Sec. 1. 9-A MRSA §8-306 is enacted to read:

§8-306.__Truncated credit card receipts

1.__Except as provided in this section, a person, firm, partnership, association, corporation or limited liability company that accepts credit cards for the transaction of business may not print more than the last 5 digits of the credit card account number and may not print the expiration date of the credit card on a receipt provided to a cardholder.

2.__This section applies only to receipts that are electronically printed and does not apply to transactions in which the sole means of recording the cardholder's credit card number is by handwriting or by an imprint or copy of the credit card.

3.__This section takes effect January 1, 2004 with respect to any cash register or other machine or device that electronically prints receipts for credit card transactions.

4.__A person or business who violates this section is subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $250 for the first violation and not to exceed $1,000 for each subsequent violation, to be assessed and collected in an action brought by the Department of Professional and Financial Regulation, Office of Consumer Credit Regulation.__A civil penalty may not be assessed for a violation of this section if the person or business shows by a preponderance of the evidence that the violation was not intentional and resulted from a bona fide error made despite the defendant's maintenance of procedures reasonably adopted to avoid such an error.

SUMMARY

This bill prohibits a person from issuing to a cardholder a credit card receipt that contains more than the last 5 digits of the credit card or contains the expiration date. The bill does not apply if the only means of recording the card number is by handwriting or imprint.

This bill takes effect January 1, 2004.