An Act To Update the Fair Credit Reporting Act Consistent with Federal Law
Maine Legislature, Session 126, LD 1410
Committee: Insurance and Financial Services
Sponsors: WHITTEMORE, BECK, MORRISON

Legislative Document 
No. 1410 
S.P. 504 
In Senate, April 23, 2013 
An Act To Update the Fair Credit Reporting Act Consistent with 
Federal Law 
Submitted by the Department of Professional and Financial Regulation pursuant to Joint 
Rule 204. 
Reference to the Committee on Insurance and Financial Services suggested and ordered 
printed. 
DAREK M. GRANT 
Secretary of the Senate 
Presented by Senator WHITTEMORE of Somerset. 
Cosponsored by Representative BECK of Waterville and 
Representative: MORRISON of South Portland. 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  10 MRSA c. 209-B is enacted to read: 
CHAPTER 209-B 
FAIR CREDIT REPORTING ACT 
§1306.  Short title 
This chapter may be known and cited as "the Fair Credit Reporting Act." 
§1307.  Statement of purpose 
1.  Findings.  The Legislature makes the following findings.  
A.  Creditors, insurers and prospective employers are dependent upon fair and 
accurate consumer reporting.  Inaccurate consumer reports directly impair the 
efficiency of economic decisions, and unfair consumer reporting methods undermine 
the public confidence that is essential to our economic system. 
B.  An elaborate mechanism has been developed for investigating and evaluating the 
creditworthiness, credit standing, credit capacity, character and general reputation of 
consumers. 
C.  Consumer reporting agencies have assumed a vital role in assembling and 
evaluating consumer credit and other information on consumers. 
D.  There is a need to ensure that consumer reporting agencies exercise their grave 
responsibilities with fairness, impartiality and a respect for the consumer's right to 
privacy. 
2.  Purposes.  The purposes of this chapter are to: 
A.  Require consumer reporting agencies to adopt reasonable procedures for meeting 
the needs of commerce for consumer credit, personnel, insurance and other 
information in a manner that is fair and equitable to the consumer, with regard for 
confidentiality, accuracy, relevancy and proper use of this information in accordance 
with the requirements of this chapter; and 
B.  Supplement the provisions of the United States Fair Credit Reporting Act of the 
United States Consumer Credit Protection Act, 15 United States Code, Section 1681 
et seq. 
§1308.  Definitions 
As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise indicates, the following terms 
have the following meanings.  Unless the context otherwise indicates, any word or phrase 
that is not defined in this chapter but that is defined in the federal Fair Credit Reporting 
Act has the meaning set forth in the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act. 
1.  Administrator.  "Administrator" means the Superintendent of Consumer Credit 
Protection within the Department of Professional and Financial Regulation. 
2.  Consumer.  "Consumer" means an individual about whom a consumer report or 
an investigative consumer report has been prepared by a consumer reporting agency or an 
office of a consumer reporting agency. 
3.  Consumer reporting agency.  "Consumer reporting agency" means a 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 on consumers for the purpose of furnishing consumer reports or investigative 
consumer reports to 3rd parties. 
4.  Federal Fair Credit Reporting Act.  "Federal Fair Credit Reporting Act" means 
the Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 United States Code, Section 1681 et seq., as amended. 
5.  Person subject to this chapter.  "Person subject to this chapter" means a person 
subject to the provisions of the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act and a consumer 
reporting agency. 
6.  Proper identification.  "Proper identification" means that information generally 
considered sufficient to identify a person. 
7.  Security freeze.  "Security freeze" means a notice placed in a consumer report at 
the request of the consumer pursuant to section 1310 that prohibits a consumer reporting 
agency from releasing the consumer report or any information in the report without that 
consumer's express authorization. 
8.  Supervised financial organization.  "Supervised financial organization" has the 
same meaning as in Title 9-A, section 1-301, subsection 38-A. 
§1309.  Incorporation by reference of federal law and rulemaking 
1.  Federal law and regulation.  A person subject to this chapter shall comply with 
the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act and the provisions of 12 Code of Federal 
Regulations, Section 1022.1 et seq., as amended. 
