71st OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--2001 Regular Session
NOTE: Matter within { + braces and plus signs + } in an
amended section is new. Matter within { - braces and minus
signs - } is existing law to be omitted. New sections are within
{ + braces and plus signs + } .
LC 320
House Bill 2350
Ordered printed by the Speaker pursuant to House Rule 12.00A (5).
Presession filed (at the request of Joint Interim Judiciary
Committee)
SUMMARY
The following summary is not prepared by the sponsors of the
measure and is not a part of the body thereof subject to
consideration by the Legislative Assembly. It is an editor's
brief statement of the essential features of the measure as
introduced.
Establishes rules for reporting of consumer credit information.
Defines consumer reporting agency. Specifies when consumer credit
report may be furnished. Requires disclosures to consumers.
Prohibits reporting of certain information. Establishes
procedures for resolving disputes. Allows suits for damages.
A BILL FOR AN ACT
Relating to consumer credit reporting.
Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon:
SECTION 1. { + As used in sections 1 to 9 of this 2001 Act,
unless the context otherwise requires:
(1) 'Adverse action' includes:
(a) The denial of, increase in any charge for, or reduction in
the amount of insurance for personal, family or household
purposes;
(b) The denial of employment or any other decision for
employment purposes that adversely affects a current or
prospective employee; and
(c) An action or determination with respect to a consumer's
application for credit under an arrangement that is adverse to
the consumer's interests.
(2) 'Consumer' means an individual who resides in this state.
(3)(a) 'Consumer report' means any written, oral or other
communication or any information by a consumer reporting agency
bearing on a consumer's creditworthiness, credit standing, credit
capacity, debts, character, general reputation, personal
characteristics or mode of living that is used or expected to be
used or collected, in whole or in part, as a factor to establish
a consumer's eligibility for credit or insurance to be used for
personal, family or household purposes, employment purposes or
for any other purpose authorized pursuant to applicable
provisions of the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 U.S.C.
1681a and 1681b, as amended.
(b) 'Consumer report' does not include:
(A) Any report containing information solely as to a
transaction between the consumer and the person making the
report;
(B) Any authorization or approval of a specific extension of
credit directly or indirectly by the issuer of a credit card or
similar device; and
(C) Any report in which a person conveys a decision with
respect to a request by a third party to make a specific
extension of credit directly or indirectly to a consumer if:
(i) The third party advises the consumer of the name and
address of the person to whom the request is made; and
(ii) In the event of an adverse action, the person makes the
disclosures that must be made to the consumer pursuant to the
provisions of the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15
U.S.C. 1681m, as amended.
(4) 'Consumer reporting agency' means any person that, for
monetary fees, dues or on a cooperative nonprofit basis,
regularly engages in whole or in part in the practice of
assembling or evaluating consumer credit information or other
information about consumers for the purpose of furnishing
consumer reports to third parties. 'Consumer reporting agency'
includes any business entity that provides only check
verification or check guarantee services.
(5) 'Creditworthiness' means any entry in a consumer's file
that impacts the ability of a consumer to obtain and retain
credit, employment, business or professional licenses, investment
opportunities or insurance. Entries contained in a consumer's
file or in a consumer report pertaining to the consumer that
affect creditworthiness include, but are not limited to, payment
information, defaults, judgments, liens, bankruptcies,
collections, records of arrest and indictments and
multiple-credit inquiries.
(6) 'Employment purposes,' when used in connection with a
consumer report, means a report used for the purpose of
evaluating a consumer for employment, promotion, reassignment or
retention as an employee.
(7) 'File' means all of the information about the consumer that
is recorded and retained by a consumer reporting agency
regardless of how the information is stored.
