or deceptive act or practice in commerce in violation of section 5(a) of the Federal Trade Commission Act. (2) ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITY UNDER OTHER LAW.-All functions and powers of the Federal Trade Commission under the Federal Trade Commission Act shall be available to the Commission to enforce compliance with this title by any person subject to enforcement by the Federal Trade Commission pursuant to this subsection, including the power to enforce the provisions of this title in the same manner as if the violation had been a violation of any Federal Trade Commission trade regulation rule, without regard to whether the credit repair organization (A) is engaged in commerce; or (B) meets any other jurisdictional tests in the Federal Trade Commission Act. (c) STATE ACTION FOR VIOLATIONS.— (1) AUTHORITY OF STATES.-In addition to such other remedies as are provided under State law, whenever the chief law enforcement officer of a State, or an official or agency designated by a State, has reason to believe that any person has violated or is violating this title, the State (A) may bring an action to enjoin such violation; (B) may bring an action on behalf of its residents to recover damages for which the person is liable to such residents under section 409 as a result of the violation; and (C) in the case of any successful action under subparagraph (A) or (B), shall be awarded the costs of the action and reasonable attorney fees as determined by the court. (2) RIGHTS OF COMMISSION.— (A) NOTICE TO COMMISSION.-The State shall serve prior written notice of any civil action under paragraph (1) upon the Federal Trade Commission and provide the Commission with a copy of its complaint, except in any case where such prior notice is not feasible, in which case the State shall serve such notice immediately upon instituting such action. (B) INTERVENTION.-The Commission shall have the right (i) to intervene in any action referred to in subparagraph (A); (ii) upon so intervening, to be heard on all matters arising in the action; and (iii) to file petitions for appeal. (3) INVESTIGATORY POWERS.-For purposes of bringing any action under this subsection, nothing in this subsection shall prevent the chief law enforcement officer, or an official or agency designated by a State, from exercising the powers conferred on the chief law enforcement officer or such official by the laws of such State to conduct investigations or to administer oaths or affirmations or to compel the attendance of witnesses or the production of documentary and other evidence. (4) LIMITATION.-Whenever the Federal Trade Commission has instituted a civil action for violation of this title, no State may, during the pendency of such action, bring an action under this section against any defendant named in the complaint of the Commission for any violation of this title that is alleged in that complaint. SEC. 411. [15 U.S.C. 1679i] STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS. Any action to enforce any liability under this title may be brought before the later of (1) the end of the 5-year period beginning on the date of the occurrence of the violation involved; or (2) in any case in which any credit repair organization has materially and willfully misrepresented any information which (A) the credit repair organization is required, by any provision of this title, to disclose to any consumer; and (B) is material to the establishment of the credit repair organization's liability to the consumer under this title, the end of the 5-year period beginning on the date of the discovery by the consumer of the misrepresentation. SEC. 412. [15 U.S.C. 1679j] RELATION TO STATE LAW. This title shall not annul, alter, affect, or exempt any person subject to the provisions of this title from complying with any law of any State except to the extent that such law is inconsistent with any provision of this title, and then only to the extent of the inconsistency. SEC. 413. [15 U.S.C. 1679 nt] EFFECTIVE DATE. This title shall apply after the end of the 6-month period beginning on the date of the enactment of the Credit Repair Organizations Act, except with respect to contracts entered into by a credit repair organization before the end of such period. Sec. TITLE V-GENERAL PROVISIONS 501. Severability. 502. Captions and catchlines for reference only. 503. Grammatical usages. 504. Effective dates. § 501. [15 U.S.C. 1602 note] Severability If a provision enacted by this Act is held invalid, all valid provisions that are severable from the invalid provision remain in effect. If a provision enacted by this Act is held invalid in one or more of its applications, the provision remains in effect in all valid applications that are severable from the invalid application or applications. § 502. [15 U.S.C. 1602 note] Captions and catchlines for reference only Captions and catchlines are intended solely as aids to convenient reference, and no inference as to the legislative intent with respect to any provision enacted by this Act may be drawn from them. § 503. [15 U.S.C. 1602 note] Grammatical usages In this Act: (1) The word "may" is used to indicate that an action either is authorized or is permitted. (2) The word "shall" is used to indicate that an action is both authorized and required. (3) The phrase "may not" is used to indicate that an action is both unauthorized and forbidden. (4) Rules of law are stated in the indicative mood. § 504. [15 U.S.C. 1602 note1] Effective dates (a) Except as otherwise specified, the provisions of this Act take effect upon enactment. (b) Chapters 2 and 3 of title I take effect on July 1, 1969. (d) Title VI takes effect upon the expiration of one hundred and eighty days following the date of its enactment. Sec. TITLE VI-CONSUMER CREDIT REPORTING 601. Short title. 602. Findings and purpose. 603. Definitions and rules of construction. 604. Permissible purposes of reports. 605. Requirements relating to information contained in consumer reports. 606. Disclosure of investigative consumer reports. 607. Compliance procedures. 608. Disclosures to governmental agencies. 609. Disclosure to consumers. 610. Conditions and form of disclosure to consumers. 611. Procedure in case of disputed accuracy. 612. Charges for certain disclosures. 613. Public record information for employment purposes. 614. Restrictions on investigative consumer reports. 615. Requirements on users of consumer reports. 616. Civil liability for willful noncompliance. 617. Civil liability for negligent noncompliance. 618. Jurisdiction of courts; limitation of actions. 