2.  Rules.  Subject to the limitations in 15 United States Code, Section 1681t, the 
administrator may adopt rules not inconsistent with the provisions of 12 Code of Federal 
Regulations, Section 1022.1 et seq., as amended; 16 Code of Federal Regulations, Section 
681.1 et seq.; and 16 Code of Federal Regulations, Section 682.1 et seq.  Rules adopted 
pursuant to this subsection are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, 
subchapter 2-A. 
§1310.  Additional requirements for persons subject to this chapter 
In addition to the compliance requirements of section 1309, subsection 1, a person 
subject to this chapter shall comply with this section. 
1.  Security freeze by consumer reporting agency; time in effect.  A person 
subject to this chapter shall comply with the following provisions regarding security 
freezes. 
A.  A consumer may place a security freeze on the consumer's consumer report as 
follows. 
(1)  A consumer who has been the victim of identity theft may place a security 
freeze on the consumer's consumer report by making a request 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. 
(2)  A consumer who has not been the victim of identity theft may place a 
security freeze on the consumer's consumer report by making a request 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 security freeze, 
removal of a security freeze or temporary suspension of a security 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 under paragraph D.  A consumer reporting agency may 
charge a fee of not more than $12 for a temporary suspension of a security freeze 
for a specific party. 
B.  Subject to the exceptions in paragraph M, 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. 
C.  A consumer reporting agency shall place a security freeze on a consumer report 
no later than 5 business days after receiving a written request from the consumer. 
D.  The consumer reporting agency shall send a written confirmation of the security 
freeze to the consumer within 10 business days after receiving a written request from 
the consumer 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. 
E.  If a consumer wishes to allow access to a consumer report by a specific party or 
for a period of time while a security freeze is in place, the consumer may contact the 
consumer reporting agency, request that the security freeze be temporarily suspended 
and provide the following: 
(1)  Proper identification; 
(2)  The personal identification number or password provided by the consumer 
reporting agency pursuant to paragraph D; and 
(3)  The proper information regarding the specific party granted access or the 
time period for which the consumer report is to be available to users. 
F.  A consumer reporting agency may develop procedures involving the use of 
telephone, facsimile transmission, the Internet or other medium of electronic 
communications to receive and process a request from a consumer to temporarily 
suspend a security freeze on a consumer report pursuant to paragraph E in an 
expedited 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. 
G.  A consumer reporting agency that receives a request from a consumer to 
temporarily suspend a security freeze on a consumer report pursuant to paragraph E 
shall comply with the request no later than 3 business days after receiving the request. 
H.  A consumer reporting agency shall remove or temporarily suspend a security 
freeze placed on a consumer report only: 
(1)  Upon consumer request pursuant to paragraph E or K; or 
(2)  If the security freeze was due to a material misrepresentation of fact by the 
consumer.  If a consumer reporting agency intends to remove a security freeze 
from a consumer report pursuant to this subparagraph, the consumer reporting 
agency shall notify the consumer in writing prior to removing the security freeze. 
I.  If a 3rd party requests 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. 
J.  If a consumer requests a security freeze pursuant to this subsection, 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 annual registration or 
reregistration under section 1310-A and any time there is a material change in the 
disclosure form required by this paragraph. 
K.  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: 
(1)  Proper identification; and 
(2)  The personal identification number or password provided by the consumer 
reporting agency pursuant to paragraph D. 
L.  A consumer reporting agency shall require proper identification of the person 
making a request to place or remove a security freeze. 
