Senate Bill No. 559
(By Senators Wooton, Ball, Bowman, Dittmar, Fanning, Hunter,
Ross, Schoonover, Snyder, White, Buckalew, Deem and Kimble)
____________
[Originating in the Committee on the Judiciary;
reported April 2, 1997.]
_____________
A BILL to amend article one, chapter thirty-one-a of the code of
West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated section
five-a, relating to establishing privacy rights of customers
of financial institutions; definitions; and exceptions.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That article one, chapter thirty-one-a of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be
amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section five-a,
to read as follows:
ARTICLE 1. BANKS AND BANKING.
§31A-1-5a. Financial institution privacy.
(a) As used in this section:
(1) "Financial institution" includes state and national banks,
savings and loan associations, trust companies and federal credit
unions. Such term shall not include a title insurers while engaging in the conduct of the business of title insurance;
(2) "Financial record" means any original or any copy of any
record or document held by a financial institution pertaining to a
customer of the financial institution;
(3) "Person" means an individual, partnership, corporation,
limited liability company, association, trust or any other legal
entity;
(4) "Customer" means any person who has transacted business
with or has used the services of a financial institution or for
whom a financial institution has acted as a fiduciary;
(5) "State entity" means any state office, officer,
department, division, bureau, board, and commission or other state
agency, including the Legislature, as a committee thereof
authorized to issue subpoenas;
(6) "Investigation" includes, but is not limited to, any
inquiry by a state or local law-enforcement officer, sheriff, or
prosecuting attorney, or any inquiry made for the purpose of
determining whether there has been a violation of any law
enforceable by imprisonment, fine, or monetary liability; and
(7) "Subpoena" includes a subpoena duces tecum.
(b) Notwithstanding any provision of this code to the
contrary, no financial institution may release the financial
records or any portion thereof of any customer except under the
following circumstances:
(1) To the customer at his or her request;
(2) To a person presenting an authorization for release of
such information executed by the customer or presenting a power of
attorney granting such person the authority to request such release
of information;
(3) In response to a court order entered by a municipal
magistrate, circuit court or the supreme court of appeals expressly
ordering the release of the financial records;
(4) In response to a subpoena issued by a party to pending
civil litigation; or
(5) To law-enforcement officers presenting a grand jury or
trial subpoena resulting from a criminal investigation.
____________
(NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to establish privacy
rights of customers of financial institutions.
§31A-1-5a is new; therefore, strike-throughs and underscoring
have been omitted.)
Email
Webmaster | © 2024 West Virginia Legislature **
