CUNA Regulatory Comment Call
June 9, 2000
NCUA’s Proposed Rule on the Privacy Act
(NOT A MAJOR RULE)
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Privacy Act governs the collection, maintenance, use, and disclosure of personal information in a federal agency’s systems of records. The proposed rule will make the following changes to NCUA’s rules regarding the Privacy Act:
- NCUA will respond to requests for information covered under the Privacy Act within 20 working days, with a possible 10-day extension. For an adverse decision, an appeal must be filed within 30 days.
- Copying fees for Privacy Act records will now be the same as outlined in the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) fee schedule.
- Any requirement that an individual produce a notarized statement affirming his or her identity will be eliminated. An unsworn declaration, under penalty of perjury, will now be sufficient.
- NCUA will ensure that an individual may receive his or her non-exempt medical records, although special procedures will be in place to minimize potential harm that may result from the release.
Comments on the proposed rule are due by August 11, 2000. Please submit your comments to CUNA by August 2, 2000.
Please feel free to fax your responses to CUNA at 202-371-8240; e-mail them to Associate General Counsel Mary Dunn at mdunn@cuna.com or to Assistant General Counsel Jeffrey Bloch at jbloch@cuna.com; or mail them to Mary or Jeff in c/o CUNA’s Regulatory Advocacy Department, 805 15th Street, NW, Suite 300, Washington, DC 20005. Please contact us if you need more information. You may also contact us if you would like a copy of the proposed rule.
BACKGROUND
The Privacy Act governs the collection, maintenance, use, and disclosure of personal information in a federal agency’s systems of records. The NCUA’s rules in this area outline the procedures for individuals to obtain access to records about themselves. The rules also permit the amendment of any inaccurate records and places restrictions on disclosing the information in these records. The proposed rule is intended to update these rules to reflect current law, terminology, and to clarify which systems of records within NCUA are subject to Privacy Act exemptions.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PROPOSED RULE
The proposed rule will change the processing time limits when responding to requests for information covered under the Privacy Act. Under the rule, NCUA will respond to Privacy Act requests within 20 working days of receipt, with a 10-day extension if necessary. For an adverse decision, the individual must file an appeal within 30 days.
Currently, copying fees for Privacy Act records are set at $.25 per page. Under the proposed rule, the fees will be the same as the fees outlined in the FOIA fee schedule.
To reflect current case law, the proposed rule eliminates the requirement that an individual needs to produce a notarized statement affirming his or her identity when seeking access to a record about that individual. This requirement currently applies in situations where he or she cannot produce documentation to establish identity or when a request is submitted by mail. An unsworn declaration, under penalty of perjury, will now be sufficient.
Under the current rules, an NCUA official must determine whether to release to an individual his or her non-exempt medical records. The proposed rule will change this to reflect current case law and will continue to impose special procedures to minimize the potential harm that may arise from the release of the information. However, NCUA will ensure that the individual receives all nonexempt medical records.
The proposed rule will add the "Litigation Case Files System" as another system of records that will be subject to a Privacy Act Exemption.
QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER REGARDING NCUA’s PROPOSAL AMENDING THE PRIVACY ACT RULES
- Will this rule have any impact on the operations of your credit union? Please describe the possible impact.
- Other comments?
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Eric Richard • General Counsel • (202) 508-6742 • erichard@cuna.com Mary Mitchell Dunn • SVP & Associate General Counsel • (202) 508-6736 • mdunn@cuna.com Jeffrey Bloch • Assistant General Counsel • (202) 508-6732 • jbloch@cuna.com Catherine Orr • Senior Regulatory Counsel • (202) 508-6743 • corr@cuna.com |