M.  The provisions of this subsection, including the security freeze, do not apply to 
the use of a consumer report by: 
(1)  A person or person's subsidiary, affiliate, agent or assignee with which the 
consumer has or, prior to 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 15 United States Code, Section 
1681b.  For purposes of this subparagraph, "reviewing the account" includes 
activities related to account maintenance, monitoring, credit line increases and 
account upgrades and enhancements; 
(2)  A subsidiary, affiliate, agent, assignee or prospective assignee of a person to 
whom access has been granted under paragraph E for purposes of facilitating the 
extension of credit or another permissible use; 
(3)  A person acting pursuant to a court order, warrant or subpoena; 
(4)  Child support enforcement officials when investigating a child support case 
pursuant to Title 19-A or the federal Social Security Act, Title IV-D; 
(5)  The Department of Health and Human Services or its agents or assignees 
acting to investigate Medicaid fraud; 
(6)  The Department of Administrative and Financial Services, Maine Revenue 
Services; 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; 
(7)  A person's use of credit information for prescreening as provided by the 
federal Fair Credit Reporting Act or this chapter;  
(8)  A person for the sole purpose of providing a credit file monitoring 
subscription service to which the consumer has subscribed; 
(9)  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 
(10)  The administrator pursuant to section 1310-A. 
2.  Duties of consumer reporting agency if security freeze is in place.  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 after the change is posted to the 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. 
3.  Persons not required to place security freeze.  The following persons are not 
required to place on a consumer report a security freeze pursuant to subsection 1, except 
that any person that is not required to place a security freeze on a consumer report under 
the provisions of subsection 1 is subject to a security freeze placed on a consumer report 
by another consumer reporting agency from which it obtains information: 
A.  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, electronic fund transfers or similar methods of payment; 
B.  A deposit account information services 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 
C.  A consumer reporting agency that: 
(1)  Acts only to resell credit information by assembling and merging information 
contained in a database of one or more consumer reporting agencies; and 
(2)  Does not maintain a permanent database of credit information from which 
new consumer reports are produced. 
4.  Reporting of child support debts.  Information regarding child support debt must 
be provided as required under this subsection. 
A.  The Department of Health and Human Services, upon request of a consumer 
reporting agency, shall make available information regarding the amount of overdue 
child support owed by any parent. 
B.  Prior to making the information available to a requesting agency, the department 
shall provide the obligor parent with notice of the proposed action.  The parent must 
be given 20 days in which to contest the accuracy of the information before the 
information may be made available. 
C.  The department may impose a fee upon the requesting agency in an amount not 
exceeding the actual cost of providing the information. 
Nothing in this section prevents the department from voluntarily providing information to 
a consumer reporting agency regarding any individual who is indebted to the department 
for failure to pay child support. 
5.  Solicitation of loans using prescreened trigger lead information from 
consumer report.  Solicitation of loans using prescreened trigger lead information from 
consumer reports is subject to the requirements of this subsection.  For the purposes of 
this subsection, "prescreened trigger lead information" means information in a consumer 
report provided to a nonaffiliated 3rd party by a consumer reporting agency that the 
agency has reason to believe will be used to solicit a loan or extension of credit. 
A.  When using prescreened trigger lead information derived from a consumer report 
to solicit a consumer who has applied for a loan with another lender or loan broker, a 
lender or loan broker may not use unfair or deceptive practices described in 
paragraph B. 
B.  Without limitation, it is an unfair or deceptive practice to: 
(1)  Fail to state in the initial phase of the solicitation from a lender or loan broker 
that the solicitor is not affiliated with the lender or loan broker with which the 
consumer initially applied; 
(2)  Fail in the initial solicitation to conform to state and federal law relating to 
prescreened solicitations using consumer reports, including the requirement to 
make a firm offer of credit to the consumer; 
(3)  Knowingly or negligently use information regarding consumers who have 
opted out of prescreened offers of credit or who have placed their contact 
information on the most current federal do-not-call registry; or  
(4)  Solicit a consumer with offers of certain rates, terms and costs with intent to 
subsequently raise the rates or change the terms to the consumer's detriment. 
6.  Consumer mortgage reports.  In any consumer credit transaction involving a 
consumer report relating to a loan to be secured by a first mortgage on an owner-occupied 
dwelling, whenever a user has requested such a report and because or partly because of 
information contained in the report adverse action is taken, the user shall provide a copy 
of the report to the consumer.  This requirement does not apply if the consumer reporting 
agency provides a copy of the report to the consumer. 
