An Act Regarding Identity Theft Deterrence
Maine Legislature, Session 122, LD 0581
Committee Amendment CA_A_S187 (Senate)
Amends: 10 MRSA §1312

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT ,A" to S.P. 190, 
Act Regarding Identity Theft Deterrence" 
L.D. 581, Bill, "An 
Amend the bill by striking out everything after the enacting 
clause and before the summary and inserting in its place the 
following: 
'Sec. 1. 10 MRS A §1312, sub-§6-B is enacted to read: 
6-B. 
Identity 
theft. 
"Identity 
theft" 
means 
the 
unauthorized 
use 
of 
another 
person's 
personal 
identifying 
information to obtain credit. goods. services. money or property. 
Sec. 2. 10 MRSA §1312, sub-§§10-B and 10-C are enacted to read: 
10-B. 
Proper identification. 
"Proper identification" means 
that information generally considered sufficient to identify a 
person. 
10-C. 
Security freeze or freeze. 
"Security freeze" 
or 
"freeze" means 
a 
notice placed in a 
consumer report at the 
request of the consumer pursuant to section 1313-C that prohibits 
a consumer reporting agency from releasing the consumer's repQtt 
or any information in the report without that consumer's express 
authorization. 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT ,~, to S.P. 190, L.D. 581 
Sec. 3. 10 MRSA §§1313-C, 1313-D and 1313-E are enacted to 
read: 
§1313-C. 
Security freeze by consumer reporting agency: 
time in effect 
1. 
Procedure. 
A consumer may place a security freeze on 
the consumer's report as follows. 
A. 
A consumer who has been the victim of identity theft may 
place a security freeze on the consumer's report by making a 
reguest in writing by certified mail to a consumer reporting 
agency with a valid copy of a police report, investigative 
report or 
complaint the 
consumer 
has 
filed with 
a 
law 
enforcement 
agency 
about 
unlawful 
use 
of 
personal 
information by another person. 
In the case of a victim of 
identity theft, a consumer reporting agency may not charge a 
fee for placing, removing or suspending for a specific party 
or period of time a security freeze on a consumer report. 
B. 
A consumer who has not been the victim of identity theft 
may place a security freeze on the consumer's report by 
making a reguest in writing by certified mail to a consumer 
reporting agency. 
A consumer reporting agency may charge a 
fee of no more than $10 to a 
consumer for each freeze. 
removal of a freeze or temporary suspension of a freeze for 
a period of time or for reissuing the same or a new personal 
identification number if the consumer fails to retain the 
original personal 
identification 
number 
provided 
by 
the 
agency. 
A consumer reporting agency may charge a fee of not 
more than $12 for a temporary suspension of a freeze for a 
specific party. 
C. 
Subject to the exceptions in subsection 12. 
when 
a 
security freeze has been placed on an account the consumer 
reporting agency may not: 
(1) 
Release the consumer report or any information 
from it without 
the 
express 
authorization 
of 
the 
consumer: or 
(2) 
Release information from a consumer report to a 
3rd 
party 
without 
express 
authorization 
of 
the 
consumer. 
This 
subparagraph 
does 
not 
prevent 
a 
consumer reporting agency from advising a 
3rd party 
that a security freeze is in effect with respect to the 
consumer report. 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
-4_ 
~ 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT~' to S.P. 190, L.D. 581 
2. 
Time to place security freeze. 
A consumer reporting 
agency shall place a 
secur i ty freeze on a 
consumer report no 
later than 5 business days after receiving a written request from 
the consumer. 
3. 
Confirmation; 
personal 
identification 
number. 
The 
consumer reporting agency shall send a written confirmation of 
the security freeze to the consumer within 10 business days and 
shall provide the consumer with a personal identification number 
or password. other than the consumer's social security number. to 
be used by the consumer when providing authorization for the 
release of the consumer report to a specific party or for a 
period of time. 
4. 
Access during freeze. 
If the consumer wishes to allow 
access to the consumer report by a specific party or for a period 
of time while a freeze is in place. the consumer may contact the 
consumer reporting agency. request that the freeze be temporarily 
suspended and provide the following: 
A. 
Proper identification; 
B. 
