§48-18-121 Providing information to consumer reporting agencies; requesting consumer credit reports for child support purposes. - West Virginia Statutes

§48-18-121. Providing information to consumer reporting agencies; requesting consumer credit reports for child support purposes.
(a) For purposes of this section, the term "consumer reporting agency" means any person who, for monetary fees, dues, or on a cooperative nonprofit basis, regularly engages, in whole or in part, in the practice of assembling or evaluating consumer credit information or other information on consumers for the purpose of furnishing consumer reports to third parties.

(b) The Commissioner shall establish procedures whereby information regarding the amount of overdue support owed by an obligor will be reported periodically by the Bureau for Child Support Enforcement to any consumer reporting agency, after a request by the consumer reporting agency that it be provided with the periodic reports.

(1) The procedures shall provide that any information with respect to an obligor shall be made available only after notice has been sent to the obligor of the proposed action, and such obligor has been given a reasonable opportunity to contest the accuracy of the information.

(2) The procedures shall afford the obligor with procedural due process prior to making information available with respect to the obligor.

(c) The information made available to a consumer reporting agency regarding overdue support may only be made available to an entity that has furnished evidence satisfactory to the Bureau that the entity is a consumer reporting agency as defined in subsection (a) of this section.

(d) The Bureau for Child Support Enforcement may impose a fee for furnishing such information, not to exceed the actual cost thereof.

(e) The Commissioner of the Bureau for Child Support Enforcement, or her or his designee, may request a consumer reporting agency to prepare and furnish to the Bureau for Child Support Enforcement a consumer report for purposes relating to child support, by certifying to the consumer reporting agency that:

(1) The consumer report is needed for the purpose of establishing an individual's capacity to make child support payments or determining the appropriate level of payments in order to set an initial or modified child support award;

(2) The paternity of the child of the individual has been established or acknowledged by the individual in accordance with state law;

(3) The individual whose report is being requested has been given at least ten days' prior notice of the request by certified mail to his or her last known address that such report is being requested; and

(4) The consumer report will be kept confidential, will be used solely for a purpose described in subdivision (1) of this subsection and will not be used in connection with any other civil, administrative or criminal proceeding or for any other purpose.