7.  Dissemination of consumer report information prohibited.  Every user of a 
consumer report or an investigative consumer report is prohibited from disseminating to 
any other person, other than the consumer who is the subject of the report, any such 
report other than information contained in its own files as a result of its direct experience 
with the consumer.  Except for information or records obtained directly or indirectly and 
with the consent of the individual to whom it relates, from a licensed physician, medical 
practitioner, hospital, clinic or other medical or medically related facility, a consumer 
reporting agency may not by contract or otherwise prohibit a user of any consumer report 
or investigative consumer report from disclosing the contents of the report to the 
consumer to whom it relates. A contractual provision in violation of this section is 
unenforceable. 
8.  Medical expenses debts; court or administrative orders.  A debt collector may 
report overdue medical expenses for a minor child to a consumer reporting agency, but 
only in the name of the responsible party identified in a court order or administrative 
order and only if the debt collector is notified orally or in writing of the existence of the 
order.  In addition, a report may not be made until after the debt collector has notified, or 
made a good faith effort to notify, the responsible party of that party's obligation to pay 
the overdue medical expenses.  Existing information regarding overdue medical expenses 
for a minor child in the name of a person other than the responsible party identified in a 
court order or administrative order is considered inaccurate information and is subject to 
correction.  A debt collector or consumer reporting agency may request reasonable 
verification of the order, including a certified copy of the order. 
9.  Nonliability.  A person may not be held liable for any violation of this section if 
the person shows by a preponderance of the evidence that at the time of the alleged 
violation the person maintained reasonable procedures to ensure compliance with the 
provisions of this section. 
§1310-A.  Administrative enforcement 
1.  Authority.  The administrator, within the limits provided by law, may: 
A.  Receive and act on complaints, take action designed to obtain voluntary 
compliance with this chapter, refer complaints to the Department of Professional and 
Financial Regulation, Bureau of Financial Institutions pursuant to subsection 9 or 
refer cases to the Attorney General, who shall appear for and represent the 
administrator in court; 
B.  Counsel groups and persons on their rights and duties under this chapter; 
C.  Establish programs for the education of consumers with respect to the provisions 
of this chapter; 
D.  Make studies appropriate to effectuate the purposes and policies of this chapter 
and make the results available to the public; 
E.  Issue advisory rulings designed to clarify the applicability of any statutory 
provision of this chapter necessary or proper to effectuate its purposes; 
F.  Maintain a public file of all enforcement proceedings instituted and of their 
disposition, including all assurances of voluntary compliance accepted and their 
terms and the pleadings and briefs in all actions in which the administrator is a party; 
and 
G.  Request registration and annual reregistration of consumer reporting agencies 
located in this State or serving users within this State and set an annual registration 
fee not to exceed $100, the aggregate of which must be used by the administrator to 
enforce this chapter. 
2.  Investigatory powers.  The administrator has the following investigatory powers 
except in cases in which the Department of Professional and Financial Regulation, 
Bureau of Financial Institutions or the Attorney General has exclusive authority pursuant 
to subsection 9. 
A.  The administrator may annually investigate any person whom the administrator 
believes has engaged in conduct governed by this chapter, except that the 
administrator may, at any time, investigate any person the administrator believes to 
be a consumer reporting agency.  If the administrator has reasonable cause to believe 
that any person has violated this chapter, the administrator may investigate that 
person at any time.  During any investigation, the administrator may administer oaths 
or affirmations and, upon the administrator's own motion or upon request of any 
party, may subpoena witnesses, compel their attendance, adduce evidence and require 
the production of any matter that is relevant to the investigation, including the 
existence, description, nature, custody, condition and location of any books, 
documents or other tangible things and the identity and location of persons having 
knowledge of relevant facts, or any other matter reasonably calculated to lead to the 
discovery of admissible evidence.  If the administrator finds a violation of this 
chapter, the administrator shall so notify all parties to the transactions involved. 
