OLYMPIA, Wash. -- The Washington Credit Union League is reporting the success of a measure it supports that would allow CUs to recoup their losses when retailers experience card data breaches.
The league reported that the legislation passed the Insurance Financial Services and Consumer Protection Committee by a vote of 8-1, a margin that surprised some since retailers had lobbied to defeat it.
"In the fight against identity theft, this is a big score for Washington consumers," says Washington Credit Union League President/CEO John Annaloro. "This bill provides incentives to financial institutions to proactively protect personal consumer information, including credit and debit card numbers."
"After negotiating at least four substantive draft versions of the legislation at this point we've reached the crux of the issue--should negligent data breachers be held accountable for the costs incurred by a credit union trying to protect consumers from harm," asked league Senior Vice President/General Counsel Stacy Augustine.
Sponsored by Representative Brendan Williams (D-22), HB 2838 now moves to the House Rules Committee for further consideration.
As of press time, the Senate Financial Institutions and Insurance Committee was tentatively scheduled to consider a companion bill to the measure. The Senate version of the bill is sponsored by Senator Rosa Franklin (D-29) and faces similar industry opposition, according to the league.
--dmorrison@cutimes.com
