Legislature Passes Credit Freezes Bill

STATE CAPITOL, Phoenix The Senate and the House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed legislation last week aimed at helping consumers curb identity theft. SB 1185, sponsored by Sen. Amanda Aguirre (D-24), proposes to make credit freezes more practical and affordable for Arizonas consumers. As of late 2007, the three major credit bureaus voluntarily allow residents of states without a current security freeze requirement in statute, such as Arizona, to request a security freeze. Previously, only victims of identity theft who provided various law enforcement documents could do so. The voluntary program allows consumers to place or lift a freeze for ten dollars. SB 1185 enters the credit bureaus voluntary program into statute, lowers the fee for placing or removing a freeze to five dollars, and requires the bureaus to remove a freeze within 15 minutes of receipt if the request is received over the Internet or phone during regular business hours. This law is way over due. Consumers in Arizona need this protection. SB 1185, with the input of key stakeholders in Arizona and the credit reporting industry, provides the tools and the mechanism to protect Arizonans from being victimized. Im very pleased to have worked with the Attorney General and Rep. Robson (R-20) in passing one of the best credit reporting freeze pieces of legislation in the country, said Sen. Aguirre. Having been a victim of identity theft last year, I felt that all my personal rights were violated. I want to make sure that the citizens in Arizona do not have to experience this problem. We all have a choice now to protect ourselves from this type of crime, said Sen. Aguirre. SB 1185 and HB 2587, a related bill that Rep. Robson sponsored are both aimed at helping consumers. HB 2587 prohibits the extension of credit without first determining whether the application was a result of identity theft. Further, extending credit to a consumer who has placed a security freeze on their credit report, is subject to private action or by the Arizona Attorney General. These two bills will go a long way in freezing identity thieves who pry into the private financial lives of Arizonans, Rep. Robson, R-Chandler, said. We have made it harder for criminals to take advantage of Arizonans and I am committed to giving our states residents the tools to protect their private financial information. "The work done to pass this bill became a bipartisan effort," Attorney General Goddard said. "This effort demonstrates that when everyone comes to the table, we can protect Arizona consumers." Both bills await the Governors signature.