H.
B.
4403
(By Delegates Brown, Sorah, Kessel,
Pethtel, Linch, Brum and Tribett)
[Introduced February 9, 1994; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend and reenact section one hundred four, article seven, chapter forty-six-a of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to the consumer credit and protection act; administration; investigatory powers of the attorney general; and authorizing the attorney general to disclose the number of complaints received against a person or business.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section one hundred four, article seven, chapter forty-six-a of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 7. ADMINISTRATION.
§
46A
-
7
-
104.
Investigatory powers.
(1) If the attorney general has probable cause to believe that a person has engaged in an act which is subject to action by the attorney general, he may, and shall upon request of the commissioner, make an investigation to determine if the act has been committed and, to the extent necessary for this purpose, may administer oaths or affirmations, and, upon his own motion or upon request of any party, may subpoena witnesses, compel their attendance, adduce evidence, and require the production of any matter which is relevant to the investigation, including the existence, description, nature, custody, condition and location of any books, records, documents or other tangible things and the identity and location of persons having knowledge of relevant facts, or any other matter reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence.
(2) If the person's records are located outside this state, the person at his option shall either make them available to the attorney general at a convenient location within this state or pay the reasonable and necessary expenses for the attorney general or his representative to examine them at the place where they are maintained. The attorney general may designate representatives, including comparable officials of the state in which the records are located, to inspect them on his behalf.
(3) Upon failure of a person without lawful excuse to obey a subpoena or to give testimony and upon reasonable notice to all persons affected thereby, the attorney general may apply to the circuit court of the county in which the hearing is to be held for an order compelling compliance.
(4) The attorney general shall not make public the name or identity of a person whose acts or conduct he investigates pursuant to this section or the facts disclosed in the investigation, but this subsection does not apply to disclosures in actions or enforcement proceedings pursuant to this chapter:
Provided,
That nothing in this section prohibits the attorney
general from disclosing, to a consumer inquiry, the number of complaints received about a person or business.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to permit the Attorney General to disclose the number of consumer complaints made to the Consumer Protection Division of the Attorney General's office when a consumer inquiry is made to that office about a business.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.
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