BILL NUMBER: AB 1958 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 25, 2008
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Swanson
FEBRUARY 13, 2008
An act to amend Section 1808.4 of the Vehicle Code, relating to
the Department of Motor Vehicles.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1958, as amended, Swanson. Department of Motor Vehicles: public
records: addresses.
(1) Existing law makes confidential the home address of a list of
local, state, and federal officers or employees, and the spouse or
child of that officer or employee, that appears in a record of
the Department of Motor Vehicles records ,
if the included person requests it to be kept
confidential, with certain exemptions for information available to
specified governmental agencies. A violation of the confidentiality
requirement is a crime.
This bill would add to that list a veterinarian employed by a zoo,
a public animal control agency shelter, or a society for the
prevention of cruelty to animals shelter or a humane society shelter
contracting with a local public agency for animal care or protection
services. The bill would also add firefighters, and specified
local government code enforcement officers to that list. This
bill, by adding persons to be covered by those confidentiality
requirements, would expand the scope of a crime, thereby imposing a
state-mandated local program. The bill would also make technical
clarifying changes.
(2) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse
local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 1808.4 of the Vehicle Code is amended to read:
1808.4. (a) For all of the following persons, his or her home
address that appears in a record of the department is confidential if
the person requests the confidentiality of that information:
(1) Attorney General.
(2) State public defender.
(3) A Member of the Legislature.
(4) A judge or court commissioner.
(5) A district attorney.
(6) A public defender.
(7) An attorney employed by the Department of Justice, the office
of the State Public Defender, or a county office of the district
attorney or public defender.
(8) A city attorney and an attorney who submits verification from
his or her public employer that the attorney represents the city in
matters that routinely place the attorney in personal contact with
persons under investigation for, charged with, or convicted of,
committing criminal acts, if that attorney is employed by a city
attorney.
(9) A nonsworn police dispatcher.
(10) A child abuse investigator or social worker, working in child
protective services within a social services department.
(11) An active or retired peace officer, as defined in Chapter 4.5
(commencing with Section 830) of Title 3 of Part 2 of the Penal
Code.
(12) An employee of the Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation, Division of Juvenile Facilities, or the Prison
Industry Authority specified in Sections 20403 and 20405 of the
Government Code.
(13) A nonsworn employee of a city police department, a county
sheriff's office, the Department of the California Highway Patrol, a
federal, state, or local detention facility, or a local juvenile
hall, camp, ranch, or home, who submits agency verification that, in
the normal course of his or her employment, he or she controls or
supervises inmates or is required to have a prisoner in his or her
care or custody.
(14) A county counsel assigned to child abuse cases.
(15) An investigator employed by the Department of Justice, a
county district attorney, or a county public defender.
(16) A member of a city council.
(17) A member of a board of supervisors.
(18) A federal prosecutor, criminal investigator, or National Park
Service Ranger working in this state.
(19) An active or retired city enforcement officer engaged in the
enforcement of the Vehicle Code or municipal parking ordinances.
(20) An employee of a trial court.
(21) A psychiatric social worker employed by a county.
(22) A police or sheriff department employee designated by the
Chief of Police of the department or the sheriff of the county as
being in a sensitive position. A designation pursuant to this
paragraph shall, for purposes of this section, remain in effect for
three years subject to additional designations that, for purposes of
this section, shall remain in effect for additional three-year
periods.
(23) A state employee in one of the following classifications:
(A) Licensing Registration Examiner, Department of Motor Vehicles.
(B) Motor Carrier Specialist 1, California Highway Patrol.
(C) Museum Security Officer and Supervising Museum Security
Officer.
(24) (A) A veterinarian employed by a zoo, a public animal control
agency shelter, or a society for the prevention of cruelty to
animals shelter or a humane society shelter contracting with a local
public agency for animal care or protection services.
(B) For purposes of this paragraph, "veterinarian" means a person
licensed as a veterinarian pursuant to the Veterinary Medicine
Practice Act (Chapter 11 (commencing with Section 4800) of Division 2
of the Business and Professions Code).
(C) For purposes of this paragraph, "zoo" has the same meaning as
defined in Section 2150 of the Fish and Game Code.
(25) A firefighter, as defined in subdivision (f) of Section
15250.6.
(26) (A) A code enforcement officer employed by a local government
agency.
(B) For purposes of this paragraph, "code enforcement officer"
means a local official responsible for enforcing housing codes and
maintaining public safety in buildings.
(25)
(27) (A) The spouse or child of a person listed in
paragraphs (1) to (24) (26) inclusive,
regardless of the spouse's or child's place of residence.
(B) The surviving spouse or child of a peace officer, as defined
in Chapter 4.5 (commencing with Section 830) of Title 3 of Part 2 of
the Penal Code, if the peace officer died in the line of duty.
(b) The confidential home address of a person listed in
subdivision (a) shall not be disclosed, except to one
any of the following:
(1) A court.
(2) A law enforcement agency.
(3) The State Board of Equalization.
(4) An attorney in a civil or criminal action that demonstrates to
a court the need for the home address, if the disclosure is made
pursuant to a subpoena.
(5) A governmental agency to which, under any provision of law,
information is required to be furnished from records maintained by
the department.
(c) A record of the department containing a confidential home
address shall be open to public inspection, as provided in Section
1808, if the address is completely obliterated or otherwise removed
from the record. The home address shall be withheld from public
inspection for three years following termination of office or
employment except with respect to retired peace officers, whose home
addresses shall be withheld from public inspection permanently upon
request of confidentiality at the time the information would
otherwise be opened. The home address of the surviving spouse or
child listed in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (25)
(27) of subdivision (a) shall be withheld from public
inspection for three years following the death of the peace officer.
The department shall inform a person who requests a confidential home
address what agency the individual whose address was requested is
employed by or the court at which the judge or court commissioner
presides.
(d) A violation of subdivision (a) by the disclosure of the
confidential home address of a peace officer, as specified in
paragraph (11) of subdivision (a), a nonsworn employee of a city
police department or county sheriff's office, or the spouses or
children of these persons, including, but not limited to, the
surviving spouse or child listed in subparagraph (B) of paragraph
(25) (27) of subdivision (a), that
results in bodily injury to the peace officer, employee of the city
police department or county sheriff's office, or the spouses or
children of these persons is a felony.
SEC. 2. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the
Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the
meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.