Vermont 2025-2026 Regular Session

Vermont House Bill H0385 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	BILL AS INTRODUCED H.385
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6	6	H.385 1
7	7	Introduced by Representatives Graning of Jericho, Arsenault of Williston, 2
8	8	Bluemle of Burlington, Bosch of Clarendon, Boutin of Barre 3
9	9	City, Burke of Brattleboro, Carris-Duncan of Whitingham, 4
10	10	Chapin of East Montpelier, Cina of Burlington, Cordes of 5
11	11	Bristol, Dodge of Essex, Duke of Burlington, Holcombe of 6
12	12	Norwich, Hooper of Burlington, Krasnow of South Burlington, 7
13	13	Lalley of Shelburne, LaLonde of South Burlington, Logan of 8
14	14	Burlington, McCann of Montpelier, McGill of Bridport, 9
15	15	Micklus of Milton, Minier of South Burlington, Nugent of 10
16	16	South Burlington, Olson of Starksboro, Priestley of Bradford, 11
17	17	Sibilia of Dover, Sweeney of Shelburne, and White of Bethel 12
18	18	Referred to Committee on 13
19	19	Date: 14
20	20	Subject: Finance; creditors; debtors; coerced debt; remedies 15
21	21	Statement of purpose of bill as introduced: This bill proposes to prohibit 16
22	22	coerced debt and provide protections and remedies for victims of coerced debt. 17
23	23	An act relating to remedies and protections for victims of coerced debt 18 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.385
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28	28	It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont: 1
29	29	Sec. 1. 9 V.S.A. chapter 63, subchapter 13 is added to read: 2
30	30	Subchapter 13. Coerced Debt 3
31	31	§ 2495a. DEFINITIONS 4
32	32	As used in this subchapter: 5
33	33	(1) “Abuse” has the same meaning provided in 15 V.S.A. § 1101(1). 6
34	34	(2) “Adequate documentation” means: 7
35	35	(A) a police report that identifies the coerced debt, or a portion 8
36	36	thereof, and describes the circumstances under which the coerced debt was 9
37	37	incurred; 10
38	38	(B) a Federal Trade Commission identity theft report; 11
39	39	(C) an order from a court of competent jurisdiction setting forth 12
40	40	findings of coerced debt; 13
41	41	(D) a sworn written certification from a qualified third-party 14
42	42	professional; or 15
43	43	(E) any other document that demonstrates a person was subject to 16
44	44	coerced debt and that supports a debtor’s statement of coerced debt. 17
45	45	(3) “Coerced debt” means all or a portion of debt in a debtor’s name 18
46	46	that: 19
47	47	(A) has been incurred as a result of: 20 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.385
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52	52	(i) the use of the debtor’s personal information without the 1
53	53	debtor’s knowledge, authorization, or consent; 2
54	54	(ii) the use or threat of force, intimidation, undue influence, fraud, 3
55	55	deception, coercion, or other similar means against the debtor; or 4
56	56	(iii) economic abuse perpetrated against the debtor; and 5
57	57	(B) was not subject to a final judgment in an action for dissolution of 6
58	58	marriage or a collection matter that occurred prior to the debtor requesting the 7
59	59	creditor to cease all collection efforts against the debtor for such debt. 8
60	60	(4) “Creditor” means a person, or the person’s successor, assignee, or 9
61	61	agent, claiming to own or have the right to collect a debt owed by the debtor. 10
62	62	(5) “Debtor” means a person who: 11
63	63	(A) is a survivor of domestic abuse, economic abuse, or human 12
64	64	trafficking; and 13
65	65	(B) owes coerced debt. 14
66	66	(6) “Economic abuse” means behavior in the context of a domestic 15
67	67	relationship that controls, restrains, restricts, impairs, or interferes with the 16
68	68	ability of a debtor to acquire, use, or maintain economic resources, including: 17
69	69	(A) withholding or restricting access to, or the acquisition of, money, 18
70	70	assets, credit, or financial information; 19
71	71	(B) interfering with the debtor’s ability to work and earn wages; or 20 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.385
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76	76	(C) exerting undue influence over the debtor’s financial and 1
77	77	economic behavior or decisions. 2
78	78	(7) “Human trafficking” has the same meaning provided in 13 V.S.A. 3
79	79	§ 2652 or 2653. 4
80	80	(8) “Perpetrator of coerced debt” means an individual who causes or is 5
81	81	alleged to have caused coerced debt to be incurred by another. 6
82	82	(9) “Qualified third-party professional” means: 7
83	83	(A) an officer of the court or law enforcement personnel; 8
84	84	(B) a licensed staff member of a program that provides assistance to 9
85	85	persons regarding domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, human 10
86	86	trafficking or abuse of children, older adults, or dependent adults, and who has 11
87	87	relevant training or expertise; or 12
88	88	(C) a licensed attorney or a health care provider as defined in 18 13
89	89	V.S.A. § 9402(7). 14
90	90	(10) “Statement of coerced debt” means a statement made by a debtor to 15
