number, or electronic address or identifier of the individual or his or her family; any social security, driver's license, or tax identification number of the individual or any member of his or her family; and other information which could be used to identify the person, including unique biometric data.

    (3) Violation of this section is a class C felony.

    (4) A person that violates this section is liable for five hundred dollars or actual damages, including costs to repair the person's credit record, whichever is greater, and reasonable attorneys' fees.  If the person violating this section is a business that repeatedly violates this section, that person also violates the consumer protection act, chapter 19.86 RCW.

 

    NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4.  EFFECTIVE DATE.  This act takes effect January 1, 2000.

 

    NEW SECTION.  Sec. 5.  CAPTIONS NOT LAW.  Captions used in this chapter are not part of the law.

 

    NEW SECTION.  Sec. 6.  SEVERABILITY CLAUSE.  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.

 

    NEW SECTION.  Sec. 7.  Sections 1 through 6 of this act constitute a new chapter in Title 9 RCW.


    Passed the House March 4, 1999.

    Passed the Senate April 23, 1999.

Approved by the Governor May 17, 1999.

    Filed in Office of Secretary of State May 17, 1999.