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A00846 Summary:

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A00846 Floor Votes:

A00846 Text:

 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                         846--A
                                                                 Cal. No. 68
 
                               2011-2012 Regular Sessions
 
                   IN ASSEMBLY
 
                                       (Prefiled)
 
                                     January 5, 2011
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced by M. of A. PHEFFER, GLICK, GUNTHER, MILLMAN, REILLY, GABRYS-
          ZAK,  ORTIZ, DINOWITZ, MAYERSOHN, GALEF, MAISEL, COLTON -- Multi-Spon-
          sored by -- M.   of A. CASTRO,  COOK,  DESTITO,  ENGLEBRIGHT,  LIFTON,

          MAGEE,  MARKEY, M. MILLER, ROSENTHAL, SCHIMEL, SWEENEY, THIELE, TOWNS,
          WEINSTEIN, WEISENBERG -- read once and referred to  the  Committee  on
          Consumer  Affairs  and Protection -- reported from committee, advanced
          to a third reading, amended and ordered reprinted, retaining its place
          on the order of third reading
 
        AN ACT to amend the general business law, in relation to the  disclosure
          of social security numbers
 
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
 
     1    Section 1. The general business law is amended by adding a new section
     2  399-ddd to read as follows:
     3    § 399-ddd. Disclosure of social security number. 1.  As used  in  this
     4  section,  "social  security  account  number"  shall  include the number

     5  issued by the federal social  security  administration  and  any  number
     6  derived  from  such number.  Such term shall not include any number that
     7  has been encrypted.
     8    2. No person,  firm,  partnership,  association  or  corporation,  not
     9  including  the  state  or  its  political subdivisions, shall require an
    10  individual to disclose or furnish his or  her  social  security  account
    11  number,  for  any  purpose in connection with any activity, or to refuse
    12  any service, privilege or  right  to  an  individual  wholly  or  partly
    13  because  such  individual  refuses  to  disclose or furnish such number,
    14  unless one of the exceptions enumerated in  subdivision  three  of  this
    15  section applies.

    16    3.  The  provisions  of  this section shall not apply in the following
    17  instances:
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD01061-02-1
        A. 846--A                           2
 
     1    (a) The individual consents to the acquisition or use of  his  or  her
     2  social security account number.
     3    (b) The social security account number is expressly required by feder-
     4  al, state, or local law or regulation.
     5    (c)  The  social  security  account  number is to be used for internal
     6  verification or fraud investigation.

     7    (d) The social security account number is to be used for any  business
     8  function  permitted  or  allowed  under the Gramm Leach Bliley Act, P.L.
     9  106-102 (1999).
    10    (e) The social security account number is requested in connection with
    11  a request for credit or a credit transaction initiated by  the  consumer
    12  or in connection with a lawful request for a consumer report or investi-
    13  gative  consumer  report,  as  such  terms  are defined in section three
    14  hundred eighty-a of this chapter.
    15    (f) The social security account number is requested in connection with
    16  a deposit account or an investment.
    17    (g) The social security account number is requested  for  purposes  of

    18  employment,  including  in  the course of the administration of a claim,
    19  benefit, or procedure related to  the  individual's  employment  by  the
    20  person,  including the individual's termination from employment, retire-
    21  ment from employment, injury suffered during the course  of  employment,
    22  or to check on an unemployment insurance claim of the individual.
    23    (h)  The  social  security account number is requested for purposes of
    24  tax compliance.
    25    (i) The social security account number is requested  for  the  purpose
    26  of:
    27    i. the collection of child or spousal support;
    28    ii. determining whether an individual has a criminal record; or
    29    iii. blood or organ donation.

    30    (j) The social security account number is requested in connection with
    31  any interaction with a governmental law enforcement agency or is used in
    32  conjunction  with  the enforcement of a judgment of a court of competent
    33  jurisdiction by a sheriff or marshal.
    34    (k) The social security account number is requested for the purpose of
    35  verifying an individual's identity or age in order to allow  such  indi-
    36  vidual  to  obtain  access to, or enroll in, a marketing program that is
    37  restricted to individuals of a certain age.
    38    (l) i. The social security account number is requested by an  individ-
    39  ual,  firm,  corporation,  or  other entity doing business pursuant to a
    40  franchise issued by a political subdivision of the state or  a  license,

    41  franchise,  certificate  or  other  authorization issued by the New York
    42  state public service commission.
    43    ii. The social security account number is requested by an  individual,
    44  firm,  corporation,  or  other  entity  regulated  by the New York state
    45  public service commission, the federal communications commission, or the
    46  federal energy regulatory commission.
    47    iii. The social security account number  is  requested  by  a  banking
    48  institution,  as defined in section nine-f of the banking law, or one of
    49  its affiliates.
    50    (m) The social security account number is requested by  an  authorized
    51  insurer,  as  defined in section one hundred seven of the insurance law,

    52  for the purpose of furnishing information to the  Centers  for  Medicare
    53  and  Medicaid Services within the United States Department of Health and
    54  Human Services.
    55    4. Whenever there shall be a violation of  this  section,  application
    56  may  be  made  by  the attorney general in the name of the people of the
        A. 846--A                           3
 
     1  state of New York to a court or justice having jurisdiction by a special
     2  proceeding to issue an injunction, and upon notice to the  defendant  of
     3  not  less than five days, to enjoin and restrain the continuance of such
     4  violation;  and  if  it shall appear to the satisfaction of the court or
     5  justice that the defendant has,  in  fact,  violated  this  section,  an

     6  injunction  may  be  issued  by  such  court  or  justice, enjoining and
     7  restraining any further violation,  without  requiring  proof  that  any
     8  person  has,  in  fact,  been  injured  or  damaged thereby. In any such
     9  proceeding, the court may make allowances to  the  attorney  general  as
    10  provided  in  paragraph  six  of subdivision (a) of section eighty-three
    11  hundred three of the civil practice law and rules, and  direct  restitu-
    12  tion.  In  connection  with  any such proposed application, the attorney
    13  general is authorized to take proof and  make  a  determination  of  the
    14  relevant facts and to issue subpoenas in accordance with the civil prac-
    15  tice  law and rules. Whenever the court shall determine that a violation

    16  of subdivision two of this section has occurred, the court shall  impose
    17  a  civil  penalty  of  not  more  than  five hundred dollars. The second
    18  offense and any offense committed thereafter shall be  punishable  by  a
    19  civil penalty of not more than one thousand dollars.
    20    5.  Any person who has been injured by reason of any violation of this
    21  section may bring an action in his or her own name to enjoin such unlaw-
    22  ful act or practice, an action to recover his or her actual  damages  or
    23  fifty  dollars,  whichever  is  greater, or both such actions. The court
    24  may, in its discretion, increase the award of damages to an  amount  not
    25  to  exceed three times the actual damages up to one thousand dollars, if

    26  the court finds the  defendant  willfully  or  knowingly  violated  this
    27  section.  The court may award reasonable attorney's fees to a prevailing
    28  plaintiff.
    29    6. No person, firm, partnership, association or corporation  shall  be
    30  deemed  to  have violated the provisions of this section if such person,
    31  firm, partnership, association or corporation shows, by a  preponderance
    32  of  the  evidence,  that  the violation was not intentional and resulted
    33  from a bona fide error made notwithstanding the  maintenance  of  proce-
    34  dures reasonably adopted to avoid such error.
    35    § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after
    36  it shall have become a law.