Comprehensive CREDIT Act Passes House Including Rep. Takano Provision to Prohibit Inclusion of Arrest Records on Consumer Reports if Arrest Did Not Lead to a Conviction
Washington, D.C. – Today, the Comprehensive Credit Rating Enhancement, Disclosure, Innovation, and Transparency (CREDIT) Act of 2020 – a bold legislative package to reform the credit reporting industry and better protect consumers – passed out of the House including a provision from Rep. Mark Takano that would prohibit the inclusion of arrest records on consumer and credit reports if those arrests did not lead to a conviction.
“Consumer reporting in this country is extremely broken and consumer reports regularly have unexpected errors – these errors could cost people access to a job or the ability to rent or purchase a home,” said Rep. Mark Takano. “Due to extreme bias in our criminal justice system, people of color are arrested and convicted at disproportionate levels in this country. These arrests can negatively impact the ability for African Americans and Hispanics to obtain housing or find employment. I’m glad this comprehensive bill passed including my provision prohibiting arrest records from being included in a credit or consumer report if the arrest did not lead to a criminal conviction. Every American deserves a fair shot in society and should not be penalized for wrongful arrests or arrests that did not lead to a guilty conviction.”
Currently, arrest records are included in consumer reports, regardless of whether or not these arrests led to a conviction. Millions of public records do not contain accurate information, which means that reports have been found to include outdated information and misclassified offenses. Additionally, incomplete reports fail to say whether or not a person who faced an arrest was exonerated or if criminal charges against them were dropped.
An arrest does not prove criminal conduct and is not a presumption of guilt. If a consumer was arrested, and there is no subsequent conviction, that arrest should not be allowed to show on a consumer report. Rep. Takano’s amendment to the Comprehensive CREDIT Act will prohibit arrest records from being included on a consumer report if the arrest did not lead to a conviction.
African Americans and Hispanics are arrested in disproportionate numbers, making it more difficult for these individuals to obtain housing or find employment. California, New York, and Kentucky have prohibited the inclusion of arrest records without a conviction on consumer reports. Rep. Takano’s amendment would implement this effort nationwide.
Credit scores play a critical role in the lives and financial futures of American consumers but unfortunately the credit reporting system is unnecessarily cumbersome and confusing, often unfair and dangerously unaccountable to consumers.
The Comprehensive CREDIT Act makes sweeping changes to enhance consumers’ credit reporting rights; create transparency over the reporting and credit scoring process; limit adverse reports of private student loan debt, medical debt, fraudulent mortgage debt, and debts incurred as a result of fraud and identity theft; and increase accountability of reporting agencies and the creditors and lenders who provide them information.
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