(8) 'Investigative consumer report' means a consumer report or
portion thereof in which information about a consumer's
character, general reputation, personal characteristics or mode
of living is obtained through personal interviews with neighbors,
friends or associates of the consumer, or with others with whom
the consumer is acquainted or who may have knowledge concerning
any such items of information. 'Investigative consumer report '
does not include specific factual information about a consumer's
credit record obtained directly from a creditor of the consumer
or from a consumer reporting agency when such information is
obtained directly from a creditor of the consumer or from the
consumer. + }
SECTION 2. { + (1) A consumer reporting agency may furnish a
consumer report only under the following circumstances:
(a) In response to an order of a court having jurisdiction to
issue such an order;
(b) In accordance with the written instructions of the consumer
to whom it relates; and
(c) To a person that the consumer reporting agency has reason
to believe:
(A) Intends to use the information in connection with a credit
transaction initiated by the consumer about whom the information
is to be furnished and involving an extension of credit to, or
review or collection of an account of, the consumer. If the
consumer chooses to provide the consumer's Social Security number
to the user of the consumer report, the user shall include the
Social Security number with, or as a supplement to, a request for
a consumer report and shall include the Social Security number
when transmitting subsequent credit information to a consumer
reporting agency. A consumer reporting agency may furnish a
consumer report under this subparagraph if the request for a
consumer report:
(i) Contains the full name, full address and date of birth of
the consumer and the full name, full address and date of birth
contained in the request matches the full name, full address and
date of birth contained in the consumer's file and, if the
consumer provided the consumer's Social Security number, the
Social Security number contained in the request matches the
Social Security number contained in the consumer's file; or
(ii) Is accompanied by a password or personal identification
number agreed upon by the consumer and the consumer reporting
agency;
(B) Intends to use the information for employment purposes only
if an applicant or employee is first informed that a credit
report may be requested in connection with an application for
employment and the applicant or employee consents in writing to
the same;
(C) Intends to use the information in connection with the
underwriting of insurance involving the consumer and the person
establishes that the consumer has received written notification,
or notification in the same medium as the application for
insurance, that a credit report may be requested in connection
with an application for insurance;
(D) Intends to use the information in connection with a
determination of the consumer's eligibility for a license or
other benefit granted by a governmental instrumentality that is
required by law to consider an applicant's financial
responsibility or status; or
(E) Intends to use the information for any purpose allowed
under the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act and rules adopted
under the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act.
(2) A consumer reporting agency may not, by contract or
otherwise, prohibit a user of any consumer report or
investigative consumer report from, upon request of the consumer,
disclosing and explaining the contents of the report or providing
a copy of the report to the consumer to whom it relates if
adverse action against the consumer has been taken or is
contemplated by the user of the consumer report or investigative
consumer report, based in whole or in part on the report. A user
of a consumer report or a consumer reporting agency may not be
held liable or otherwise responsible for disclosing or providing
a copy of a consumer report when acting pursuant to this
subsection, nor shall the disclosure or provision of a copy of
the report, by itself, make the user a consumer reporting agency.
(3) If a consumer reporting agency receives a request for a
consumer report and the request contains an address for the
consumer that does not match the address for the consumer
contained in the consumer's file, the consumer reporting agency
shall notify the person requesting the report and the consumer,
by letter sent by first class mail, that the addresses do not
match. + }
SECTION 3. { + (1) A consumer reporting agency shall, upon
written or verbal request and proper identification of any
consumer, clearly, accurately, and in a manner that is
understandable to the consumer, disclose to the consumer, in
writing, all information pertaining to the consumer in its files
at the time of the request, including but not limited to:
(a) The names of all persons requesting credit information
pertaining to the consumer during the prior six-month period and
the date of each request;
(b) A set of instructions, presented in a manner that is
understandable to the consumer, describing how information is
presented about the written disclosure of the file; and
(c) A toll-free telephone number for use in resolving a dispute
if the consumer submits a written dispute to the consumer
reporting agency and the consumer reporting agency operates on a
nationwide basis.
(2)(a) A consumer reporting agency shall notify a consumer, by
letter sent by first class mail, that the consumer reporting
agency will provide the consumer with a disclosure copy of the
consumer's file at no charge and a toll-free telephone number to
call to request the disclosure copy, when one of the following
events occurs within a 12-month period:
(A) The consumer reporting agency has received three inquiries
pertaining to the consumer. For purposes of this subparagraph, an
'inquiry' means any request for review of the consumer's file for
any permissible purpose by any prospective user, including
promotional and marketing inquiries; or
(B) The consumer reporting agency receives a report that would
add negative information to a consumer's file.
(b) A consumer reporting agency need send only one letter to a
consumer per 12-month period under paragraph (a) of this
subsection even if more than one of the events described in
paragraph (a) of this subsection occurs during that period.
(c) A letter mailed to a consumer under paragraph (a) of this
subsection shall not contain any identifying information
particular to that consumer including, but not limited to, the
consumer's Social Security number, place of employment, date of
birth or mother's maiden name.
(d) Any letter mailed to a consumer under paragraph (a) of this
subsection may be a form letter, except that each letter shall
advise the consumer of the number and type of events relating to
the consumer that occurred and that initiated the letter.
(e) Each consumer reporting agency shall, upon request of a
consumer, provide the consumer with one disclosure copy of the
consumer's file per year at no charge, regardless of whether the
consumer has made the request in response to the notification
required in paragraph (a) of this subsection. If the consumer
requests more than one disclosure copy of the consumer's file per
year under this paragraph, the consumer reporting agency may
charge the consumer up to $8 for each additional disclosure
copy. + }
SECTION 4. { + (1) A consumer reporting agency shall not
impose a charge for:
(a) A request for a copy of the consumer's file made within 60
days after adverse action is taken;
(b) Notification of any person designated by the consumer,
under the applicable provisions of the federal Fair Credit
Reporting Act, 15 U.S.C. 1681i, as amended, about the deletion of
information that is found to be inaccurate or that can no longer
be verified;
(c) Provision of a set of instructions for understanding the
information presented on the consumer report and a toll-free
telephone number that consumers may utilize to obtain additional
assistance concerning the consumer report; or
(d) The first disclosure copy of a consumer's file provided to
a consumer each calendar year under section 3 (2)(a) of this 2001
Act.
