[ Search ] [ Legislation ]
[ Home ] [ Back ] [ Bottom ]
| [ Introduced ] | [ Engrossed ] | [ House Amendment 001 ] |
| [ Senate Amendment 001 ] |
91_SB0890enr SB890 Enrolled LRB9105132JSpcA 1 AN ACT to create the Illinois Financial Institutions Year 2 2000 Safety and Soundness Act. 3 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, 4 represented in the General Assembly: 5 Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the 6 Illinois Financial Institutions Year 2000 Safety and 7 Soundness Act. 8 Section 5. Findings and declarations of policy. The 9 General Assembly hereby finds and declares that: 10 (1) the economic strength and general welfare of 11 Illinois depends on strong, safe and sound financial 12 institutions that command the highest levels of public 13 confidence among the citizens of this State; 14 (2) Illinois financial institutions are highly 15 monitored and closely supervised by federal and state 16 regulatory agencies which impose strict compliance 17 standards and conduct regular and frequent examinations 18 on these institutions; 19 (3) countless computer systems, software programs, 20 microchips, and integrated circuits have been created, 21 distributed, installed, and relied upon throughout this 22 State and the world which are not capable of recognizing 23 certain dates in 1999 and after December 31, 1999, and 24 which will read dates in the year 2000 and thereafter as 25 if those dates represent the year 1900 or thereafter, or 26 which will fail to process those dates (commonly referred 27 to as the "Year 2000 Problem"); 28 (4) the federal and state regulatory agencies which 29 regulate Illinois financial institutions have required 30 these institutions to undergo exhaustive planning, 31 remediation, testing, and contingency preparedness to SB890 Enrolled -2- LRB9105132JSpcA 1 properly address the Year 2000 Problem with respect to 2 both internal and external mission critical computer 3 systems, internal and external non-mission critical 4 computer systems, third party vendors, customers, and 5 other possible sources of business interruption, and are 6 closely monitoring, examining, and supervising these 7 efforts on an institution by institution basis; 8 (5) Illinois financial institutions have expended 9 hundreds of millions of dollars on reprogramming, 10 replacing, and testing their computer systems to properly 11 address the Year 2000 Problem and continue to be 12 accountable to their federal and state regulatory 13 agencies for meeting the strict safety and soundness 14 standards imposed on them in connection with the Year 15 2000 Problem; 16 (6) Illinois financial institutions are integral to 17 the payments system and credit and savings bases relied 18 on by all other businesses, governmental entities, and 19 citizens of this State irrespective of whether those 20 businesses, governmental entities, and citizens have 21 addressed and implemented solutions in connection with 22 the Year 2000 Problem; and 23 (7) it is in the interests of this State to 24 recognize the unique and rigorous standards required of 25 Illinois financial institutions in connection with the 26 Year 2000 Problem and their integral role in maintaining 27 the payments system and credit and savings bases in this 28 State and to preserve public confidence in these 29 institutions and ensure their safety and soundness, 30 thereby protecting and enhancing the economy and general 31 welfare of this State, by providing uniform and judicious 32 legal standards for Illinois financial institutions in 33 connection with the Year 2000 Problem. SB890 Enrolled -3- LRB9105132JSpcA 1 Section 10. Definitions. For the purposes of this Act: 2 (a) The term "Illinois financial institution" means: 3 (1) a State bank, a national bank, or an 4 out-of-state bank, as those terms are defined in the 5 Illinois Banking Act, or any subsidiary of a State bank, 6 a national bank, or an out-of-state bank; 7 (2) a foreign banking corporation, as that term is 8 defined in the Foreign Banking Office Act, or any 9 subsidiary of a foreign banking corporation; 10 (3) a corporate fiduciary, as that term is defined 11 in the Corporate Fiduciary Act, or any subsidiary of a 12 corporate fiduciary; 13 (4) a savings bank organized under the Savings Bank 14 Act, an out-of-state savings bank chartered under the 15 laws of a state other than Illinois, a territory of the 16 United States, or the District of Columbia, or a federal 17 savings bank organized under federal law, or any 18 subsidiary of a savings bank, an out-of-state savings 19 bank, or a federal savings bank; 20 (5) an association or federal association, as those 21 terms are defined in the Illinois Savings and Loan Act of 22 1985, or any subsidiary of an association or federal 23 association; 24 (6) an out-of-state savings and loan association 25 chartered under the laws of a state other than Illinois, 26 a territory of the United States, or the District of 27 Columbia, or a federal savings and loan association 28 organized under federal law whose principal business 29 office is located outside of Illinois, or any subsidiary 30 of an out-of-state savings and loan association or 31 federal savings and loan association whose principal 32 business office is located outside of Illinois; 33 (7) a credit union, as defined in the Illinois 34 Credit Union Act, or any subsidiary of a credit union; or SB890 Enrolled -4- LRB9105132JSpcA 1 (8) a network owned by one or more financial 2 institutions, as those terms are defined in the 3 Electronic Fund Transfer Act. 4 The terms in this subsection (a) also shall be deemed to 5 include a direct or indirect holding company of an Illinois 6 financial institution in connection with a Year 2000 claim 7 involving the Illinois financial institution directly or 8 indirectly owned by such holding company. 