House File 370
HOUSE FILE
BY MASCHER and LENSING
Passed House, Date Passed Senate, Date
Vote: Ayes Nays Vote: Ayes Nays
Approved
A BILL FOR
1 An Act requiring credit reporting agencies to provide credit
2 reports to consumers annually without charge.
3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
4 TLSB 2873HH 80
5 av/cf/24
PAG LIN
1 1 Section 1. NEW SECTION. 537.3213 DISCLOSURE OF CREDIT
1 2 REPORT.
1 3 1. A credit reporting agency shall, upon written or verbal
1 4 request by and proper identification of a consumer, clearly,
1 5 accurately, and in a manner that is understandable to the
1 6 consumer, provide a credit report to the consumer disclosing,
1 7 in writing, all information in the agency's files pertaining
1 8 to the consumer at the time of the request, including but not
1 9 limited to all of the following:
1 10 a. The names of all persons requesting credit information
1 11 pertaining to the consumer during the prior twelve=month
1 12 period and the date of each request.
1 13 b. A set of instructions, presented in a manner that is
1 14 understandable to the consumer, describing how information is
1 15 presented on the agency's written disclosure of the file.
1 16 c. A toll=free telephone number for use in contacting the
1 17 credit reporting agency if the consumer has questions or
1 18 disputes information contained in the credit report.
1 19 2. A credit reporting agency shall, upon request of a
1 20 consumer, provide the consumer with one disclosure copy of the
1 21 consumer's credit report each calendar year at no charge. If
1 22 the consumer requests more than one copy of the consumer's
1 23 file per year pursuant to this section, the credit reporting
1 24 agency may charge the consumer up to eight dollars for each
1 25 additional disclosure copy of the consumer's credit report.
1 26 3. For purposes of this section:
1 27 a. "Consumer" means a person residing in the state of
1 28 Iowa.
1 29 b. "Credit report" means a written, oral, or other
1 30 communication or information held by a credit reporting agency
1 31 relating to a consumer's creditworthiness, credit standing,
1 32 credit capacity, debts, character, general reputation,
1 33 personal characteristics, or mode of living, which is used or
1 34 expected to be used or collected, in whole or in part, as a
1 35 factor to establish a consumer's eligibility for credit or
2 1 insurance to be used for personal, family, or household
2 2 purposes, employment purposes, or any other purpose authorized
2 3 pursuant to applicable provisions of the federal Fair Credit
2 4 Reporting Act, 15 U.S.C. }} 1681a and 1681b.
2 5 "Credit report" does not include a report containing
2 6 information solely relating to a transaction between the
2 7 consumer and the person making the report, an authorization or
2 8 approval of a specific extension of credit directly or
2 9 indirectly by the issuer of a credit card or similar device,
2 10 or a report in which a person who has been requested by a
2 11 third party to make a specific extension of credit directly or
2 12 indirectly to a consumer conveys a decision with respect to
2 13 the request, if the third party advises the consumer of the
2 14 name and address of the person to whom the request was made
2 15 and the person makes the disclosures that must be made to the
2 16 consumer pursuant to the provisions of the federal Fair Credit
2 17 Reporting Act, 15 U.S.C. } 1681m, in the event of adverse
2 18 action.
2 19 c. "Credit reporting agency" means a person that, for
2 20 monetary fees, dues, or on a cooperative nonprofit basis,
2 21 regularly engages in whole or in part in the practice of
2 22 assembling or evaluating consumer credit information or other
2 23 information regarding consumers for the purpose of furnishing
2 24 credit reports to third parties. "Credit reporting agency"
2 25 does not include a business entity that provides only check
2 26 verification or check guarantee services.
2 27 EXPLANATION
2 28 This bill creates a new Code section in the Iowa consumer
2 29 credit code that requires credit reporting agencies to provide
2 30 a consumer with one copy of the consumer's credit report per
2 31 year at no cost to the consumer upon the written or verbal
2 32 request and proper identification of the consumer.
2 33 For the purposes of the bill, "consumer" is defined as a
2 34 person residing in Iowa and "credit report" is defined as a
2 35 written, oral, or other communication or information held by a
3 1 credit reporting agency relating to a consumer's
3 2 creditworthiness, credit standing, credit capacity, debts,
3 3 character, general reputation, personal characteristics, or
3 4 mode of living that is used or collected as a factor to
3 5 establish a consumer's eligibility for credit or insurance to
3 6 be used for personal, family, or household purposes,
3 7 employment purposes, or any other purpose authorized by the
3 8 federal Fair Credit Reporting Act. For the purposes of the
3 9 bill, a "credit reporting agency" is a person that for
3 10 monetary fees, dues, or on a cooperative nonprofit basis
3 11 regularly engages in assembling or evaluating consumer credit
3 12 information or other information for the purpose of furnishing
3 13 credit reports to third parties.
3 14 LSB 2873HH 80
3 15 av/cf/24