Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Consumer Protection topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Senate approves bill letting parents freeze minors’ credit, requires agencies to provide service free
Summary
Senate Bill 54, sponsored by Senator Osman, allows parents or guardians to request credit freezes for minors and incapacitated persons and requires credit reporting agencies to provide the service without charge; the bill passed the Senate after floor amendments.
SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Senate approved a bill intended to protect minors and incapacitated people from identity theft by allowing parents and guardians to request credit freezes at no cost.
Senator Luz Osman introduced SB 54, describing a common problem in which a young person’s Social Security number is used fraudulently, damaging credit well before the youth uses or checks creditworthiness. “This bill addresses a very common problem that we have in our country where social security numbers, especially of the young, are taken by illegal means,” Osman said.
The bill permits a parent or guardian to contact credit reporting agencies to place a freeze on a minor’s or incapacitated person’s credit report and restricts credit use until the freeze is lifted by the parent/guardian or the protected person reaches a statutorily specified age. During floor consideration, sponsors amended the bill to require that credit reporting agencies provide the freeze service free of charge. Senator Osman moved amendment number 2 under his name; the amendment passed on the floor.
The bill passed by recorded vote and was read for a third time on the floor as amended. The clerk recorded the third-reading tally as 26 yeas, 0 nays, with three senators absent; the bill was ordered read for a third time and will proceed to the House or to the next steps required under legislative procedure.
Why it matters: Identity theft of minors can create long-term financial harm that is difficult to reverse. The bill creates a statutory mechanism and explicitly requires credit agencies to offer the protection without fee, expanding on an existing Attorney General arrangement with a single agency to make it statewide.
What’s next: The bill proceeds through legislative channels after third reading and, if enacted, would require credit reporting agencies operating in Utah to implement free freeze services for parents or guardians of minors and for designated incapacitated persons.