B.  If the records of a person under investigation are located outside this State, the 
person, at the administrator's option, may either make the original records or 
facsimiles of the record available to the administrator at a convenient location within 
this State or pay the reasonable and necessary expenses for the administrator or the 
administrator's representative to examine them at the place where the records are 
maintained.  The administrator may designate representatives, including comparable 
officials of the state in which the records are located or federal officials, to inspect the 
records on the administrator's behalf. 
C.  The expenses of the administrator necessarily incurred in the examination of 
persons subject to this chapter must be chargeable to that person in the same manner 
and for the same expenses set forth in Title 9-A, section 6-106, subsection 6, except 
that users of consumer reports may not be charged examination expenses unless the 
administrator finds a violation of this chapter. 
3.  Administrative enforcement orders.  After notice and hearing, the administrator 
may order a person to cease and desist from engaging in violations of this chapter.  The 
administrator may also order affirmative action designed to correct past or future 
violations of this chapter.  Any hearing held under this subsection must be conducted in 
accordance with the procedures of Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 4.  A respondent 
aggrieved by an order of the administrator may obtain judicial review of the order and the 
administrator may, through the Attorney General, obtain an order of the court for 
enforcement of its order in the Superior Court.  The proceedings for review or 
enforcement must be initiated and conducted in accordance with Title 5, chapter 375, 
subchapter 7.  
4.  Assurance of discontinuance.  If it is claimed that a person has engaged in 
conduct that could be subject to any order by the administrator, the administrator shall 
first attempt to negotiate an assurance in writing that the person will not engage in the 
same or similar conduct in the future, prior to initiating an enforcement order under 
subsection 3.  The assurance may include, but is not limited to, admissions of past 
specific acts by the person or that such acts violated this chapter or other statutes.  A 
violation of an assurance of discontinuance is a violation of this chapter.  
5.  Civil action. The administrator, through the Attorney General, may bring a civil 
action against a person to recover a civil penalty for knowingly violating this chapter or 
violating an assurance of discontinuance, and if the court finds that the defendant has 
engaged in a knowing violation of this chapter or a violation of an assurance of 
discontinuance, it may assess a civil penalty of not more than $5,000.  
If the defendant establishes by a preponderance of evidence that repeated violations were 
the result of a bona fide error notwithstanding the maintenance of procedures reasonably 
adapted to avoid any such violation or error, a penalty may not be imposed under this 
subsection.  
6.  Remedies not affected.  The grant of powers to the administrator in this section 
does not affect remedies available to the Attorney General or to consumers under this 
chapter or under other principles of law or equity. 
7.  Venue. The administrator, through the Attorney General, may bring actions or 
proceedings in a court in a county or division in which an act on which the action or 
proceeding is based occurred or in a county or division in which a respondent resides or 
transacts business. 
8.  Bureau of Insurance.  With respect to those examinations authorized by 
subsection 2, paragraph A, the administrator shall, where applicable, coordinate 
examinations for compliance with this chapter with examinations conducted by the 
Department of Professional and Financial Regulation, Bureau of Insurance for 
compliance with Title 24-A.  
9.  Bureau of Financial Institutions.  When a supervised financial organization as 
defined in Title 9-A, section 1-301, subsection 38-A is a person subject to this chapter 
and the Department of Professional and Financial Regulation, Bureau of Financial 
Institutions charters or regulates the supervised financial organization, the Bureau of 
Financial Institutions has exclusive authority pursuant to this chapter over the supervised 
financial organization.  This authority is in addition to the authority of the Bureau of 
Financial Institutions in Title 9-B.  The Attorney General has authority to enforce the 
provisions of this chapter for any other supervised financial organization that is a person 
subject to this chapter. 
§1310-B.  Criminal violations 
1.  Obtaining information under false pretenses.  A person who knowingly and 
intentionally obtains information on a consumer from a consumer reporting agency under 
false pretenses commits a Class D crime. 
2.  Unauthorized provision of information.  An officer or employee of a consumer 
reporting agency who knowingly and intentionally provides information concerning an 
individual from the agency's files to a person not authorized to receive that information 
commits a Class D crime. 
