Amend the bill, as and if amended, Part IB, Section 92, OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR, page 473, after line 22, by adding an appropriately numbered new proviso to read:
/ (GOV: Identity Theft Protection) The Governor shall develop a protection plan to minimize the actual and potential costs and effects of identity theft perpetrated upon all taxpayers that files a tax return with the South Carolina Department of Revenue after 1997 and before 2013, by providing identity theft protection and identity theft resolution services. The identity theft protection and identity theft resolution services must be free of charge to each eligible person. The protection plan implemented may include assistance from or services provided by any executive branch agency of state government, including the Department of Consumer Affairs.
The protection plan implemented must include procurement by the Governor of one or more contracts for identity theft protection and identity theft resolution services for all eligible persons, including, but not limited to, credit monitoring and alerts. In implementing the protection plan, the Governor must also consider including protections against government documents and benefits fraud, phone and other utilities fraud, bank fraud and loan fraud. The procurement of identity theft protection shall be governed by the South Carolina Consolidated Procurement Code and conducted in compliance with the following additional requirements. Any contract for identity theft protection or identity theft resolution services entered into by the Governor must be solicited through the Materials Management Office using the process set forth in Section 11-35-1530 of the 1976 Code, as amended. Prior to issuance, the Governor's request for proposals must be reviewed and approved by an advisory panel composed of three members appointed by the Governor, Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, and Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. The evaluation and ranking required by Section 11-35-1530 of the 1976 Code, as amended, must be conducted by an evaluation panel composed of at least three members. The advisory panel must approve anyone selected to serve or otherwise participate with the evaluation panel and anyone authorized by the procurement officer to participate, directly or indirectly, in the selection process. No contract may be procured for a cost if the same service is available to eligible persons for free under state or federal law.
Any contract entered into for identity theft protection and identity theft resolutions services in FY 2013-14 shall be for one year. Upon the expiration of a contract or contracts, the Governor shall issue a report to the General Assembly containing findings and recommendations concerning the ongoing risk of identity theft to eligible persons, the services the contract or contracts provided, and the need, if any, for extending the period for the contracted services, including the levels of service required if such a need exists.
In order to ensure that every eligible person obtains identity theft protection and identity theft resolution services, to the extent allowed by federal or state law, including Section 30-2-320 of the 1976 Code, as amended, the Governor and the Department of Revenue must develop and implement a policy to make enrollment as simple as possible for each eligible person. The policy may include, but is not limited to, automatic enrollment, provided that there is an opt-out mechanism for otherwise eligible persons, enrollment authorization on a tax return filed in this State, and enrollment authorization through a secure protected server on the department's website.
By March fifteenth, the Department of Revenue shall issue a report to the Governor and the General Assembly detailing the number of eligible persons that enrolled in the identity theft protection and identity theft resolution services program procured by the Governor. The report also must detail the efforts of the Governor and the Department of Revenue to increase enrollment in the programs.
Nothing in this proviso creates a private right of action or an expenditure of funds. /