The personal identification number or password provided 
by the consumer reporting agency pursuant to subsection 3; 
and 
C. 
The 
proper 
information regarding the specific party 
granted access or the time period for which the report is to 
be available to users. 
5. 
Electronic access. 
A consumer 
reporting agency 
may 
develop procedures 
involving the use of 
telephone. 
facsimile 
transmission. the Internet or other electronic media to receive 
and process a request from a consumer to temporarily suspend a 
freeze 
on 
a 
consumer report pursuant to subsection 4 
in an 
expedi ted manner. 
A consumer reporting agency may not charge a 
fee to a consumer for use of these procedures in excess of those 
fees otherwise permitted under this section. 
6. 
Time to suspend freeze. 
A consumer reporting agency 
that receives a request from a consumer to temporarily suspend a 
freeze on a consumer report pursuant to subsection 4 shall comply 
wi th the request no later than 3 business days after receiving 
the request. 
7. 
Suspension or removal of freeze. 
A consumer reporting 
agency shall remove or temporarily suspend a freeze placed on a 
consumer report only: 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT A" to S.P. 190, L.D. 581 
A. 
Upon consumer reguest, pursuant to subsection 4 or 10; or 
B. 
If the consumer report was frozen due to a material 
misrepresentation of fact by the consumer. 
If a consumer 
reporting agency intends to remove a freeze upon a consumer 
report pursuant to this paragraph, the consumer reporting 
agency 
shall 
notify 
the 
consumer 
in writing prior 
to 
removing the freeze on the consumer report. 
8. 
Effect of freeze. 
If a 3rd party reguests access to a 
consumer report on which a security freeze is in effect and this 
request is in connection with an application for credit or any 
other use and the consumer does not allow access to the consumer 
report for that specific party or period of time, the 3rd party 
may treat the application as incomplete. 
9. 
E~lanation of process. 
If 
a 
consumer 
requests 
a 
security freeze pursuant to this section, the consumer reporting 
agency shall disclose to the consumer the processes of placing 
and temporarily lifting a security freeze and the process for 
allowing access to information from the consumer report for a 
specific party or period of time while the security freeze is in 
place. 
A consumer reporting agency shall provide a sample copy 
of the agency's disclosure form to the administrator at the first 
annual 
registration 
or 
reregistration 
under 
section 
1328 
following the effective date of this section and any time there 
is a material change in the disclosure form reguired by this 
subsection. 
10. 
Duration of freeze: removal. 
A security freeze must 
remain in place until the consumer requests that the security 
freeze be removed. 
A consumer reporting agency shall remove a 
security freeze within 3 business days of receiving a request for 
removal from a consumer who provides: 
A. 
Proper identification; and 
B. 
The personal identification number or password provided 
by the consumer reporting agency pursuant to subsection 3. 
11. 
Proper identification. 
A 
consumer reporting agency 
shall 
require 
proper 
identification of 
the 
person making 
a 
request to place or remove a security freeze. 
12. 
Exceptions. 
The provisions of this section, including 
the security freeze, do not apply to the use of a consumer report 
by the following: 
A. 
A person or person's subsidiary, affiliate, agent or 
assignee 
with 
which 
the 
consumer 
has 
or, 
prior 
to 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A, to S.P. 190, L.D. 581 
assignment, 
had 
an 
account, 
contract or debtor-creditor 
relationship for the purposes of reviewing the account or 
collecting the financial obligation owing for the account, 
contract or debt or extending credit to a consumer with a 
prior 
or 
existing 
account, 
contract 
or 
debtor-creditor 
relationship, 
subject 
to 
the 
requirements 
of 
section 
DD-A. 
For purposes of this paragraph, 
"reviewing the 
account" includes activities related to account maintenance, 
monitoring, credit line increases and account upgrades and 
enhancements; 
B. 
A subsidiary, affiliate, agent, assignee or prospective 
assignee of a person to whom access has been granted under 
subsection 4 for purposes of facilitating the extension of 
credit or another permissible use; 
C. 
A person acting pursuant to a court order, warrant or 
subpoena; 
D. 
Child support enforcement officials when investigating a 
child support case pursuant to Title 19 A or to Title IV-D 
of the federal Social Security Act; 
E. 
