AB 1169, as amended, Daly. Escrow agent rating service: escrow agents.
Existing law, the Consumer Credit Reporting Agencies Act, requiresbegin delete aend deletebegin insert everyend insert consumer credit reporting agency, upon request and proper identification of any consumer, to allow the consumer to visually inspect all files maintained regarding that consumer at the time of the request. Existing law requires every consumer reporting agency to advise the consumer of the agency’s obligation to provide a decoded written version of the file. Existing law grants the consumer the right to request and receive abegin delete written copyend deletebegin insert decoded written versionend insert
of the file. Existing law requires a consumer credit reporting agency to disclose the recipients of any consumer credit report on the consumer which the consumer credit reporting agency has furnishedbegin insert, as specifiedend insert.
Under existing law, a consumer credit reporting agency is required to furnish a consumer credit report only under certain circumstances, including in accordance with the written instructions of the consumer to whom it relates. Existing law prohibits a consumer credit reporting agency from making any consumer credit report containing specified information. Existing law requires every consumer credit reporting agency to maintain reasonable procedures designated to avoid disclosing certain information and to limit the furnishing of consumer credit reportsbegin delete only under specified circumstancesend deletebegin insert
to specified purposesend insert. If the completeness or accuracy of any item of information in a consumer’s file is disputed by the consumer, existing law requires the consumer credit reporting agency to reinvestigate and record the current status of the disputed information within a specified period of time. Existing law requires each consumer credit reporting agency that compiles and reports items of information that are matters of public record to specify the source from which that information was obtained. Existing law requires a person that procures a consumer credit report for the purpose of reselling the report to take specified actions.
Existing law authorizesbegin delete aend deletebegin insert anyend insert consumer suffering damages as a result of a violation of the Consumer Credit
Reporting Agencies Act by any person to bring a court action for damages or injunctive relief, as specified.
This bill would, until January 1, 2017, require an escrow agent rating service, as defined, to comply with the provisions described above. The bill would make an escrow agent rating service subject to the requirements applicable to a reseller of credit information if it acts in that capacity, as specified. The bill would also require an escrow agent rating service to establish policies and procedures to protect the personal information it obtains from escrow agents. The bill would authorize an escrow agentbegin insert, as defined,end insert who suffers damages as a result of the failure of an escrow agent rating service to comply with these provisions to bring a court action for specified damages.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
Chapter 3.6 (commencing with Section 1785.28)
2is added to Title 1.6 of Part 4 of Division 3 of the Civil Code, to
3read:
4
(a) For the purposes of this chapter, the following
8definitions shall apply:
9(1) Escrow means any transaction in which one person, for the
10purpose of effecting the sale, transfer, encumbering, or leasing of
11real or personal property to another person, delivers any written
12instrument, money, evidence of title to real or personal property,
13or other thing of value to a third person to be held by that third
14person until the happening of a specified event or the performance
15of a prescribed condition, when it is then to be delivered by that
16third person to a grantee, grantor, promise, promisor, obligee,
17obligor, bailee, bailor, or any agent or employee of any of
the
18latter.
19(1)
end delete20begin insert(2)end insert An escrow agent is any of the following:
21(A) A natural person described in Section 17004 of the Financial
22Code who performs escrow agent services pursuant to the Escrow
23Law contained in Division 6 (commencing with Section 17000)
24of the Financial Code.
25(A) A natural person who performs escrow services for an entity
26licensed pursuant to the Escrow Law contained in Division 6
27(commencing with Section 17000) of the Financial Code.
28(B) A natural person performing escrow services for a title
29insurer admitted pursuant to Article 3 (commencing with Section
30699) of Chapter 1 of Part 2 of Division 1 of the Insurance Code
31or an underwritten title company licensed pursuant to Article 3.7
32(commencing with Section 12389) of Chapter 1 of Part 6 of
33Division 2 of the Insurance Code.
34(C) A natural person performing escrow services for a controlled
35escrow company, as defined in Section 12340.6 of the Insurance
36Code.
37(D) A
natural person licensed pursuant to Division 4
38(commencing with Section 10000) of the Business and Professions
P4 1Code, who performs escrow services, in accordance with Section
217006 of the Financial Code.
3(2)
end delete
4begin insert(3)end insert An escrow agent rating service is a person or entity that
5prepares a report, for compensation or in expectation of
6compensation, for use by a creditor in evaluating the capacity of
7an escrow agent to performbegin delete settlementend deletebegin insert escrowend insert
services in
8connection with an extension of credit. An escrow agent rating
9service does not includebegin delete a creditor or an employee of a
creditor
10evaluating an escrow agent in connection with an extension of
11credit by that creditor.end delete
12(A) A creditor or an agent of a creditor evaluating an escrow
13agent in connection with an extension of credit by that creditor.
14(B) An entity described in paragraph (2) for which a natural
15person performs escrow services as an employee or an independent
16contractor.
17(3)
end delete
18begin insert(4)end insert An escrow agent rating service shall be considered a reseller
19of credit information within the meaning of Section 1785.22 if it
20assembles and merges information contained in the database or
21databases maintained by a consumer credit reporting agency.
22(4)
end delete23begin insert(5)end insert “Consumer” also means escrow agent.
24(b) An escrow agent rating service shall comply with and be
25subject to the following sections of this title applicable to a
26consumer credit reporting agency:
27(1) Subdivision (a) of Section 1785.10.
28(2) Subdivision (b) of Section 1785.10, limited to the obligation
29to advise a consumer of his or her right to a decoded written version
30of a file.
31(3) Subdivision (d) of Section 1785.10.
32(4) Paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 1785.11.
33(5) Section 1785.13.
34(6) Section 1785.14.
35(7) Paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 1785.15, limited
36to the right to request and receive a decoded written version of the
37file.
38(8) Section 1785.16.
39(9) Section 1785.18.
P5 1(c) An escrow agent rating service that acts as a reseller of credit
2information as described in paragraphbegin delete (3)end deletebegin insert (4)end insert of subdivision (a)
3shall comply with and be subject to Section 1785.22.
4(d) An escrow agent rating service shall establish policies and
5procedures reasonably intended to safeguard from theft or misuse
6any personally identifiable information it obtains from an escrow
7agent.
8(e) An escrow agent who suffers damages as a result of
the
9failure of an escrow agent rating service to comply with subdivision
10(b), (c), or (d) may bring an action in a court of competent
11jurisdiction pursuant to Section 1785.31 of the Civil Code.
12(f) If an escrow agent rating service is also a consumer credit
13reporting agency as defined in subdivision (d) of Section 1785.3,
14nothing in this chapter shall be construed to suggest that an escrow
15agent reporting service that is also a consumer credit reporting
16agency is not otherwise required to comply with other provisions
17of this title applicable to consumer credit reporting agencies.
18(g) Nothing in thisbegin delete sectionend deletebegin insert chapterend insert
shall be construed to
19authorize a person, who was not otherwise legally authorized to
20perform escrow services prior to the effective date of this section,
21to legally perform escrow services.
22(h) Nothing in this chapter is intended to alter the provisions
23of Section 17420 of the Financial Code, including the legal
24authority of an escrow agent to compensate an escrow agent rating
25service for a report prepared pursuant to paragraph (3) of
26subdivision (a).
27(h)
end delete
28begin insert(i)end insert This chapter shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2017,
29and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that
30is enacted before January 1, 2017, deletes or extends that date.
O
94