91	91	a creditor orally or in writing that includes: 16
92	92	(A) identification of the debt, or portion of the debt alleged to be 17
93	93	coerced debt; 18
94	94	(B) if available, a description of the circumstances under which the 19
95	95	coerced debt was allegedly incurred; 20 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.385
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100	100	(C) a statement by the debtor disclosing that the debtor did not 1
101	101	willingly authorize the use of the debtor’s name or personal information to 2
102	102	incur such debt; 3
103	103	(D) any information known by the debtor, including account 4
104	104	information or credit card information and the name of the individual in whose 5
105	105	name such debt was incurred; 6
106	106	(E) the identity of the perpetrator of the coerced debt and, if known, 7
107	107	contact information for the perpetrator, unless the debtor signs a sworn 8
108	108	statement that disclosing such information is likely to result in abuse to the 9
109	109	debtor or any immediate family member of the debtor; and 10
110	110	(F) the debtor’s preferred contact method and information such as a 11
111	111	telephone number, email address, physical address, or safe address for either 12
112	112	the debtor or a third party whom the debtor designates to receive information 13
113	113	about the coerced debt., which shall be specified by the debtor in writing. 14
114	114	(11) “Sworn written certification” means a statement by a qualified 15
115	115	third-party professional in the following form: 16
116	116	CERTIFICATION OF QUALIFIED THIRD-PARTY PROFESSIONAL 17
117	117	I, .................... (name of qualified third-party professional), do hereby 18
118	118	certify under penalty of perjury as follows: 19 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.385
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123	123	1. I am a qualified third-party professional as defined in 9 V.S.A. 1
124	124	§ 2495a(9) who has had in-person contact or face-to-face contact through an 2
125	125	electronic medium with .................... (name of debtor). 3
126	126	2. Based on my professional interactions with the debtor and 4
127	127	information presented to me in my professional capacity, I have a reasonable 5
128	128	basis to believe .................... (name of debtor) is a survivor of domestic abuse, 6
129	129	domestic assault, stalking, or human trafficking and has incurred all or a 7
130	130	portion of debt that is coerced debt. 8
131	131	3. Based on my professional interactions with the debtor and on 9
132	132	information presented to me, I have reason to believe that the circumstances 10
133	133	under which the coerced debt was incurred are as follows: 11
134	134	4. The following debts or portions of the debts have been identified to 12
135	135	me as coerced: 13
136	136	I attest that the foregoing is true and correct. 14
137	137	(Printed name of qualified third party) 15
138	138	(Signature of qualified third party) 16
139	139	(Business address and business telephone) 17
140	140	(Date) 18
141	141	§ 2495b. COERCED DEBT PROHIBITED 19
142	142	A person shall not cause another person to incur coerced debt. 20 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.385
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147	147	§ 2495c. CREDITOR’S CONDUCT PURSUANT TO A DEBTOR’S 1
148	148	STATEMENT OF COERCED DEBT 2
149	149	(a) Within 30 business days following receipt of a debtor’s statement of 3
150	150	coerced debt, the creditor shall notify any consumer reporting agency to which 4
151	151	the creditor furnished adverse information about the debtor that the debtor 5
152	152	disputes the adverse information. 6
153	153	(b) If the consumer provides both a statement of coerced debt and adequate 7
154	154	documentation to the creditor, the creditor shall take all of the following 8
155	155	actions within 10 business days following receipt: 9
156	156	(1) Cease all attempts to collect the coerced debt from the debtor. 10
157	157	(2) Refrain from filing any lawsuit to collect the coerced debt or, if a 11
158	158	collection action has already been filed, seek a continuance, abatement, or stay 12
159	159	of proceedings against the debtor unless the creditor is challenging that the 13
160	160	debt is not coerced debt in that action pursuant to subsection 2495d(b) of this 14
161	161	subchapter. 15
162	162	(3) Cease all garnishment of funds from the debtor. 16
163	163	(4) Return to the debtor any payments that were made by the debtor or 17
164	164	received as part of a garnishment of funds from the debtor on the coerced debt. 18
165	165	(5) Notify the debtor that it is ceasing all attempts to collect the debt 19
166	166	from the debtor based on the debtor’s claim of coerced debt. The notice shall 20 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.385
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171	171	be provided to the debtor using the debtor’s preferred contact method. The 1
172	172	creditor shall inform the debtor of the option to receive the notice in writing. 2