The Department of Health and Human Services or its 
agents or assignees acting to investigate Medicaid fraud; 
F. 
The Department of Administrative and Financial Services, 
Maine Revenue Seryices; municipal taxing authorities; the 
Secretary of State, 
Bureau of Motor Vehicles; or any of 
their agents or assignees, acting to investigate or collect 
delinquent 
taxes 
or 
assessments, 
including interest 
and 
penalties and unpaid court orders, or to fulfill any of 
their other statutory or charter responsibilities; 
G. 
A person's use of credit information for prescreening as 
provided by the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act or this 
chapter; 
H. 
A person for the sole purpose of providing a credit file 
monitoring subscription service to which the consumer has 
subscribed; 
I. 
A consumer reporting agency for the sole purpose of 
providing a consumer with a copy of that consumer's report 
upon the consumer's request; and 
J. 
The administrator pursuant to section 1328. 
§1313-D. 
Duties of consumer reporting agency if security 
freeze is in place 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
"-
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A" to S.P. 190, L.D. 581 
If a 
security freeze is in place, 
a 
consumer 
reporting 
agency may not change any of the following official information 
in a consumer report without sending written confirmation of the 
change to the consumer within 30 days of the change being posted 
~he consumer's file: 
name, date of birth, social security 
number and address. 
Written confirmation is not required for 
technical modifications of 
a 
consumer's official information, 
including name and street abbreviations, complete spellings and 
transposition of numbers or letters. 
In the case of an address 
change, the written confirmation must be sent to the new address 
and the former address. 
§1313-E. 
Persons not regyired to place security freeze 
The 
following persons 
are 
not 
required to 
place 
on 
a 
consumer report a security freeze pursuant to section l313-C, 
except that any person that is not required to place a security 
freeze on 
a 
consumer report under the provisions of section 
l3l3-C is subject to a security freeze placed on a 
consumer 
report by another consumer reporting agency from which it obtains 
information: 
1. 
Check services or fraud prevention services company. 
A 
check services or fraud prevention services company that reports 
on incidents of fraud or issues authorizations for the purpose of 
approving or processing negotiable instruments c 
electronic fund 
transfers or similar methods of payment; 
2. 
Deposit account information service company. 
A deposit 
account information service company that issues reports regarding 
account 
closures 
due 
to 
fraud, 
overdrafts, 
automated teller 
machine 
abuse 
or 
similar 
negative 
information 
regarding 
a 
consumer to inquiring financial institutions for use only in 
reviewing that consumer's request for a deposit account at the 
inquiring financial institution; and 
that: 
3. 
Consumer reporting agency. 
A consumer reporting agency 
A. 
Acts only to resell credit information by assembling and 
merging information contained in a database of one or more 
consumer reporting agencies; and 
B. 
Does 
not 
maintain 
a 
permanent 
database 
of 
credit 
information from which new consumer reports are produced. 
Sec. 4. Effective date. 
This Act takes effect February 1, 2006.' 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT ,A, to S.P. 190, L.D. 581 
SUMMARY 
This amendment replaces the bill. 
It allows consumers to 
implement 
a 
security 
freeze 
on 
their 
consumer 
reports 
and 
describes 
the 
requirements 
for 
requesting 
a 
freeze 
and 
for 
lifting a 
freeze 
temporarily or permanently. 
This 
amendment 
establishes strict timelines for compliance by consumer reporting 
agencies and permits consumer reporting agencies to assess a fee 
for each freeze-related action taken with respect to a consumer 
report. 
In addition, it identi f ies exceptions to the security 
freeze requirements based on federal law and state enforcement 
requirements. 
FlSCAL NOTE REQUIRED 
(See attached) 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
.Approved: 05109/05 .:?dac;. 
LD581 
LR 1553(02) 
An Act Regarding Identity Theft Deterrence 
Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment 'A' 
Committee: Business, Research and Economic Development 
Fiscal Note Required: Yes 
Fiscal Note 
Minor cost increase - General Fund 
Minor revenue increase - General Fund 
Correctional and Judicial Impact Statements 
Establishes a new Unfair Trade Practices Act violation 
The collection of additional fines may increase General Fund revenue by minor amounts