252I.4 - VERIFICATION OF ACCOUNTS AND IMMUNITY FROM LIABILITY. - Iowa Statutes

252I.4 VERIFICATION OF ACCOUNTS AND IMMUNITY FROM LIABILITY. 1. The unit may contact a financial institution to obtain verification of the account number, the names and social security numbers listed for the account, and the account balance of any account held by an obligor. Contact with a financial institution may be by telephone or by written communication. The financial institution may require positive voice recognition and may require the telephone number of the authorized person from the unit before releasing an obligor's account information by telephone. 2. The unit and financial institutions doing business in Iowa shall enter into agreements to develop and operate a data match system, using automated data exchanges to the maximum extent feasible. The data match system shall allow a means by which each financial institution shall provide to the unit for each calendar quarter the name, record address, social security number or other taxpayer identification number, and other identifying information for each obligor who maintains an account at the institution and who owes past-due support, as identified by the unit by name and social security number or other taxpayer identification number. The unit shall work with representatives of financial institutions to develop a system to assist nonautomated financial institutions in complying with the provisions of this section. 3. The unit may pay a reasonable fee to a financial institution for conducting the data match required in subsection 2, not to exceed the lower of either one hundred fifty dollars for each quarterly data match or the actual costs incurred by the financial institution for each quarterly data match. However, the unit may also adopt rules pursuant to chapter 17A to specify a fee amount for each quarterly data match based upon the estimated state share of funds collected under this chapter, which, when adopted, shall be applied in lieu of the one hundred fifty dollar fee under this subsection. In addition, the unit may pay a reasonable fee to a financial institution for automation programming development performed in order to conduct the data match required in subsection 2, not to exceed the lower of either five hundred dollars or the actual costs incurred by the financial institution. The unit may use the state share of funds collected under this chapter to pay the fees to financial institutions under this subsection. For state fiscal years beginning July 1, 1999, and July 1, 2000, the unit may use up to one hundred percent of the state share of such funds. For state fiscal years beginning on or after July 1, 2001, the unit may use up to fifty percent of the state share of such funds. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, a financial institution shall have until a date provided in the agreement in subsection 2 to submit its claim for a fee under this subsection. If the unit does not have sufficient funds available under this subsection for payment of fees under this subsection for conducting data matches or for automation program development performed in the fiscal year beginning July 1, 1999, the cost may be carried forward to the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2000. The unit may also use funds from an amount assessed a child support agency of another state, as defined in section 252H.2, to conduct a data match requested by that child support agency as provided in 42 U.S.C. § 666(a)(14) to pay fees to financial institutions under this subsection. 4. a. A financial institution is immune from any liability in any action or proceeding, whether civil or criminal, for any of the following: (1) The disclosure of any information by a financial institution to the unit pursuant to this chapter or the rules or procedures adopted by the unit to implement this chapter, including disclosure of information relating to an obligor who maintains an account with the financial institution or disclosure of information relating to any other person who maintains an account with the financial institution that is provided for the purpose of complying with the data match requirements of this section and with the agreement entered into between the financial institution and the unit pursuant to subsection 2. (2) Any encumbrance or surrender of any assets held by a financial institution in response to a notice of lien or levy issued by the unit. (3) Any action or omission in connection with good faith efforts to comply with this chapter or any rules or procedures that are adopted by the unit to implement this chapter. (4) The disclosure, use, or misuse by the unit or by any other person of information provided or assets delivered to the unit by a financial institution. b. For the purposes of this section, "financial institution" includes officers, directors, employees, contractors, and agents of the financial institution. 5. The financial institution or the unit is not liable for the cost of any early withdrawal penalty of an obligor's certificate of deposit.          Section History: Recent Form 94 Acts, ch 1101, §4; 97 Acts, ch 175, §111; 99 Acts, ch 127, §3; 2000 Acts, ch 1096, §3, 4; 2000 Acts, ch 1232, §90, 95