AN ACT to protect military Servicemembers and veterans from identiTy theft.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  G.S. 75‑63(o) reads as rewritten:
"(o)	This section does not prevent a consumer reporting agency from charging a fee of no more than ten dollars ($10.00) to a consumer for each freeze, removal of the freeze, or temporary lifting of the freeze for a period of time, regarding access to a consumer credit report, except that a consumer reporting agency may not charge any fee to any of the following:
(1)	A victim of identity theft who has submitted a copy of a valid investigative or incident report or complaint with a law enforcement agency about the unlawful use of the victim's identifying information by another person.
(2)	A veteran who has received notification from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs indicating that the veteran's information is, or may be, included in the information involved in the Department of Veterans Affairs' data breach, first announced on May 22, 2006; provided that the application for a freeze includes the notification and proof of status as a veteran as defined in this subdivision. As used in this subsection, the term "veteran" means a veteran, as defined in G.S. 126‑81, a member of the armed forces of the United States, as defined in G.S. 165‑20, or a member of the North Carolina National Guard.
(3)	Persons who are the authorized agents of, or receive benefits from the State or federal government based on a relationship to, a veteran who would or could qualify under subdivision (2) of this subsection."
SECTION 2.  From the effective date of this act through July 1, 2007, there shall be no fee charged by a consumer reporting agency for the removal of a security freeze by persons who, prior to the expiration date set forth in Section 3 of this act, placed a freeze under G.S. 75‑63(o)(2) and G.S. 75‑63(o)(3), as set forth in Section 1 of this act.

SECTION 3.  This act is effective when it becomes law.  Section 1 of this act shall be effective for a minimum of 90 days from the date this act becomes law, but otherwise shall expire on January 1, 2007, or upon the United States Department of Veterans Affairs implementing a program that will pay for a subscription to a credit monitoring program for persons eligible for a fee waiver under G.S. 75‑63(o)(2) and G.S. 75‑63(o)(3), whichever event occurs first.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 13th day of July, 2006.

	s/	 Beverly E. Perdue
	 President of the Senate

	s/	 James B. Black
	 Speaker of the House of Representatives

	s/	 Michael F. Easley
	 Governor

Approved 1:53 p.m. this 23rd day of July, 2006