(2) For all other disclosures to a consumer of information
pertaining to the consumer, the consumer reporting agency may
impose a reasonable charge. For each request for information, the
charge may not exceed the retail price of a written report
rendered in the normal course of business to the customers of the
agency. + }
SECTION 5. { + (1) Except as authorized under subsection (2)
of this section, a consumer reporting agency shall not assemble
any consumer report that contains any information about:
(a) Cases under Title 11 of the United States Code or the
Federal Bankruptcy Act that, from the date of entry of the order
for relief or the date of adjudication, predate the consumer
report by more than 10 years;
(b) Suits and judgments that, from the date of entry, predate
the consumer report by more than seven years or by more than the
governing statute of limitations, whichever period is longer;
(c) Paid tax liens that, from the date of payment, predate the
consumer report by more than seven years;
(d) Accounts placed for collection or charged to profit and
loss that predate the consumer report by more than seven years;
(e) Records of arrest, indictment or conviction of a crime
that, from the date of disposition, release or parole, predate
the consumer report by more than seven years; and
(f) Any other adverse item of information that predates the
consumer report by more than seven years.
(2) Subsection (1) of this section does not apply to any
consumer report that is to be used in connection with:
(a) A credit transaction involving, or that may reasonably be
expected to involve, a principal amount of $150,000 or more;
(b) The underwriting of life insurance involving, or that may
reasonably be expected to involve, a face amount of $150,000 or
more; or
(c) The employment of an individual at an annual salary that
equals or is reasonably expected to equal $75,000 or more.
(3) A consumer reporting agency shall not furnish for
employment purposes, or in connection with a credit or insurance
transaction or a direct marketing transaction, a consumer report
that contains medical information about a consumer unless the
consumer consents to the furnishing of the report.
(4) A consumer reporting agency shall not include in a consumer
report made to a person requesting credit information pertaining
to a consumer the names of any other persons that have requested
credit information pertaining to that consumer or the number of
such inquiries made more than one year preceding the date of the
consumer report.
(5) A consumer reporting agency shall retain the information
described in subsection (4) of this section in the consumer's
file for two years and shall disclose the information to the
consumer as provided in sections 1 to 9 of this 2001 Act. + }
SECTION 6. { + (1) If a consumer disputes the completeness or
accuracy of any item of information contained in the consumer's
file and the consumer directly notifies the consumer reporting
agency of the dispute, the agency shall reinvestigate the item
free of charge and record the current status of the disputed
information on or before 30 business days after the date the
agency receives notice from the consumer. The consumer reporting
agency shall provide the consumer with the opportunity to speak
directly to a representative of the agency when the consumer
notifies the agency of disputed information contained in the
consumer's file.
(2) On or before five business days after the date a consumer
reporting agency receives notice of a dispute from a consumer
under subsection (1) of this section, the agency shall provide
notice of the dispute to all persons that provided any item of
information in dispute.
(3) If after a reinvestigation under subsection (1) of this
section of any information disputed by a consumer, the
information is found to be inaccurate or cannot be verified, the
consumer reporting agency shall:
(a) Promptly delete the information from the consumer's file
and revise the file;
(b) Provide the consumer and, if requested by the consumer, any
person that within the last 12 months requested the disputed
information, with a revised consumer report indicating that the
report has been revised;
(c) Refrain from reporting the disputed information in
subsequent consumer reports; and
(d) Advise the consumer that the consumer has the right to have
a copy of the revised consumer report sent by the consumer
reporting agency to any person that requested the disputed
information within the last 12 months.
(4) Information deleted under subsection (3)(a) of this section
may not be reinserted in the consumer's file unless the person
that furnishes the information reinvestigates and states in
writing or by electronic record to the consumer reporting agency
that the information is complete and accurate.
(5) A consumer reporting agency shall provide written notice to
the consumer of the results of any reinvestigation or reinsertion
made under subsection (1) or (4) of this section within five
business days of the completion of the reinvestigation or
reinsertion. The notice shall include:
(a) A statement that the reinvestigation is complete;
(b) A statement of the determination of the consumer reporting
agency on the completeness or accuracy of the disputed
information;
(c) A copy of the consumer's file or the consumer report
pertaining to the consumer and a description of the results of
the reinvestigation;
(d) If requested by the consumer, a description of the
procedure used to determine the completeness and accuracy of the
information, including the name, business address and, if
available, the telephone number of any person contacted in
connection with the information; and
(e) A notification that the consumer has the right, under the
applicable provisions of the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act,
15 U.S.C. 1681i, as amended, to add a statement to the consumer's
file disputing the completeness or accuracy of the information.
(6) Nothing in this section shall be construed to require a
person that obtains a consumer report for resale to alter or
correct any inaccuracy in the consumer report if the consumer
report was not assembled or prepared by the person.
(7) When a person that provides credit information to a credit
reporting agency submits a request for corrections to previously
reported information that appears in a consumer's file, a
consumer reporting agency shall provide that person with the
option of speaking directly with a representative of the agency
or submitting the corrections by facsimile or other automated
means. Within a period not to exceed five business days
following receipt of the corrections, the consumer reporting
agency shall correct the inaccuracies in the consumer's file and,
upon request, communicate the corrections to the person. The
person's communication shall include information established by
the consumer reporting agency that identifies that person as the
person that provided the original inaccurate information. Nothing
in this subsection shall be construed to prohibit a consumer
reporting agency from correcting inaccurate information in a
consumer's file or a consumer report pertaining to that consumer
at any time. + }
SECTION 7. { + (1) A person may not procure a consumer report
for purposes of reselling the report or any information in the
report unless the person discloses to the consumer reporting
agency that originally furnished the report:
(a) The identity of the end user of the report or information;
and
(b) Each of the purposes described in section 2 of this 2001
Act for which the report is furnished to the end user of the
report or information.
(2) A person who procures a consumer report for purposes of
reselling the report or any information in the report shall:
(a) Establish and comply with reasonable procedures designed to
ensure that the report or information is resold by the person
only for a purpose for which the report may be furnished under
section 2 of this 2001 Act. The procedures shall require that
each person to which the report or information is resold and that
resells or provides the report or information to any other
person:
(A) Identifies each end user of the resold report or
information;
(B) Certifies each purpose for which the report or information
will be used; and
(C) Certifies that the report or information will be used for
no other purpose; and
(b) Before reselling the report, make reasonable efforts to
verify the identifications and certifications made under
paragraph (a) of this subsection. + }
SECTION 8. { + (1) An action to enforce any obligation under
sections 1 to 9 of this 2001 Act may be brought in any court of
competent jurisdiction as provided by the federal Fair Credit
Reporting Act.
(2) A consumer reporting agency that willfully violates any
provision of section 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6 of this 2001 Act shall be
liable for the greater of three times the amount of actual
damages or $1,000 for each inaccurate entry in the consumer's
file that was disputed by the consumer, plus attorney fees and
costs.
(3)(a) A consumer reporting agency that negligently violates
any provision of section 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6 of this 2001 Act shall
be liable for the greater of actual damages or $1,000 for each
inaccurate entry in the consumer's file that was disputed by the
consumer and that affects the consumer's creditworthiness, plus
attorney fees and costs. This paragraph applies if, within 30
days after receiving notice of dispute from a consumer under
section 6 of this 2001 Act, the consumer reporting agency does
not correct the disputed items or activities and does not send
the consumer and, if requested by the consumer, any person that
has requested the consumer information, written notification of
the corrective action in accordance with section 6 (5) of this
2001 Act.
(b) A consumer reporting agency that negligently violates any
provision of section 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6 of this 2001 Act shall be
liable for the greater of actual damages or $1,000 for all
inaccurate entries in the consumer's file that were disputed by
the consumer but did not affect the consumer's creditworthiness,
plus attorney fees and costs. This paragraph applies if, within
30 days after receiving notice of dispute from a consumer in
accordance with section 6 of this 2001 Act, the consumer
reporting agency does not correct the disputed items or
activities and does not send the consumer and, if requested by
the consumer, any person that has requested the consumer
information, written notification of the corrective action in
accordance with section 6 (5) of this 2001 Act.
(4) In addition to the damages assessed under subsections (2)
and (3) of this section, if the consumer reporting agency has not
corrected the consumer's file within 10 days after the entry of
any judgment for damages, the assessed damages shall be increased
to $1,000 per day per inaccurate entry that remains in the
consumer's file until the inaccurate entry is corrected.
(5) A person who violates any provision of section 7 of this
2001 Act shall be liable for the greater of three times the
amount of actual damages or $1,000 to each person who is injured
as a result of the violation. + }
SECTION 9. { + The provisions of sections 1 to 9 of this 2001
Act are cumulative, and any action taken under the provisions of
sections 1 to 9 of this 2001 Act shall not constitute an election
to take any action to the exclusion of any other action
authorized by law. + }
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