HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3096        FILED ON: 1/16/2015

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 1445

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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PRESENTED BY:

John J. Lawn, Jr.

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To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:

An Act protecting consumers' privacy in mortgage applications.

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PETITION OF:

HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3096        FILED ON: 1/16/2015

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 1445

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the One Hundred and Eighty-Ninth General Court
(2015-2016)

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An Act protecting consumers' privacy in mortgage applications.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

SECTION 1. Chapter 183 of the General Law, is hereby amended by adding the following Section 69 to be entitled: “Consumer Privacy in Mortgage Applications”

Section 69 (a) "Mortgage trigger lead" means a consumer report obtained pursuant to Section 604(c)(1)(B) of the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 USC 1681b, where the issuance of the report is triggered by an inquiry made with a consumer reporting agency in response to an application for credit. "Mortgage trigger lead" does not include a consumer report obtained by a lender or servicer that holds or services existing indebtedness of the applicant who is the subject of the report.

Section 69 (b) With regard to a solicitation of a consumer for a mortgage loan on residential property as defined in Chapter 255E, section 1, which solicitation is based, in whole or in part, on information contained in a mortgage trigger lead, the following shall be deemed  an unfair or deceptive act or practice as defined in Chapter 93A:

(i)the failure to clearly and conspicuously state in the initial phase of the solicitation that the solicitor is not affiliated with the lender or broker with which the consumer initially applied,

(ii)the failure to clearly and conspicuously state in the initial phase of the solicitation that the solicitation is based on personal information about the consumer that was purchased, directly or indirectly, from a consumer reporting agency without the knowledge or permission of the lender or broker with which the consumer initially applied,

(iii)the failure in the initial solicitation to comply with the provisions of the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act relating to prescreening solicitations that use consumer reports, including the requirement to make a firm offer of credit to the consumer, or

(iv)knowingly or negligently using information from a mortgage trigger lead (1) to solicit consumers who have opted out of prescreened offers of credit under the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act, or (2) to place telephone calls to consumers who have placed their contact information on a federal or state Do Not Call list; and

Section 69(c): The Attorney General shall promulgate regulations effectuate this provision.