House Guts Identity Theft Bill; Leaves Oklahoma’s Greatest Generation Stranded in Favor of Powerful Banking Lobby

OKLAHOMA CITY – A Lawton Senator who is credited with authoring the strongest identity theft bill in the country said he is outraged the Republican Leadership in the House gutted his proposal to protect Oklahoma senior citizens from the devastation of identity theft. State Senator Randy Bass, a Democrat, said he plans to resurrect the language in Senate Bill 1748 that allows identity theft victims to freeze their credit at no cost to the victim.

“SB 1748 was a bill that was extremely tough on crime and it went to great lengths to protect our most vulnerable citizens against identity theft,” Bass said. “Unfortunately Republicans in the House, put the interests of the powerful banking lobby above the rights of senior citizens.”

Bass explained that under the version of the bill that passed off the House floor, people who have had their identity stolen will now have to pay to protect their credit from further invasion by identity theft criminals.

“Identity theft is a growing concern for all Oklahomans, especially among our greatest generation—our senior citizens,” Bass said. “The Oklahoma Identity Theft Protection Act would have ensured that the Legislature was doing everything possible to protect our families from this devastating crime. Sadly the bill, in its current form, is nothing more than window dressing.”

Bass explained that protecting Oklahoma consumers should not be a partisan issue.

“All Oklahomans deserve a bill that is tough on crime and smart for Oklahoma consumers,” Bass said.

“While Republicans in the House continue to stand up for special interest groups, I will use every legislative maneuver at my disposal to make certain the identity theft measure that receives final approval goes to great lengths to protect all Oklahomans, and not just the powerful special interests that have enough money to take away the common sense protections that were included in the original measure that passed with overwhelming bi-partisan support in the Senate.”