§1310-C.  Civil liability for willful noncompliance 
A consumer reporting agency or user of information that willfully and knowingly 
fails to comply with a requirement imposed under this chapter with respect to a consumer 
is liable to that consumer for and the court may award an amount equal to the sum of: 
1.  Actual damages.  Actual damages sustained by the consumer as a result of the 
failure; 
2.  Treble damages.  An amount equal to 3 times the actual damages according to 
subsection 1; and 
3.  Costs and attorney's fees.  In the case of a successful action to enforce a liability 
under this section, the costs of the action together with reasonable attorney's fees as 
determined by the court. 
§1310-D.  Civil liability for negligent noncompliance 
A consumer reporting agency or user of information that is negligent in failing to 
comply with a requirement imposed under this chapter with respect to a consumer is 
liable to that consumer in an amount equal to the sum of: 
1.  Actual damages.  Actual damages sustained by the consumer as a result of the 
failure; 
2.  Additional damages.  Such amount of additional damages as the court may allow, 
but not less than $100 for each violation of this chapter involving negligence, and for 
each consumer report containing any item of information that was inaccurate and that 
contributed in whole or in part to the decision to take adverse action against the 
consumer; and 
3.  Costs and attorney's fees.  In the case of any successful action to enforce any 
liability under this section, the costs of the action together with reasonable attorney's fees 
as determined by the court. 
§1310-E.  Jurisdiction of courts; limitation of actions 
An action to enforce liability created under this chapter may be brought in any court 
of competent jurisdiction within 2 years from the date on which the liability arises, except 
that when a defendant has materially and willfully misrepresented any information 
required under this chapter to be disclosed to an individual and the information so 
misrepresented is material to the establishment of the defendant's liability to that 
individual under this chapter, the action may be brought at any time within 2 years after 
the discovery by the individual of the misrepresentation. 
§1310-F.  Relation to other laws and the powers of the Superintendent of Financial 
Institutions 
This chapter does not limit the obligations of a supervised financial organization to 
comply with other state and federal laws to which the supervised financial organization is 
subject, or the authority of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions conferred by Title 
9-B, including the authority to examine and supervise a supervised financial organization 
to ensure compliance with state and federal laws and regulations as set forth in Title 9-B, 
section 211, subsection 3. 
§1310-G.  Enforcement powers in addition to those in federal law 
The enforcement powers of the administrator under this chapter are in addition to the 
State's enforcement powers authorized under federal law. 
§1310-H.  Additional state-specific provisions 
1.  Fee for disclosure.  In addition to any rights to which a consumer is entitled under 
federal law, a consumer reporting agency may not impose a fee for a consumer report 
provided to a consumer upon request once during any 12-month period.  For a 2nd or 
subsequent report provided during a 12-month period, a consumer reporting agency may 
charge a consumer a fee not to exceed $5. 
2.  Time to reinvestigate.  Notwithstanding any provision of federal law, if a 
consumer disputes any item of information contained in the consumer's file on the 
grounds that it is inaccurate and the dispute is directly conveyed to the consumer 
reporting agency by the consumer, the consumer reporting agency shall reinvestigate and 
record the current status of the information within 21 calendar days of notification of the 
dispute by the consumer, unless it has reasonable grounds to believe that the dispute by 
the consumer is frivolous.  
3.  Nonliability.  A person may not be held liable for any violation of this section if 
the person shows by a preponderance of the evidence that at the time of the alleged 
violation the person maintained reasonable procedures to ensure compliance with the 
provisions of subsections 1 and 2. 
Sec. 2.  10 MRSA c. 210, as amended, is repealed. 
Sec. 3.  Revisor's review; cross-references.  The Revisor of Statutes shall 
review the Maine Revised Statutes and include in the errors and inconsistencies bill 
submitted to the Second Regular Session of the 126th Legislature pursuant to Title 1, 
section 94 any sections necessary to correct and update any cross-references in the 
statutes to provisions of law repealed in this Act. 
SUMMARY 
This bill incorporates federal fair credit reporting laws into state law while preserving 
enhanced protections found in current state law.