H. B. 4763

(By Delegates C. White, Hines, Faircloth, Smirl,

Givens, Capito and Coleman)



(Originating in the House Committee on the Judiciary)

[February 25, 2000)


A BILL to repeal section eight, article two-a, chapter seventeen-a of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be repealed; and to amend and reenact sections seven and eleven of said article, relating to the authority of the division of motor vehicles to disclose motor vehicle records to persons for purposes of marketing and solicitations; and changing the method of persons submitting information relating to their vehicles to remove their names from such list.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section eight, article two-a, chapter seventeen-a of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-=one, as amended, be repealed; and that sections seven and eleven of said article be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 2A. UNIFORM MOTOR VEHICLES RECORDS DISCLOSURE ACT.
§17A-2A-7. Permitted disclosures.
The division or its designee shall disclose personal information as defined in section three of this article to any person who requests the information if the person: (a) Has proof of his or her identity; and (b) verifies that the use of the personal information will be strictly limited to one or more of the following:
(1) For use by any governmental agency, including any court or law-enforcement agency, in carrying out its functions, or any private person or entity acting on behalf of a governmental agency in carrying out its functions;
(2) For use in connection with matters of motor vehicle or driver safety and theft, motor vehicle product alterations, recalls or advisories, performance monitoring of motor vehicles, motor vehicle parts and dealers, motor vehicle market research activities including survey research and removal of nonowner records from the original owner records of motor vehicle manufacturers;
(3) For use in the normal course of business by a legitimate business or its agents, employees or contractors:
(A) For the purpose of verifying the accuracy of personal information submitted by the individual to the business or its agents, employees or contractors; and
(B) If the information as submitted is not correct or is no longer correct, to obtain the correct information, but only for the purposes of preventing fraud by, pursuing legal remedies against or recovering on a debt or security interest against the individual;
(4) For use in conjunction with any civil, criminal, administrative or arbitral proceeding in any court or governmental agency or before any self-regulatory body, including the service of process, investigation in anticipation of litigation, the execution or enforcement of judgments and orders or pursuant to an order of any court;
(5) For use in research and producing statistical reports, so long as the personal information is not published, redisclosed or used to contact individuals;
(6) For use by any insurer or insurance support organization or by a self-insured entity, its agents, employees or contractors in connection with claim investigation activities, antifraud activities, rating or underwriting;
(7) For use in providing notice to the owners of towed or impounded vehicles;
(8) For use by any licensed private investigator agency or licensed security service for any purpose permitted under this section;
(9) For use by an employer or its agent or insurer to obtain or verify information relating to a holder of a commercial driver's license that is required under the Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1986 (49 U.S.C. App. 2710 et seq.);
(10) For use in connection with the operation of private toll transportation facilities;
(11) For bulk distribution for surveys, marketing or solicitations after the division has implemented methods and procedures to ensure that:
(A) Persons are provided an opportunity, in a clear and conspicuous manner, to prohibit such uses; and
(B) The information will be used, rented or sold solely for bulk distribution for surveys, marketing and solicitations, and that surveys, marketing and solicitations will not be directed at those individuals who have requested in a timely fashion that the material not be directed at them authorized the use of their name and address for such purposes; and
(12) For any other use specifically authorized by law that is related to the operation of a motor vehicle or public safety.
17A-2A-11. Resale or redisclosure
(a) An authorized recipient of personal information, except a recipient under subsection (11), section seven of this article or section eight of this article, may resell or redisclose the information for any use permitted under said section seven except the use for bulk distribution for surveys, marketing or solicitations as provided in subsection (11), section seven of this article.
(b) An authorized recipient of an individual record under section eight of this article may resell or redisclose personal information for any purpose.
(c) (b) An authorized recipient of personal information for bulk distribution for surveys, marketing or solicitations, under subsection (11), section seven of this article may resell or redisclose personal information only in accordance with the terms of said subsection concerning the right of individuals who have requested in a timely manner, not to have the surveys, marketing or solicitations directed at them. allowing surveys marketing and solicitations to be directed only to those individuals who have authorized the use of their name and address for such purposes.
(d) (c) Any authorized recipient who resells or rediscloses personal information shall: (1) Maintain for a period of not less than five years, records as to the person or entity receiving information, and the permitted use for which it was obtained; and (2) make the records available for inspection by the division, upon request.