The U.S. House of Representatives this morning passed H.R. 3506 by voice vote, a move ACA International has supported to eliminate unnecessary paperwork requirements under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA).
The legislation will waive an annual privacy notice requirement under the GLBA for companies that either are prohibited from sharing customer information because of other federal laws or don’t change their privacy notice from the previous year.
ACA International, the largest association representing the collection industry, expects the measure will have a positive impact on ACA members who purchase debt and collect on it - thus making them subject to both the GLBA and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Those debt buyers will no longer have to send privacy notices, as the FDCPA prohibits them from sharing information with third parties.
Representatives Erik Paulsen, R-Minn., and Dennis Moore, D-Kan., sponsored the measure.
“ACA is very grateful the House saw the unnecessary wasteful burden caused by this requirement and moved in a bi-partisan fashion to make needed changes to the law,” says ACA Federal Government Affairs Director Adam Peterman. “It made no sense to require companies subject to both Gramm-Leach-Bliley and the FDCPA to send consumers notices telling them they weren’t sharing their information when they were prohibited from doing so anyhow.
“This common-sense reform will save our members currently subject to this requirement millions of dollars in reduced regulatory costs without any decrease in consumer protection.”
Because of the unique effect on purchasers of debt, ACA worked closely with DBA International on fashioning the language and shepherding the bill through the House. DBA is the largest association representing debt buyers.
The legislation now moves to the Senate, where identical language must be passed before it can be sent to President Barack Obama to be signed into law.
