September 10, 2015, Introduced by Senator SCHUITMAKER and referred to the Committee on Commerce.
A bill to amend 1988 PA 378, entitled
"An act to preserve personal privacy with respect to the purchase,
rental, or borrowing of certain materials; and to provide penalties
and remedies for violation of this act,"
by amending sections 1, 3, 4, and 5 (MCL 445.1711, 445.1713,
445.1714, and 445.1715), section 5 as added by 1989 PA 206.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec. 1. As used in this act:
(a)
"Customer" means a person an individual who purchases,
rents,
or borrows a book, or other written material, or a sound
recording, or a video recording.
(b)
"Employee" means a person an individual who works for
an
employer in exchange for wages or other remuneration.
(c)
"Employer" means a person who that has 1 or more
employees.
Sec. 3. A record or information described in section 2 may be
disclosed only in 1 or more of the following circumstances:
(a) With the written permission of the customer.
(b) Pursuant to a court order.
(c) To the extent reasonably necessary to collect payment for
the materials or the rental of the materials, if the customer has
received written notice that the payment is due and has failed to
pay or arrange for payment within a reasonable time after notice.
(d) To any person if the disclosure is incident to the
ordinary course of business of the person that is disclosing the
information.
(e) (d)
If the disclosure is for the exclusive
purpose of
marketing
goods and services directly to the consumer. All of the
following apply for purposes of this subparagraph:
(i) The person that is disclosing the information shall inform
the customer by written notice that the customer may remove his or
her
name at any time by in the
manner described in subparagraph
(ii). Any of the following methods of notice satisfy the written
notice requirements of this subparagraph:
(A) Written notice included in or with any materials sold,
rented, or lent to the customer under section 2.
(B) Written notice provided to the customer at the time he or
she orders any of the materials described in section 2 or otherwise
provided to the customer in connection with the transaction between
the person and customer for the sale, rental, or loan of the
materials to the customer.
(C) Notice that is included in an online privacy policy that
is posted on the Internet and maintained by the person that is
disclosing the information and is available to the general public.
(ii) A customer may provide written notice to the a person
that
is disclosing the information under this subdivision that the
customer does not want his or her name disclosed. Beginning 30 days
after the person receives the written notice, the person shall not
disclose the customer's name to any other person under this
subdivision.
(f) (e)
Pursuant to a search warrant issued
by a state or
federal court or a grand jury subpoena.
Sec.
4. A person who that violates this act is guilty of a
misdemeanor.
Sec.
5. (1) Regardless of any criminal prosecution for a the
violation, of
this act, a person who that
violates this act shall
may
be liable in a civil action for damages
to the customer
identified
in a record or other information that is disclosed in
violation
of this act. The a customer under
subsection (2).
(2) A customer described in subsection (1) who suffers actual
injury as a result of a violation of this act may bring a civil
action against the person that violated this act and may recover
both of the following:
(a)
Actual One of the
following, whichever is greater:
(i) The customer's actual damages, including damages for
emotional
distress. , or $5,000.00, whichever is greater.
(ii) If the violation is the disclosure of the customer's
information after he or she provided written notice to the person
under section 3(e)(ii), $5,000.00.
(b) Costs and reasonable attorney fees.
Enacting section 1. This amendatory act takes effect 90 days
after the date it is enacted into law.
Enacting section 2. This amendatory act is curative and
intended to clarify that the prohibitions on disclosing information
contained in 1988 PA 378, MCL 445.1711 to 445.1715, do not prohibit
disclosing information if it is incident to the ordinary course of
business of the person disclosing the information, including
marketing goods and services to the consumer, when written notice
is provided.