PRINTER'S NO. 1902
No. 1556 Session of 2001
INTRODUCED BY SAYLOR, THOMAS, CALTAGIRONE, M. BAKER, GEIST,
SEMMEL, MANDERINO, BASTIAN, BELARDI, BENNINGHOFF, CASORIO,
COLAFELLA, CREIGHTON, DeLUCA, DERMODY, DIVEN, J. EVANS,
FICHTER, FRANKEL, GEORGE, HARHAI, HERSHEY, HESS, HORSEY,
KELLER, LAUGHLIN, LEDERER, McCALL, MYERS, PIPPY, PISTELLA,
ROBINSON, SATHER, SHANER, STEELMAN, TIGUE, TRELLO, WILT,
WOJNAROSKI AND YOUNGBLOOD, MAY 8, 2001
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT,
MAY 8, 2001
AN ACT
1 Amending Title 18 (Crimes and Offenses) of the Pennsylvania
2 Consolidated Statutes, adding provisions relating to privacy
3 protection for customer information of financial
4 transactions; and imposing penalties.
5 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
6 hereby enacts as follows:
7 Section 1. Chapter 73 of Title 18 of the Pennsylvania
8 Consolidated Statutes is amended by adding a subchapter to read:
9 SUBCHAPTER C
10 PRIVACY PROTECTION FOR CUSTOMER INFORMATION OF
11 FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS
12 Sec.
13 7371. Definitions.
14 7372. Prohibition on obtaining customer information by false
15 pretenses.
16 7373. Prohibition on solicitation of a person to obtain
1 customer information from financial institution under
2 false pretenses.
3 7374. Nonapplicability.
4 7375. Penalty.
5 7376. Regulations.
6 § 7371. Definitions.
7 The following words and phrases when used in this subchapter
8 shall have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
9 context clearly indicates otherwise:
10 "Customer." With respect to a financial institution, any
11 person, or authorized representative of a person, to whom the
12 financial institution provides a product or service, including
13 that of acting as a fiduciary.
14 "Customer information of a financial institution." Any
15 information maintained by or for a financial institution which
16 is derived from the relationship between the financial
17 institution and a customer of the financial institution and is
18 identified with the customer.
19 "Document." Any information in any form.
20 "Financial institution." Any institution engaged in the
21 business of providing financial services to customers who
22 maintain a credit, deposit, trust or other financial account or
23 relationship with the institution. The following apply:
24 (1) The term includes any depository institution, any
25 broker or dealer, any investment adviser or investment
26 company, any insurance company, any loan or finance company,
27 any credit card issuer or operator of a credit card system
28 and any consumer reporting agency that compiles and maintains
29 files on consumers on a nationwide basis.
30 (2) For purposes of this definition:
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1 (i) the terms "broker" and "dealer" have the same
2 meanings as given in section 3 of the Securities Exchange
3 Act of 1934 (48 Stat. 74, 15 U.S.C. § 77a et seq.);
4 (ii) the term "investment adviser" has the same
5 meaning as given in section 202(a)(11) of the Investment
6 Advisers Act of 1940 (54 Stat. 847, 15 U.S.C. § 80b-1 et
7 seq.); and
8 (iii) the term "investment company" has the same
9 meaning as given in section 3 of the Investment Company
10 Act of 1940 (54 Stat. 789, 15 U.S.C. § 80a-1 et seq.).
11 (3) The term does not include any person or entity with
12 respect to any financial activity that is subject to
13 jurisdiction of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission
14 under the Commodity Exchange Act (42 Stat. 988, 7 U.S.C. § 1
15 et seq.) and does not include the Federal Agricultural
16 Mortgage Corporation or any entity chartered and operating
17 under the Farm Credit Act of 1971 (Public Law 92-181, 12
18 U.S.C. §§ 2001-2023).
19 § 7372. Prohibition on obtaining customer information by false
20 pretenses.
21 It shall be unlawful for any person to obtain or attempt to
22 obtain, or cause to be disclosed or attempt to cause to be
23 disclosed to any person, customer information of a financial
24 institution relating to another person:
25 (1) by making a false, fictitious or fraudulent
26 statement or representation to an officer, employee or agent
27 of a financial institution;
28 (2) by making a false, fictitious or fraudulent
29 statement or representation to a customer of a financial
30 institution; or
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1 (3) by providing any document to an officer, employee or
2 agent of a financial institution, knowing that the document
3 is forged, counterfeit, lost or stolen, was fraudulently
4 obtained or contains a false, fictitious or fraudulent
5 statement or representation.