173	173	(6) Contact any consumer reporting agency to which it furnished 3
174	174	information about the debtor and the coerced debt and request they delete such 4
175	175	information. 5
176	176	(7) Refrain from selling the debt or transferring it for consideration. If 6
177	177	the creditor does not own the debt and is collecting the debt for another, then 7
178	178	the creditor must notify the owner of the debt that it has ceased collection 8
179	179	activities against the debtor because the debt is coerced debt. 9
180	180	(c) If the debtor provides to a creditor a statement including some but not 10
181	181	all of the information required of a statement of coerced debt or provides an 11
182	182	oral statement of coerced debt without adequate documentation, the creditor 12
183	183	shall notify the debtor within five business days, using the debtor’s preferred 13
184	184	contact method, of the additional information needed to complete the statement 14
185	185	of coerced debt and of the adequate documentation requirement. If the creditor 15
186	186	provides this notice orally, the creditor shall inform the debtor of the option to 16
187	187	receive the notice in writing. 17
188	188	(d) A creditor who provides the debtor with Model Form A-1 complies 18
189	189	with the requirement in subsection (c) of this section to notify the debtor of the 19
190	190	additional information needed to complete the statement of coerced debt with 20
191	191	adequate documentation. 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.385
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196	196	(e) Any written notice under this section must be provided to a debtor in 1
197	197	both English and Spanish. If the creditor provides oral interpretation services 2
198	198	or otherwise communicates with a debtor in any language other than English, 3
199	199	the creditor shall provide the notice, orally or in writing, required under this 4
200	200	subsection to the debtor in the debtor’s preferred language. 5
201	201	(f) The Commissioner of Financial Regulation shall publish Model Form 6
202	202	A-1 in English and Spanish. 7
203	203	(g) The Commissioner may publish Model Form A-1 in any other language 8
204	204	the Commissioner determines is the first language of a significant number of 9
205	205	consumers in Vermont. This determination shall be based, at the discretion of 10
206	206	the Commissioner, either on the numerical percentages of all consumers in 11
207	207	Vermont for whom English or Spanish is not a first language or in a manner 12
208	208	consistent with any rules adopted by the Department of Financial Regulation 13
209	209	for this purpose. 14
210	210	(h) Model Form A-1 shall be substantially in the following form: 15
211	211	MODEL FORM A-1 FOR CREDITORS TO PROVIDE DEBTORS 16
212	212	[Creditor name: 17
213	213	Address: 18
214	214	Email address: 19
215	215	Telephone number: 20
216	216	Website URL where this form can be filled out online] 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.385
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221	221	[Debtor’s name] 1
222	222	[Debtor’s preferred contact information: debtor may provide a telephone 2
223	223	number, email address, physical address, or the address of a third party] 3
224	224	You have given us information about a debt that may have been taken out 4
225	225	because someone used your personal information without your permission or 5
226	226	because someone intimidated, threatened, forced, or manipulated you into 6
227	227	taking out this debt. 7
228	228	For example, an abusive partner could have taken out a credit card or loan 8
229	229	in your name without your knowledge or permission or pressured you into 9
230	230	taking out credit to buy a car, television, computer, or other item and 10
231	231	threatened you with harm if you refused. 11
232	232	Questions: To stop collection of this debt, you need to answer the questions 12
233	233	below. If you do not know the answer, you can explain why you do not know 13
234	234	the answer. 14
235	235	1. Did you sign for or agree to the debt? 15
236	236	2. If you did sign or agree to the debt, was it because someone threatened 16
237	237	you or used intimidation, force, manipulation, theft, or other forms of control 17
238	238	to take out the debt in your name? If yes, please describe how it happened. 18
239	239	3. If you did not sign or agree to the debt, do you know who used your 19
240	240	information to take out the debt? If yes, please describe. 20 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.385
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245	245	4. What is your preferred contact method and contact information? You 1
246	246	can provide a telephone number, email address, physical address, safe address, 2
247	247	or the contact information of another trusted person you want to receive 3
248	248	information for you because you are concerned about your safety. 4
249	249	Supporting Documentation: Please include any one of the documents 5
250	250	below that show that the debt was taken out by someone who you were in an 6