619. Obtaining information under false pretenses. 620. Unauthorized disclosures by officers or employees. 621. Administrative enforcement. 622. Information on overdue child support obligations. 623. Responsibilities of furnishers of information to consumer reporting agencies. 624. Relation to State laws. 1 624. Disclosures to FBI for counterintelligence purposes. § 601. [15 U.S.C. 1601 note] Short title This title may be cited as the Fair Credit Reporting Act. 2 § 602. [15 U.S.C. 1681] Findings and purpose (a) The Congress makes the following findings: (1) The banking system is dependent upon fair and accurate credit reporting. Inaccurate credit reports directly impair the effi 1 So in law. The second item designated as section 624 should probably be redesignated as section 625. Section 2413(b) of P.L. 104-208 (110 Stat. 3009-449) redesignated the item relating to section 623 as section 624 and inserted an item relating to a new section 623. Section 601(b) of P.L. 104-93 (109 Stat. 977) had already added an item relating to section 624. 2 So in law. The short title probably should be within quotation marks. ciency of the banking system, and unfair credit reporting methods undermine the public confidence which is essential to the continued functioning of the banking system. (2) An elaborate mechanism has been developed for investigating and evaluating the credit worthiness, credit standing, credit capacity, character, and general reputation of consumers. (3) Consumer reporting agencies have assumed a vital role in assembling and evaluating consumer credit and other information on consumers. (4) There is a need to insure that consumer reporting agencies exercise their grave responsibilities with fairness, impartiality, and a respect for the consumer's right to privacy. (b) It is the purpose of this title to require that consumer reporting agencies adopt reasonable procedures for meeting the needs of commerce for consumer credit, personnel, insurance, and other information in a manner which is fair and equitable to the consumer, with regard to the confidentiality, accuracy, relevancy, and proper utilization of such information in accordance with the requirements of this title. § 603. [15 U.S.C. 1681a] Definitions and rules of construction (a) Definitions and rules of construction set forth in this section are applicable for the purposes of this title. (b) The term "person" means any individual, partnership, corporation, trust, estate, cooperative, association, government or governmental subdivision or agency, or other entity. (c) The term "consumer" means an individual. (1) IN GENERAL.-The term "consumer report" means any written, oral, or other communication of any information by a consumer reporting agency bearing on a consumer's credit worthiness, credit standing, credit capacity, character, general reputation, personal characteristics, or mode of living which is used or expected to be used or collected in whole or in part for the purpose of serving as a factor in establishing the consumer's eligibility for (A) credit or insurance to be used primarily for personal, family, or household purposes; (B) employment purposes; or (C) any other purpose authorized under section 604. (2) EXCLUSIONS.-The term "consumer report" does not include (A) any (i) report containing information solely as to transactions or experiences between the consumer and the person making the report; (ii) communication of that information among persons related by common ownership or affiliated by corporate control; or (iii) communication of other information among persons related by common ownership or affiliated by corporate control, if it is clearly and conspicuously disclosed to the consumer that the information may be communicated among such persons and the consumer is given the opportunity, before the time that the information is initially communicated, to direct that such information not be communicated among such persons; (B) any authorization or approval of a specific extension of credit directly or indirectly by the issuer of a credit card or similar device; (C) any report in which a person who has been requested by a third party to make a specific extension of credit directly or indirectly to a consumer conveys his or her decision with respect to such request, if the third party advises the consumer of the name and address of the person to whom the request was made, and such person makes the disclosures to the consumer required under section 615; or (D) a communication described in subsection (o). (e) The term "investigative consumer report" means a consumer report or portion thereof in which information on a consumer's character, general reputation, personal characteristics, or mode of living is obtained through personal interviews with neighbors, friends, or associates of the consumer reported on or with others with whom he is acquainted or who may have knowledge concerning any such items of information. However, such information shall not include specific factual information on a consumer's credit record obtained directly from a creditor of the consumer or from a consumer reporting agency when such information was obtained directly from a creditor of the consumer or from the consumer. (f) The term "consumer reporting agency" means any person which, for monetary fees, dues, or on a cooperative nonprofit basis, regularly engages in whole or in part in the practice of assembling or evaluating consumer credit information or other information on consumers for the purpose of furnishing consumer reports to third parties, and which uses any means or facility of interstate commerce for the purpose of preparing or furnishing consumer reports. (g) The term "file", when used in connection with information on any consumer, means all of the information on that consumer recorded and retained by a consumer reporting agency regardless of how the information is stored. (h) The term “employment purposes" when used in connection with a consumer report means a report used for the purpose of evaluating a consumer for employment, promotion, reassignment or retention as an employee. (i) The term "medical information" means information or records obtained, with the consent of the individual to whom it relates, from licensed physicians or medical practitioners, hospitals, clinics, or other medical or medically related facilities. (j) DEFINITIONS RELATING TO CHILD SUPPORT OBLIGATIONS.- (2) STATE OR LOCAL CHILD SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT AGENCY.-The term "State or local child support enforcement agency" means a State or local agency which administers a State |