HBA-TYH H.B. 611 76(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 611 By: Janek Business & Industry 2/15/1999 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Consumer reporting agencies engage in the practice of assembling or evaluating consumer credit information or other information on consumers in order to furnish consumer reports to third parties for monetary fees. Such agencies have on occasion released crucial personal information such as name, address, telephone number, driver's license number, and social security number, which has been used by third parties to commit fraud. H.B. 611 protects the confidentiality of a customer's personal information and provides a criminal penalty for breach of confidentiality. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Chapter 35, Business and Commerce Code, by adding Subchapter J, as follows: SUBCHAPTER J. CONFIDENTIALITY OF CERTAIN PERSONAL INFORMATION PROVIDED BY CUSTOMER TO BUSINESS Sec. 35.111. DEFINITIONS. Defines "consumer report agency" and "personal information." Sec. 35.112. CONFIDENTIALITY OF PERSONAL INFORMATION. Prohibits a business from disclosing personal information in a customer's account records if the customer requests that the business keep the information confidential, except as provided by Section 35.114. Authorizes the customer to request confidentiality by delivering to the business an appropriately marked form provided under Section 35.113(a) or any other written request for confidentiality. Authorizes the customer to rescind a request for confidentiality by providing the business written permission to disclose personal information. Sec. 35.113. NOTICE; REQUESTS. Requires a business to include, with any bill sent or application it provides to a customer, a notice of the customer's right to request confidentiality of personal information and a form by which the customer may request confidentiality by marking an appropriate box on the form and returning it to the business. Requires a business that reports a customer's credit information to a consumer reporting agency to provide to the agency a copy of any written request for confidentiality made by the customer. Sec. 35.114. EXCEPTIONS. Provides that this chapter does not prohibit a business from disclosing personal information in a customer's account records to an official or employee of the state, a political subdivision of the state, or the federal government acting in an official capacity, a consumer reporting agency, a person for whom the customer has contractually waived confidentiality for personal information, or a person to whom the disclosure of the information is required by law. Sec. 35.115. USE OF PERSONAL INFORMATION OBTAINED BY CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCY. Prohibits a consumer reporting agency from disclosing confidential personal information under this subchapter for a purpose unrelated to the furnishing of a consumer report to a third party unless disclosure of the information is made to a person described by Section 35.114 of this code. Sec. 35.116. PENALTY. Provides that a person commits a Class B misdemeanor if the person discloses confidential personal information in violation of this subchapter. SECTION 2. Effective date: September 1, 1999. SECTION 3. Emergency clause.