251	251	abusive relationship with and threatened you or used intimidation, force, 7
252	252	manipulation, theft, or other forms of control to take out the debt in your name. 8
253	253	You only need to send one, but you may provide more than one. 9
254	254	1. A police report that includes information about the debt and how it was 10
255	255	taken out. 11
256	256	2. A Federal Trade Commission identity theft report that you can complete 12
257	257	yourself online at idtheft.gov. 13
258	258	3. A court order that includes information about the debt and how it was 14
259	259	taken out. 15
260	260	4. A sworn written certification from a qualified third-party professional 16
261	261	you talked with about this debt. The statement should include who they are, 17
262	262	where they work, their contact information, and information you shared with 18
263	263	them about the debt and how it was taken out. The third party may be: 19
264	264	(a) an officer of the court or law enforcement personnel; 20 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.385
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269	269	(b) a licensed staff member of a program that provides assistance to 1
270	270	persons regarding domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, human 2
271	271	trafficking or abuse of children, older adults, or dependent adults; or 3
272	272	(c) a licensed attorney or a health care provider as defined in 18 V.S.A. 4
273	273	§ 9402(7). 5
274	274	5. Any other document such as [a divorce decree, restraining order, 6
275	275	protection from abuse order] or other document that includes information 7
276	276	about the debt and how it was taken out. 8
277	277	We need to receive your answers to the above questions and at least one 9
278	278	document supporting your claim before we stop collecting on the debt. 10
279	279	Within 30 days after we receive this information, we will do all of the 11
280	280	following: 12
281	281	1. Stop all attempts to collect the coerced debt from you. 13
282	282	2. Notify you in writing that we are stopping all attempts to collect the debt 14
283	283	from you. 15
284	284	3. Contact the consumer reporting agencies to which we gave information 16
285	285	about you and the coerced debt and request that they remove the information 17
286	286	from your credit report. Alternatively, we also have the right to challenge your 18
287	287	claim of coerced debt in court. 19
288	288	If you have questions, please contact us at: [Creditor’s name, mailing 20
289	289	address, telephone number, and email address]. 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.385
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294	294	For more information, see 9 V.S.A. chapter 63, subchapter 13. 1
295	295	(i) In connection with any communication related to a debtor’s statement of 2
296	296	coerced debt, the creditor: 3
297	297	(1) shall only use the contact information the debtor provides in the 4
298	298	statement of coerced debt to contact the debtor and shall not use any other 5
299	299	contact information; 6
300	300	(2) shall not disclose the contact information the debtor provides in the 7
301	301	statement of coerced debt to any other person, including the perpetrator of the 8
302	302	coerced debt or joint account holders, without the debtor’s express written 9
303	303	authorization; and 10
304	304	(3) may request that the debtor provide the identity of the perpetrator of 11
305	305	coerced debt, if known, and contact information for that person if known. 12
306	306	§ 2495d. CIVIL LEGAL REMEDIES 13
307	307	(a) A debtor is not liable for coerced debt. A debtor may raise as a defense 14
308	308	in any forum and by any allowable procedure that a particular debt, or portion 15
309	309	thereof, is coerced debt. 16
310	310	(b) The debtor establishes a prima facie case that a debt is coerced debt by 17
311	311	providing a statement of coerced debt and adequate documentation. If the 18
312	312	creditor has a good faith basis to believe that the debt is not coerced debt, the 19
313	313	creditor may seek a court order in a court of competent jurisdiction declaring 20 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.385
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318	318	the debt is not a coerced debt. In such a suit, the creditor has the burden to 1
319	319	disprove the debt is coerced debt. 2
320	320	(c) A person who is found to be a perpetrator of coerced debt by a court of 3
321	321	competent jurisdiction shall be civilly liable to the creditor. The perpetrator of 4
322	322	coerced debt may also be civilly liable to the debtor to the extent that the 5
323	323	debtor made payments or incurred costs related to the coerced debt. 6
324	324	(d) A creditor may use all legal rights and remedies to collect the coerced 7
325	325	debt from the perpetrator of coerced debt. 8
326	326	(e) In any court action, the presiding court shall take appropriate steps 9
327	327	necessary to protect the debtor or an immediate family member of the debtor 10
328	328	from an alleged perpetrator of coerced debt by, among other things, sealing 11