9 (b) The term "Year 2000 failure" means any failure by any 10 device or system (including, without limitation, any computer 11 system and any microchip or integrated circuit embedded in 12 another device or product), or any software, firmware, or 13 other set or collection of processing instructions, however 14 constructed, in processing, calculating, comparing, 15 sequencing, displaying, storing, transmitting, or receiving 16 date-related data during the years 1999 and 2000 or from, 17 into, or between the twentieth century and the twenty-first 18 century, or the failure to recognize or accurately process 19 any specific date, or the failure to accurately account 20 for the status of the year 2000 as a leap year. 21 (c) The term "Year 2000 action" means a civil action of 22 any kind brought under Illinois law, except for a civil 23 action brought by a federal or state agency that regulates 24 the Illinois financial institution, in which: 25 (1) a Year 2000 claim is asserted; or 26 (2) any claim or defense is related, directly or 27 indirectly, to a Year 2000 claim. 28 (d) The term "Year 2000 claim" means any claim or cause 29 of action of any kind, whether asserted by way of claim, 30 counterclaim, cross-claim, third-party claim, or otherwise, 31 in which a party or other person's loss or harm is alleged to 32 have resulted, directly or indirectly, from any act or 33 omission in connection with an actual or potential Year 2000 34 failure, except for claims involving physical injury to the SB890 Enrolled -5- LRB9105132JSpcA 1 extent of the claim of physical injury. 2 (e) The term "physical injury" means any physical injury 3 to a natural person, including the death of the person, but 4 does not include mental suffering, emotional distress, or 5 other similar elements of injury that do not constitute 6 physical harm to a natural person. 7 Section 15. Action for damages. An Illinois financial 8 institution shall not be liable in a Year 2000 action brought 9 by or for damages incurred by persons not in privity of 10 contract with the Illinois financial institution in 11 connection with the transaction that gave rise to the Year 12 2000 claim. 13 Section 20. Notice of claim. No person shall bring a 14 Year 2000 action or make a Year 2000 claim against an 15 Illinois financial institution unless the person has given 16 written notice to the Illinois financial institution of the 17 person's Year 2000 claim and the Illinois financial 18 institution has been afforded at least 60 days after receipt 19 of the notice to resolve the claim. 20 Section 25. Employees, officers, and directors. No 21 employee, officer, or director of an Illinois financial 22 institution shall be liable to any person for damages in a 23 Year 2000 action, except for an act or omission that 24 constitutes fraud; provided that this Section shall not 25 preclude a Year 2000 action against an Illinois financial 26 institution that is otherwise permitted by law based on the 27 actions of an employee, officer, or director of the financial 28 institution. 29 Section 30. Unaffected rights. The provisions of this 30 Act shall not affect the rights of parties under Articles 3, SB890 Enrolled -6- LRB9105132JSpcA 1 4, 4A, and 8 of the Uniform Commercial Code and other rules 2 governing the processing of check, credit, debit, ACH, and 3 wire transactions, provided that such rights shall be 4 strictly construed to further the purposes and policies of 5 the provisions therein and the application of such 6 construction is not likely to impair the safety and soundness 7 of the Illinois financial institution. 8 Section 90. Severability. The provisions of this Act 9 are severable under Section 1.31 of the Statute on Statutes. 10 Section 92. The Banking Emergencies Act is amended by 11 adding Section 5 as follows: 12 (205 ILCS 610/5 new) 13 Sec. 5. Year 2000 Consumer Protections. 14 (a) For the purposes of this Section: 15 (1) the term "Illinois financial institution" means: 16 (A) a State bank, a national bank, or an 17 out-of-state bank, as those terms are defined in the 18 Illinois Banking Act, or any subsidiary of a State 19 bank, a national bank, or an out-of-state bank; 20 (B) a foreign banking corporation, as that 21 term is defined in the Foreign Banking Office Act, 22 or any subsidiary of a foreign banking corporation; 23 (C) a corporate fiduciary, as that term is 24 defined in the Corporate Fiduciary Act, or any 25 subsidiary of a corporate fiduciary; 26 (D) a savings bank organized under the Savings 27 Bank Act, an out-of-state savings bank chartered 28 under the laws of a state other than Illinois, a 29 territory of the United States, or the District of 30 Columbia, or a federal savings bank organized under 31 federal law, or any subsidiary of a savings bank, an