For Your Information
Announced Actions
for February 4, 2004
Publication of Federal Register
notice: The Commission has
approved joint final rules with the Board of Governors of
the Federal Reserve System, setting effective dates for provisions
of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of
2003 (FACTA), as required by law. FACTA, which was
signed into law by the President on December 4, 2003, makes
sweeping changes and additions to the Fair Credit Reporting
Act (FCRA). The primary features of FACTA include making the
existing FCRA preemption provisions permanent, adding several
provisions to combat identity theft, and adding provisions
to enhance accuracy and consumer access to credit information.
FACTA requires the Commission, among other things, to engage
in a number of rulemakings and other proceedings, many with
the Federal Reserve Board and other financial regulators.
After considering all public comments received
at both the Commission and the Board, the Commission action
announced today finalizes the December 2003 actions by the
FTC and Federal Reserve Board establishing and proposing a
comprehensive set of FACTA effective dates. In December 2003,
the Commission and Board issued interim final rules and a
notice of proposed rulemaking establishing three categories
of effective dates. For those provisions where Congress has
prescribed an effective date (including those provisions where
Congress has required rules to be made and has prescribed
a deadline for the rulemaking) that specific date governs.
For example, Section 211(d)(5) requires that the free consumer
report rule be issued by the Commission within six months
of FACTA’s enactment and that the rule be effective
six months from that date. In addition, Section 216(a) requires
that the rule relating to the disposal of consumer information
be effective within one year of FACTA’s enactment.
The Notice of Joint Final Rules is available
on the FTC’s Web site as a link to this press release
and will be published in the Federal Register shortly. The
notice provides a background summary of FACTA and the rulemaking,
contains an overview of the public comments received, and
includes a section-by-section analysis of the final effective
dates rules; it finalizes the effective dates established
in a joint Interim Final Rule in December, as well as the
effective dates jointly proposed for the balance of FACTA
provisions that do not themselves specify effective dates
(with three technical modifications from the December proposal,
including Section 211(d)(5) and Section 216(a)).
The Commission vote to approve publication
of the Federal Register notice was 5-0. (FTC File No. P044804;
staff contact is Christopher W. Keller, Bureau of Consumer
Protection, 202-326-3224.)
Copies
of the documents mentioned in this release are available from
the FTC’s Web site at http://www.ftc.gov
and also from the FTC’s Consumer Response Center, Room
130, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20580.
Call toll-free: 1-877-FTC-HELP.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Office of Public Affairs
202-326-2180
(http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2004/01/fyi0410.htm)
|
Related Documents:
Federal Trade
Commission (16 C.F.R. Part 602) and Board of Governors
of the Federal Reserve System (12 C.F.R. Part
222): Effective Dates for the Fair and Accurate
Credit Transactions Act of 2003: Joint Final Rules
Establishing Schedule of Effective Dates
-
Text of
Federal Register Notice
|