329	329	court records, redacting personally identifiable information about the debtor 12
330	330	and any immediate family member of the debtor, and directing that any 13
331	331	deposition or evidentiary hearing be conducted remotely. 14
332	332	(f) Any creditor who fails to comply with any provision of section 2495c of 15
333	333	this subchapter is liable to the debtor in an amount equal to the sum of: 16
334	334	(1) any actual damages sustained by the debtor as a result of such 17
335	335	noncompliance; 18
336	336	(2)(A) in the case of any action by an individual, such additional 19
337	337	damages as the court may allow, but not exceeding $5,000.00 per violation 20
338	338	indexed annually for inflation; or 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.385
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343	343	(B) in the case of a class action: 1
344	344	(i) such amount for each named plaintiff as could be recovered 2
345	345	under subdivision (A) of this subdivision (f)(2); and 3
346	346	(ii) such amount as the court may allow for all other class 4
347	347	members, without regard to a minimum individual recovery, not to exceed the 5
348	348	lesser of $500,000.00 indexed annually for inflation or one per centum of the 6
349	349	net worth of the debt collector; 7
350	350	(iii) court costs and reasonable attorney’s fees as determined by 8
351	351	the court; and 9
352	352	(iv) punitive damages if the court finds the creditor’s 10
353	353	noncompliance was willful. 11
354	354	(g) The provisions of this subchapter apply to lawsuits filed in this State, 12
355	355	regardless of whether a related contract provides that the law of another state is 13
356	356	chosen. 14
357	357	§ 2495e. CREDITOR REMEDIES 15
358	358	Nothing in this subchapter diminishes the rights of a creditor to seek 16
359	359	payment recovery for a coerced debt from the person who caused the debtor to 17
360	360	incur the coerced debt. 18 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.385
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365	365	Sec. 2. DEBT COLLECTION RULES 1
366	366	On or before January 1, 2027, the Attorney General shall amend Vermont’s 2
367	367	Consumer Protection Rule 104 on Debt Collection to ensure debt collection 3
368	368	practices conform with the requirements of 9 V.S.A. chapter 63, subchapter 13. 4
369	369	Sec. 3. 9 V.S.A. § 2480d is amended to read: 5
370	370	§ 2480d. PROCEDURE IN CASE OF DISPUTED ACCURACY 6
371	371	(a) If the completeness or accuracy of any item of information contained in 7
372	372	the consumer’s file is disputed by the consumer and the consumer notifies the 8
373	373	credit reporting agency directly of such dispute, the agency shall reinvestigate 9
374	374	free of charge and record the current status of the disputed information on or 10
375	375	before 30 business days after the date the agency receives notice from the 11
376	376	consumer. 12
377	377	(b) On or before five business days after the date a credit reporting agency 13
378	378	receives notice of a dispute from a consumer in accordance with subsection (a) 14
379	379	of this section, the agency shall provide notice of the dispute to all persons who 15
380	380	provided any item of information in dispute. 16
381	381	(c) Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this section, a credit reporting agency 17
382	382	may terminate a reinvestigation of information disputed by a consumer under 18
383	383	such subsection if the agency reasonably determines that such dispute by the 19
384	384	consumer is frivolous or irrelevant. Upon making such a determination, a 20
385	385	credit reporting agency shall promptly notify the consumer of such 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.385
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390	390	determination and the reasons therefor, by mail, or if authorized by the 1
391	391	consumer for that purpose, by telephone. The presence of contradictory 2
392	392	information in the consumer’s file does not in and of itself constitute 3
393	393	reasonable grounds for determining the dispute is frivolous or irrelevant. 4
394	394	(d) In conducting a reinvestigation under subsection (a) of this section, the 5
395	395	credit reporting agency shall review and consider all relevant information 6
396	396	submitted by the consumer with respect to such disputed information. 7
397	397	(e) If, after a reinvestigation under subsection (a) of this section of any 8
398	398	information disputed by a consumer, the information is found to be inaccurate 9
399	399	or cannot be verified, the credit reporting agency shall promptly delete such 10
400	400	information from the consumer’s file. For purposes of this section, 11
401	401	“information” shall not include other information in the same item that is not 12
402	402	disputed by the consumer. 13
403	403	(f) If any information is deleted after a reinvestigation under subsection (a) 14
404	404	of this section, the information may not be reinserted in the consumer’s file 15
405	405	after deletion unless the person who furnishes the information reinvestigates 16
406	406	and states in writing or by electronic record to the agency that the information 17
407	407	is complete and accurate. Such furnisher shall not provide such statement 18
408	408	unless the furnisher reasonably believes that the information is complete and 19
409	409	accurate. Upon such reinvestigation and statement by the furnisher, the credit 20
410	410	reporting agency shall promptly notify the consumer of any reinsertion. 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.385
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415	415	(g) A credit reporting agency shall provide written notice of the results of 1
416	416	any reinvestigation under this subsection within five business days of 2
417	417	following the completion of the reinvestigation, by mail or, if authorized by the 3
418	418	consumer for that purpose, by telephone. This notice shall include: 4
419	419	(1) a statement that the reinvestigation is complete; 5
420	420	(2) a statement of the determination of the agency on the completeness 6
421	421	or accuracy of the disputed information; 7
422	422	(3) a credit report that is based upon the consumer’s file as that file is 8
423	423	revised as a result of the reinvestigation; 9
424	424	(4) a description of the manner in which the information disputed by the 10
425	425	consumer has been altered, changed, deleted, or modified in the consumer’s 11
426	426	credit report; 12
427	427	(5) a description of the procedure used to determine the accuracy and 13
428	428	completeness of the information, including the name, business address, and, if 14
429	429	available, the telephone number of any person contacted in connection with 15
430	430	such information; and 16
431	431	(6) a notification that the consumer has the right, pursuant to 15 U.S.C. 17
432	432	§ 1681i, to add a statement to the consumer’s file disputing the accuracy or 18
433	433	completeness of the information. 19
434	434	(h) If a consumer asserts that a debt or any portion of a debt is the result of 20
435	435	coerced debt as defined in subdivision 2495a(3) of this title and provides to the 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.385
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437	437
438	438
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440	440	consumer reporting agency either a court order of relief pursuant to subsection 1
441	441	2495d(b) of this title or a statement of coerced debt as defined in subdivision 2
442	442	2495a(10) of this title and adequate documentation as defined in subdivision 3
443	443	2495a(2) of this title, the consumer reporting agency shall reinvestigate the 4
444	444	debt pursuant to this section. If after the reinvestigation it is determined that 5
445	445	the debt is the result of coerced debt, the consumer reporting agency shall 6
446	446	remove any reference to the debt or any portion of the debt determined to be 7
447	447	the result of coerced debt from the consumer’s credit report. As used in this 8
448	448	section, “statement of coerced debt” means a signed statement that includes: 9
449	449	(1) an assertion that the debtor is a survivor of domestic abuse, 10
450	450	economic abuse, or human trafficking; 11
451	451	(2) a recitation of the facts supporting the claim that the debt is coerced; 12
452	452	and 13
453	453	(3) if only a portion of the debt is claimed to be coerced debt, an 14
454	454	itemization of the portion of the debt that is claimed to be coerced debt. 15
455	455	Sec. 4. 9 V.S.A. § 2480k is amended to read: 16
456	456	§ 2480k. COMPLAINTS TO LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES 17
457	457	A person who has learned or reasonably suspects that his or her the person’s 18
458	458	personal identifying information has been unlawfully used by another, as 19
459	459	described in 13 V.S.A. § 2030(a) 2030, may make a complaint about the 20
460	460	unlawful use of personal identifying information to the State Police or to the 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.385
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462	462
463	463
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465	465	person’s local law enforcement agency. The law enforcement agency shall 1
466	466	take the complaint and provide the complainant with a copy of the complaint, 2
467	467	the name of the law enforcement officer taking the complaint, and an incident 3
468	468	number or case number assigned to the complaint by the law enforcement 4
469	469	agency. If the suspected crime was committed in a different jurisdiction, the 5
470	470	law enforcement agency shall take the complaint and provide the complainant 6
471	471	with a copy of the complaint, the name of the law enforcement officer taking 7
472	472	the complaint, and an incident number or case number assigned to the 8
473	473	complaint by the law enforcement agency and refer the complaint to a law 9
474	474	enforcement agency in that different jurisdiction. 10
475	475	Sec. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE 11
476	476	This act shall take effect on July 1, 2026. 12