6 § 7373. Prohibition on solicitation of a person to obtain
7 customer information from financial institution under
8 false pretenses.
9 It shall be unlawful for a person to request another person
10 to obtain customer information of a financial institution,
11 knowing that the other person will obtain, or attempt to obtain,
12 the information from the institution in any manner described in
13 section 7372 (relating to prohibition on obtaining customer
14 information by false pretenses).
15 § 7374. Nonapplicability.
16 (a) Nonapplicability to law enforcement agencies.--No
17 provision of section 7372 (relating to prohibition on obtaining
18 customer information by false pretenses) or 7373 (relating to
19 prohibition on solicitation of a person to obtain customer
20 information from financial institution under false pretenses)
21 shall be construed so as to prevent any action by a law
22 enforcement agency, or any officer, employee or agent of such
23 agency, to obtain customer information of a financial
24 institution in connection with the performance of the official
25 duties of the agency.
26 (b) Nonapplicability to financial institutions in certain
27 cases.--No provision of section 7372 or 7373 shall be construed
28 so as to prevent any financial institution, or any officer,
29 employee or agent of a financial institution, from obtaining
30 customer information of such financial institution in the course
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1 of:
2 (1) testing the security procedures or systems of such
3 institution for maintaining the confidentiality of customer
4 information;
5 (2) investigating allegations of misconduct or
6 negligence on the part of any officer, employee or agent of
7 the financial institution; or
8 (3) recovering customer information of the financial
9 institution which was obtained or received by another person
10 in any manner described in section 7372 or 7373.
11 (c) Nonapplicability to insurance institutions for
12 investigation of insurance fraud.--No provision of section 7372
13 or 7373 shall be construed so as to prevent any insurance
14 institution or any officer, employee or agency of an insurance
15 institution, from obtaining information as part of an insurance
16 investigation into criminal activity, fraud, material
17 misrepresentation or material nondisclosure that is authorized
18 for such institution under State law, regulation, interpretation
19 or order.
20 (d) Nonapplicability to certain types of customer
21 information of financial institutions.--No provision of section
22 7372 or 7373 shall be construed so as to prevent any person from
23 obtaining customer information of a financial institution that
24 otherwise is available as a public record filed pursuant to
25 securities laws.
26 (e) Nonapplicability to collection of child support
27 judgments.--No provision of section 7372 or 7373 shall be
28 construed to prevent any State-licensed private investigator, or
29 any officer, employee or agent of such private investigator,
30 from obtaining customer information of a financial institution,
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1 to the extent reasonably necessary to collect child support from
2 a person adjudged to have been delinquent in the person's
3 obligations by a Federal or State court, and to the extent that
4 such action by a State-licensed private investigator is not
5 unlawful under any other Federal or State law or regulation, and
6 has been authorized by an order or judgment of a court of
7 competent jurisdiction.
8 § 7375. Penalty.
9 (a) General rule.--Except as provided in subsection (b), any
10 person who knowingly and intentionally violates, or knowingly
11 and intentionally attempts to violate, section 7372 (relating to
12 prohibition on obtaining customer information by false
13 pretenses) or 7373 (relating to prohibition on solicitation of a
14 person to obtain customer information from financial institution
15 under false pretenses) commits a misdemeanor of the first degree
16 and shall, upon conviction, be sentenced to pay a fine of not
17 more than $10,000 or to imprisonment for not more than five
18 years, or both.
19 (b) Enhanced penalty for aggravated cases.--Any person who
20 violates, or attempts to violate, section 7372 or 7373 while
21 violating another law of the United State or this Commonwealth
22 or as part of a pattern of any illegal activity involving more
23 than $100,000 in a 12-month period commits a felony of the third
24 degree and shall, upon conviction, be sentenced to pay a fine of
25 not more than $15,000 or to imprisonment for not more than seven
26 years, or both.
27 § 7376. Regulations.
28 The Department of Banking, after consultation with the
29 Pennsylvania Securities Commission and the Attorney General, may
30 prescribe regulations clarifying or describing the types of
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1 institutions which shall be treated as financial institutions
2 for purposes of this subchapter.
3 Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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