South Carolina is considering a new identity theft bill. Lawmakers in the state say it has been lagging behind in the battle against identity theft. However, on Tuesday, the House approved a new identity theft protection bill. It will now go to the governor for final approval.

“We should have done it two years ago. The senate passed it a couple of times but the house was very, very thorough in looking at it. They improved the bill that we sent over. So I’m not complaining. I’m just glad we’ve got something,” says Greenville Senator David Thomas.

Despite the time it took to get this bill into play, if approved, it will be one of the toughest identity theft protection bills in the country.

The new bill covers:

• ability for consumers to place or lift a security freeze on their credit reports without a fee.
• penalties for businesses who do not properly discard paper and electronic information
• penalties if consumer reporting agencies don’t correct information on a credit report when notified
• prohibitions against using Social Security Numbers on membership cards or in mailings
• breach notification requirements when any type of personal information is breached

Tags: south carolina, identity theft, identity theft protection, law, legislation, bills, state law, id theft, id theft protection, id theft law