SB890 Enrolled -7- LRB9105132JSpcA 1 out-of-state savings bank, or a federal savings 2 bank; 3 (E) an association or federal association, as 4 those terms are defined in the Illinois Savings and 5 Loan Act of 1985, or any subsidiary of an 6 association or federal association; 7 (F) an out-of-state savings and loan 8 association chartered under the laws of a state 9 other than Illinois, a territory of the United 10 States or the District of Columbia, or a federal 11 savings and loan association organized under federal 12 law whose principal business office is located 13 outside of Illinois, or any subsidiary of an 14 out-of-state savings and loan association or federal 15 savings and loan association whose principal 16 business office is located outside of Illinois; 17 (G) a credit union, as defined in the Illinois 18 Credit Union Act, or any subsidiary of a credit 19 union; or 20 (H) a network owned by one or more financial 21 institutions, as those terms are defined in the 22 Electronic Fund Transfer Act. 23 (2) the term "consumer" means an individual person; 24 and 25 (3) the term "Year 2000 failure" means any failure 26 by any device or system (including, without limitation, 27 any computer system and any microchip or integrated 28 circuit embedded in another device or product), or any 29 software, firmware, or other set or collection of 30 processing instructions, however constructed, in 31 processing, calculating, comparing, sequencing, 32 displaying, storing, transmitting, or receiving 33 date-related data during the years 1999 and 2000 or from, 34 into, or between the twentieth century and the SB890 Enrolled -8- LRB9105132JSpcA 1 twenty-first century, or the failure to recognize or 2 accurately process any specific date, or the failure to 3 accurately account for the status of the year 2000 as a 4 leap year. 5 (b) A financial institution shall stay an action for the 6 collection of a debt from a consumer for 30 days if the 7 consumer's default, failure to pay, breach, omission, or 8 other violation of the agreement that is the basis of the 9 collection action was caused by a Year 2000 failure on the 10 part of any person, provided the consumer notifies the 11 financial institution in writing of his or her inability to 12 meet the debt obligation within 30 days of discovering the 13 inability to meet the obligation due to the Year 2000 14 failure, and the notice sets forth: 15 (1) the identity of the person experiencing the 16 Year 2000 failure; 17 (2) the reason such person's Year 2000 failure 18 caused the consumer's inability to meet the obligation; 19 and 20 (3) the name and telephone number of a 21 representative of the person experiencing the Year 2000 22 failure who the financial institution may call for 23 purposes of verification. 24 This subsection shall not be applied more than once in 25 connection with the same debt of a consumer, nor shall it 26 otherwise affect the consumer's underlying debt obligation, 27 the accrual of any interest on the debt obligation, or the 28 calculation of any period of delinquency for the debt 29 obligation. 30 (c) A financial institution shall not charge a late fee 31 on a consumer debt obligation, or if already charged shall 32 waive such late fee, if the consumer's failure to timely pay 33 under the agreement that provides the basis for the late fee 34 was caused by a Year 2000 failure on the part of any person, SB890 Enrolled -9- LRB9105132JSpcA 1 provided the consumer notifies the financial institution in 2 writing of his or her inability to make timely payment within 3 30 days of discovering the inability to make timely payment 4 due to the Year 2000 failure, and the notice sets forth: 5 (1) the identity of the person experiencing the 6 Year 2000 failure; 7 (2) the reason such person's Year 2000 failure 8 caused the consumer's inability to make timely payment; 9 and 10 (3) the name and telephone number of a 11 representative of the person experiencing the Year 2000 12 failure who the financial institution may call for 13 purposes of verification. 14 This subsection shall not be applied more than once in 15 connection with the same debt of a consumer, nor shall it 16 otherwise affect the consumer's underlying debt obligation, 17 the accrual of any interest on the debt obligation, or the 18 calculation of any period of delinquency for the debt 19 obligation. 20 (d) A consumer may dispute directly with a credit 21 reporting agency operating in this State any negative credit 22 information reported in connection with the consumer 23 resulting from a Year 2000 failure on the part of any person 24 other than the consumer. If requested by the consumer 25 pursuant to this subsection, the credit reporting agency 26 shall include a statement prepared by the consumer of no more 27 than 100 words in the consumer's file explaining the negative 28 credit information relating to such Year 2000 failure, and 29 the credit reporting agency shall include the individual's 30 statement in any report it provides to any person or entity 31 regarding the consumer. The credit reporting agency shall 32 not charge the consumer a fee for the inclusion of this 33 statement in the consumer's credit file. SB890 Enrolled -10- LRB9105132JSpcA 1 Section 99. Effective Date. This Act takes effect upon 2 becoming law.