REPORT TITLE: 
Identity Theft


DESCRIPTION:
Makes the offense of identity theft a class B felony.  

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                        
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES                H.B. NO.158        
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 1999                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                     A BILL FOR AN ACT

RELATING TO IDENTITY THEFT.



BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 1      SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that the incidence of
 
 2 identity theft in the United States is a growing problem.
 
 3 Typically, the offender will obtain the victim's personal
 
 4 identification, such as social security number, driver's license
 
 5 number, birth certificate, home address, or telephone number.
 
 6 With this information, the offender applies for and obtains a
 
 7 credit card under the victim's name.  After getting the credit
 
 8 card, the offender goes on a spending spree, surprising the
 
 9 victim with thousands of dollars worth of charges and leaving the
 
10 victim's credit history in ruins.
 
11      Until now, there was little that could be done to prosecute
 
12 the offender.  In recognition of this growing problem, the United
 
13 States Congress passed the federal Identity Theft and Assumption
 
14 Deterrence Act of 1998 (P.L. 105-318).  This federal law makes it
 
15 unlawful for anyone to knowingly transfer or use, without lawful
 
16 authority, a means of identification of another person with the
 
17 intent to commit, or to aid or abet, any unlawful activity
 
18 constituting a violation of federal law and constituting a felony
 
19 under any applicable state or local law.
 

 
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 1      At least nine states, not including Hawaii, make identity
 
 2 theft an offense of some kind.  With the new federal law, it is
 
 3 expected that other states will follow and enact more stringent
 
 4 laws targeting identity theft.
 
 5      The purpose of this Act is to establish the offense of
 
 6 identity theft and make the offense a class B felony.
 
 7      SECTION 2.  Chapter 708, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended
 
 8 by adding a new section to part IV to be appropriately designated
 
 9 and to read as follows:
 
10      "§708-     Identity theft.  (1)  A person commits the
 
11 offense of identity theft if the person knowingly:
 
12      (a)  Uses or attempts to use any personal identifying
 
13           information or personal identification document of
 
14           another person to obtain credit, money, goods,
 
15           services, medical information, or anything else of
 
16           value without the other's authorization or consent; and
 
17      (b)  Represents or gives the appearance that the person is
 
18           the other person, or is acting with the other's
 
19           authorization or consent.
 
20      (2)  In any case in which a person:
 
21      (a)  Knowingly obtains personal identifying information of
 
22           another person without the other's authorization or
 
23           consent;
 

 
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 1      (b)  The person uses that information to commit a crime in
 
 2           addition to a violation of subsection (1); and
 
 3      (c)  The person is convicted of that crime,
 
 4 the court records shall reflect that the person whose identity
 
 5 was falsely used to commit the crime did not commit the crime.
 
 6      (3)  Identity theft is a class B felony.
 
 7      (4)  As used in this section:
 
 8      "Financial transaction card" means an instrument or device
 
 9 issued by an issuer for the use of the cardholder in any of the
 
10 following:
 
11      (1)  Obtaining anything on credit;
 
12      (2)  Certifying or guaranteeing the availability of funds
 
13           sufficient to honor a draft or check; or
 
14      (3)  Gaining access to an account.
 
15      "Personal identification document" means a birth certificate
 
16 or a financial transaction card.
 
17      "Personal identifying information" means any of the
 
18 following:
 
19      (1)  An individual's name;
 
20      (2)  An individual's address;
 
21      (3)  An individual's telephone number;
 
22      (4)  The driver's license number assigned to the individual;
 
23      (5)  An individual's social security number;
 

 
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 1      (6)  An individual's employer or place of employment;
 
 2      (7)  An identification number assigned to an individual by
 
 3           the individual's employer;
 
 4      (8)  The maiden name of an individual's mother;
 
 5      (9)  The identifying number of a depository account of an
 
 6           individual; or
 
 7     (10)  The individual's credit card number."
 
 8      SECTION 3.  This Act does not affect the rights and duties
 
 9 that matured, penalties that were incurred, and proceedings that
 
10 were begun, before its effective date.
 
11      SECTION 4.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed.
 
12 New statutory material is underscored.
 
13      SECTION 5.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
 
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15                           INTRODUCED BY:_________________________
 
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