South Carolina General Assembly
113th Session, 1999-2000

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Bill 3509


                    Current Status

Bill Number:                      3509
Ratification Number:              351
Act Number:                       305
Type of Legislation:              General Bill GB
Introducing Body:                 House
Introduced Date:                  19990211
Primary Sponsor:                  Simrill
All Sponsors:                     Simrill, Mason, Robinson, Moody-Lawrence, 
                                  Altman, Davenport, Hamilton, Kirsh, Leach, 
                                  Meacham-Richardson, J.H. Neal, Sandifer
Drafted Document Number:          l:\council\bills\bbm\10092som99.doc
Date Bill Passed both Bodies:     20000517
Date of Last Amendment:           20000516
Governor's Action:                S
Date of Governor's Action:        20000530
Subject:                          Personal Financial Security Act, Banks, 
                                  Consumer Affairs, Crimes and Offenses, Fraud, 
                                  Freedom of Information


                        History

Body    Date      Action Description                     Com     Leg Involved
______  ________  ______________________________________ _______ ____________
------  20000616  Act No. A305
------  20000530  Signed by Governor
------  20000525  Ratified R351
Senate  20000517  Ordered enrolled for ratification
House   20000516  Free Conference Committee Report       99 HFCC
                  adopted
House   20000516  Free Conference Powers granted,        99 HFCC D. Smith
                  appointed Reps. to Committee of                Simrill
                  Free Conference                                F. Smith
Senate  20000504  Free Conference Committee Report       89 SFCC
                  adopted
Senate  20000504  Free Conference Powers granted,        89 SFCC Bryan
                  appointed Senators to Committee                Glover
                  of Free Conference                             Gregory
Senate  20000426  Conference powers granted,             88 SCC  Bryan
                  appointed Senators to Committee                Glover
                  of Conference                                  Gregory
House   20000425  Conference powers granted,             98 HCC  Simrill
                  appointed Reps. to Committee of                D. Smith
                  Conference                                     F. Smith
House   20000425  Insists upon amendment
Senate  20000420  Non-concurrence in House amendment
House   20000419  Senate amendments amended,
                  returned to Senate with amendment
Senate  20000411  Read third time, returned to House
                  with amendment
------  20000410  Scrivener's error corrected
Senate  20000406  Amended, read second time
Senate  20000405  Committee report: Favorable with       11 SJ
                  amendment
Senate  19990408  Introduced, read first time,           11 SJ
                  referred to Committee
House   19990407  Read third time, sent to Senate
House   19990406  Amended, read second time
House   19990331  Committee report: Favorable with       25 HJ
                  amendment
House   19990211  Introduced, read first time,           25 HJ
                  referred to Committee


              Versions of This Bill
Revised on March 31, 1999 - Word format
Revised on April 6, 1999 - Word format
Revised on April 5, 2000 - Word format
Revised on April 6, 2000 - Word format
Revised on April 10, 2000 - Word format
Revised on April 19, 2000 - Word format
Revised on May 16, 2000 - Word format

View additional legislative information at the LPITS web site.


(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

(A305, R351, H3509)

AN ACT TO AMEND CHAPTER 13, TITLE 16, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO FORGERY, LARCENY, AND SIMILAR OFFENSES, BY ADDING ARTICLE 2, ENTITLED THE "PERSONAL FINANCIAL SECURITY ACT" SO AS TO PROVIDE FOR THE OFFENSE OF FINANCIAL IDENTITY FRAUD AND PENALTIES FOR VIOLATION; TO FURTHER AMEND CHAPTER 13, TITLE 16 BY DESIGNATING SECTIONS 16-13-10 THROUGH 16-13-490 AS ARTICLE 1 OF THAT CHAPTER; AND TO ESTABLISH A JOINT LEGISLATIVE STUDY COMMITTEE TO STUDY PERSONAL INFORMATION PRIVACY ISSUES, SET FORTH ITS MEMBERSHIP, AND THE DATE FOR THE COMMITTEE TO REPORT TO THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY AND BE DISSOLVED.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

Personal Financial Security Act, offense of financial identity fraud, penalties, exceptions

SECTION 1. Chapter 13, Title 16 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:

"Article 2

Personal Financial Security Act

Section 16-13-500. This article may be cited as the 'Personal Financial Security Act'.

Section 16-13-510. (A) It is unlawful for a person to commit the offense of financial identity fraud.

(B) A person is guilty of financial identity fraud when he, without the authorization or permission of another person and with the intent of unlawfully appropriating the financial resources of that person to his own use or the use of a third party:

(1) obtains or records identifying information which would assist in accessing the financial records of the other person; or

(2) accesses or attempts to access the financial resources of the other person through the use of identifying information as defined in subsection (C).

(C) Identifying information includes, but is not limited to:

(1) social security numbers;

(2) driver's license numbers;

(3) checking account numbers;

(4) savings account numbers;

(5) credit card numbers;

(6) debit card numbers;

(7) personal identification numbers;

(8) electronic identification numbers;

(9) digital signatures; or

(10) other numbers or information which may be used to access a person's financial resources.

(D) A person who violates the provisions of this section is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, must be fined in the discretion of the court or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both. The court may order restitution to the victim pursuant to the provisions of Section 17-25-322.

Section 16-13-520. In a criminal proceeding brought pursuant to this article, the crime is considered to have been committed in a county in which a part of the financial identity fraud took place, regardless of whether the defendant was ever actually in that county.

Section 16-13-530. Nothing in this article may be construed to apply to:

(1) the lawful acquisition and use of credit or other information in the course of a bona fide consumer or commercial transaction or in connection with an account by any financial institution or entity defined in or required to comply with the Federal Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 U.S.C.A. Section 1681, or the Federal Gramm-Leach-Bliley Financial Modernization Act, 113 Stat. 1338;

(2) the lawful, good faith exercise of a security interest or a right to offset exercised by a creditor, agency, or financial institution; or

(3) the lawful, good faith compliance by a party when required by a warrant, levy, attachment, court order, or other judicial or administrative order, decree, or directive."

Designation of article

SECTION 2. (1) Sections 16-13-10 through 16-13-490 of the 1976 Code are designated as Article 1, Chapter 13 of Title 16 of the 1976 Code.

(2) Article 1 of Chapter 13 of Title 16 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:

"Article 1

Miscellaneous Offenses".

Joint legislative study committee, membership, report

SECTION 3. (A) A joint legislative study committee is created to study personal information privacy issues, to examine the relationship of information technology and privacy issues, and to seek to establish an appropriate balance which promotes the use of information for legitimate business purposes, including biometric technology for use in preventing identity theft and fraud, while safeguarding the personal privacy rights of the citizens of South Carolina.

(B) The joint legislative study committee shall be composed of nineteen members to include:

(1) three members of the House of Representatives to be appointed by the Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee;

(2) three members of the Senate to be appointed by the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee;

(3) two members of the media, one to be appointed by the Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee and one to be appointed by the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee;

(4) one member of the South Carolina Merchants Association to be jointly appointed by the Chairmen of the House and Senate Judiciary committees;

(5) a representative of the National Organization Mandating Equitable Databases or if that organization chooses not to participate, a representative of a similar personal privacy protection advocacy group to be jointly appointed by the Chairmen of the House and Senate Judiciary committees;

(6) two consumer victims of identity fraud, one to be appointed by the Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee and one to be appointed by the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee;

(7) three members of the financial services industry, one to be appointed by the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, one to be appointed by the Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, and one to be jointly appointed by both Chairmen;

(8) two representatives of consumer protection organizations to be jointly appointed by both Chairmen; and

(9) two members of the information technology industry, one to be appointed by the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and one to be appointed by the Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.

(C) The study committee must submit its report to the General Assembly no later than October 15, 2000, at which time the committee is dissolved.

(D) The study committee shall be staffed by personnel as provided and assigned by the Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee from the House staff and by the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee from the Senate staff.

Time effective

SECTION 4. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor and applies to all offenses committed on or after that date.

Ratified the 25th day of May, 2000.

Approved the 30th day of May, 2000.

__________


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