Delaware General Assembly

CHAPTER 338

FORMERLY

HOUSE BILL NO. 334

Section 1. Amend Title 11 of the Delaware Code by adding thereto a new section to read:

"§854A. Identity theft passport; application; issuance.

(a) The Office of the Attorney General, in cooperation with any law enforcement agency, may issue an identity theft passport to a person who is a victim of identity theft in this State and who has filed a police report citing that he or she is a victim of a violation of §854 of this title. A person who has filed with a law enforcement agency a police report alleging identity theft may apply for an identity theft passport through any law enforcement agency. The agency shall send a copy of the application and the supporting police report to the Office of the Attorney General. After processing the application and police report, the Office of the Attorney General may issue to the victim an identity theft passport in the form of a card or certificate which may include photo identification.

(b) A victim of identity theft may present his or her identity theft passport issued under subsection (a) of this section to the following:

(1) a law enforcement agency to help prevent the victim's arrest or detention for an offense committed by someone other than the victim who is using the victim's identity;

(2) any of the victim's creditors to aid in a creditor's investigation and establishment of whether fraudulent charges were made against accounts in the victim's name or whether accounts were opened using the victim's identity;

(3) a consumer reporting agency, as defined in §603(f) of the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. §1681a (f)), which must accept the passport as an official notice of a dispute and must include notice of the dispute in all future reports that contain disputed information caused by the identity theft.

(c) Acceptance or rejection of an identity theft passport presented by the victim to a law enforcement agency or creditor pursuant to subsection (b) (1) or (2) of this section is at the discretion of the law enforcement agency or creditor. In making a decision for acceptance or rejection, a law enforcement agency or creditor may consider the surrounding circumstances and available information regarding the offense of identity theft pertaining to the victim.

(d) An application made with the Office of the Attorney General pursuant to subsection (a) of this section, including any supporting documentation, is confidential criminal justice information, is not a public record, and is specifically exempted from public disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act, Chapter 100 of Title 29. However, the Office of the Attorney General may provide access to applications and supporting documentation filed pursuant to this section to other criminal justice agencies in this or another state.

(e) The Office of the Attorney General shall adopt regulations to implement this section. The regulations must include a procedure by which the Office of the Attorney General is reasonably assured that an identity theft passport applicant has an identity theft claim that is legitimate and adequately substantiated.".

Section 2. This Act becomes effective 120 days after its enactment into law.