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ANSWER: Either (b) or (d) are correct.

Section 625 of the FCRA, 15 U.S.C. §1681t, sets forth certain instances where the FCRA may preempt state law, such that the FCRA governs. With respect to information contained in a consumer report (regulated by Section 605), Section 625 states that "no requirement of prohibition may be imposed under the laws of any State with respect to any subject matter regulated under . . . section 605 [§1681c], relating to information contained in consumer reports, except that this subparagraph shall not apply to any State law in effect on the date of enactment of the Consumer Credit Reporting Reform Act of 1996."

Accordingly, to determine whether the FCRA limitations regarding what a CRA can report in a consumer report apply, or a more restrictive state law, a CRA must determine: 1) if a state has a law regulating information that a CRA can report in a consumer report, and, if it does, 2) when the state law went into effect. If the section of the state law relating to this limitation was signed into law prior to September 30, 1996, the date the federal Consumer Credit Reporting Reform Act of 1996 was effective, then the state law is NOT preempted by the FCRA. If, however, the section effecting a consumer reporting agency’s ability to report specific information was passed after September 30, 1996, then the FCRA preempts the state law and a CRA is bound by its limitations.