(a) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter, the Commissioner of Banking is authorized to administratively enforce the requirements of this article consistent with § 31A-2-4 of this code.

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Terms Used In West Virginia Code 31A-2B-9

  • Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • National Bank: A bank that is subject to the supervision of the Comptroller of the Currency. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is a bureau of the U.S. Treasury Department. A national bank can be recognized because it must have "national" or "national association" in its name. Source: OCC
  • Payment card: means a credit card, charge card, debit card, or any other card that is issued to an authorized card user and that allows the user to purchase goods or services from a merchant. See West Virginia Code 31A-2B-3
  • State: when applied to a part of the United States and not restricted by the context, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories, and the words "United States" also include the said district and territories. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10

(b) The Attorney General is authorized to investigate compliance with this article and may bring a civil action for injunctive relief to judicially enforce this article: Provided, That with regard to a national bank, the Attorney General is authorized to conduct investigations and take judicial enforcement action only to the extent permitted by 12 U.S.C. § 25b(i). Upon awarding an injunction against a financial institution as the result of a judicial enforcement action pursuant to this subsection, a court may award the Attorney General reasonable attorney’s fees.

(c) In selecting a financial institution to provide a financial service or product to the state related to payment card processing, the State Treasurer may disqualify a financial institution from the competitive bidding process or from any other official selection process if:

(1) During the past five years, a court of competent jurisdiction has entered an order or opinion finding that the financial institution violated this article;

(2) During the past five years, the Commissioner of Banking or the Attorney General, as the result of an investigation, has determined that a financial institution has violated this article;

(3) During the past five years, the financial institution has admitted to violating this article in the records of a court or other official proceeding; or

(4) The financial institution has publicly stated that it has adopted or intends to adopt policies or practices that violate this article.