Identity Theft Protection Act
Latest action. Placed on Senate legislative calendarThe list of measures reported out of committee and eligible for floor action. Being on the calendar is not a promise of a vote.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) under General Orders. Calendar No. 320.
Identity Theft Protection Act - (Sec. 2) Requires any commercial entity or charitable, educational, or nonprofit organization that acquires, maintains, or utilizes sensitive personal information (covered entity) to develop and implement a program for the security of such information that includes administrative, technical, and physical safeguards.
Deems a covered entity that is in full compliance with the requirements of the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) rules on Standards for Safeguarding Customer Information and Disposal of Consumer Report Information and Records to be in compliance with these requirements.
Directs the FTC to promulgate regulations that require procedures for authenticating the credentials of any third party to which sensitive personal information is to be transferred or sold by a covered entity.
(Sec. 3) Requires a covered entity to use due diligence to investigate any suspected breach affecting sensitive personal information maintained by that entity. Require any such entity: (1) if it discovers a breach that affects fewer than 1,000 individuals and that does not create a reasonable risk of identity theft, to report the breach to the FTC; (2) if it discovers a breach affects 1,000 or more individuals, to report the breach to the FTC, notify all consumer reporting agencies described in the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), and post a report of the breach on its website without disclosing any sensitive personal information pertaining to the individuals affected; and (3) if it discovers a breach that creates a reasonable risk of identity theft, to provide notice (as prescribed) to each affected individual.
Exempts electronic communication of a third party stored by a cable operator, information service, or telecommunications carrier in its network in the course of transferring or transmitting such communication.
(Sec. 4) Allows a consumer to place a security freeze on his or her credit report by making a request to a consumer credit reporting agency. Requires the agency, upon such a request, to: (1) disclose to the consumer the process and potential consequences of the freeze; and (2) not release the consumer's credit report to a third party without the consumer's authorization.
The summary continues for 13 more paragraphs. Read it in full on Congress.gov
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Reported to Senate with amendment(s)" stage on December 8, 2005. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on December 8, 2005: Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 320.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the Senate
- Passage by the House
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 109th Congress (2005-06), 482 of the 10,701 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 4.5 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
GORDON SMITH (R-OR) introduced it on July 14, 2005, and 7 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 4 Democrats, 3 Republicans.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on July 14, 2005, 7728 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 7581 days ago, on December 8, 2005.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 109th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2007 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- SenateIn committee, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers