Sec. 301. Restriction on access to the death master file
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Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Commissioner of the Social Security Administration shall vest all responsibilities for the release of Social Security death records to non-governmental persons or entities with the Secretary of Commerce through a memorandum of understanding. The Secretary of Commerce shall not disclose information contained in Social Security death records to any non-governmental person or entity with respect to any individual who has died at any time during the calendar year in which the request for disclosure is made or the succeeding 2 calendar years unless such person is certified under the program established under subsection (c).
The Secretary of Commerce shall establish a program— to certify persons who are eligible to access the information described in subsection
(b)contained on the Death Master File, and to perform periodic and unscheduled audits of certified persons to determine the compliance by such certified persons with the requirements of the program. A person shall not be certified nor remain certified under the program established under paragraph
(1)unless— the Secretary of Commerce determines that access to the information described in subsection
(b)is appropriate because— such person has a legitimate interest in preventing fraud or unauthorized financial transactions, such access will facilitate compliance by such person with an applicable law, regulation, court order, or fiduciary duty, such access will facilitate timely and proper administration by such person of an insurance policy or benefit program, or such person is subject to disclosure requirements under section 502 of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act ( 15 U.S.C. 6802 ), section 620 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681r), or any other Federal statute that the Secretary determines, following notice and comment rulemaking, provides sufficient protection against improper disclosure of information described in subsection (b), and the Secretary of Commerce verifies that such person has facilities and procedures in place to safeguard such information, and experience in maintaining the confidentiality, security, and appropriate use of such information. The Secretary of Commerce shall establish under section 9701 of title 31, United States Code, for the charge of fees sufficient to cover all costs associated with evaluating applications for certification and auditing, inspecting, and monitoring certified persons under the program. Subject to paragraph (2), any person who is certified under the program established under subsection (c), who receives information described in subsection (b), and who during the period of time described in subsection (b)— discloses such information to any other person, or uses any such information to commit, or aid or abet, any criminal offense, shall pay a penalty of $5,000 for each such disclosure or use, but the total amount imposed under this subsection on such a person for any calendar year shall not exceed $500,000. A person who— is certified under the program established under subsection (c), upon request by another person, verifies that an individual is or is not deceased pursuant to information contained on the Death Master File, and does not disclose any additional information described in subsection (b), shall not be subject to a penalty pursuant to paragraph (1). Subsequent to the date on which the Secretary of Commerce establishes the program described in subsection (c)(1), the Social Security Administration shall not be compelled to disclose any information described in subsection
(b)to any non-governmental person or entity who is not certified under such program. For purposes of section 552 of title 5, United States Code, this section shall be considered a statute described in subsection (b)(3)(B) of such section 552.
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