BILL ANALYSIS
AB 923
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 20, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION
Mike Eng, Chair
AB 923 (Swanson) - As Amended: April 13, 2009
SUBJECT : Department of Motor Vehicles records: confidentiality
SUMMARY : Adds Board of Equalization (BOE) members, certain
veterinarians, and code enforcement officers to the list of
occupations whose records are granted enhanced confidentiality
by the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). Specifically, this
bill :
1)Requires DMV to apply specified confidentiality protections to
the home addresses in their records that are obtained from:
a) Constitutional officers of the BOE;
b) Veterinarians 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; and,
c) Code enforcement officers employed by local government
agencies.
2)Provides definitions for the terms "veterinarian," "zoo," and
"code enforcement officer."
EXISTING LAW :
1)Lists 23 classes of persons primarily in law enforcement
fields, plus the spouses and children of those persons, and
allows them to request that their home addresses be held
confidential by DMV. The home address of these persons may
only be disclosed to a court, a law enforcement agency, the
BOE, or any governmental agency legally required to be
furnished that information.
2)Affords confidentiality for the home addresses of all
individuals contained within DMV records. These provisions
similarly allow for disclosure to courts, law enforcement
agencies, and other governmental agencies but also allow for
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limited disclosure to financial institutions, insurance
companies, attorneys, vehicle manufacturers, and persons doing
statistical research.
3)Grants DMV the authority to suppress all records for at least
one year for persons who are under threat of death or bodily
injury. Under these circumstances, the entire record,
including the address, is rendered inaccessible.
FISCAL EFFECT : An analysis by the Assembly Appropriations
Committee of similar legislation in 2008 indicated annual costs
to DMV of less than $50,000.
COMMENTS : This is essentially a reintroduction of Mr. Swanson's
AB 1958 from 2008, which died on Suspense in the Assembly
Appropriations Committee. The sponsor of this bill contends
that BOE members, in rendering decisions regarding tax issues,
could be faced with challenges to their personal safety as a
result of those decisions. Similarly, veterinarians may face
threats by virtue of their euthanization of captured animals for
public safety reasons or their reporting of suspected dog
fights. Supporters also point out that code enforcement
officers have been murdered in the line of duty over the past
several years. The author, in fact, cites an instance where the
entire family of a code enforcement officer was murdered as a
result of his having reported and closed down a drug house.
This bill seeks to protect BOE members, veterinarians, and code
enforcement officers from persons who might seek to hunt them
down in order to exact revenge by adding these professions to a
statutory list of occupations whose home addresses within DMV
records are afforded enhanced confidentiality.
Until 1989, DMV records were considered public records, unless
state law specifically made them confidential, as was the case
for peace officers' addresses. Therefore, until 1989, home
addresses were not considered confidential, and any person who
gave a reason that DMV deemed legitimate and could present to
DMV a person's driver's license number or license plate number
could obtain address information on that individual.
In 1989, actress Rebecca Schaeffer was stalked and killed. The
murderer obtained her address from a private investigation
agency doing business in Arizona. The private investigation
agency acquired her address through a subcontractor agent in
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California, who obtained it from DMV. In response, the
Legislature enacted AB 1779 (Roos), Chapter 1213, Statutes of
1989, which made home addresses in DMV records confidential,
with specified exceptions.
Since that time, despite the fact that all home addresses are
afforded a high degree of confidentiality, the Legislature has
considered numerous bills proposing to add select categories of
persons to the confidentiality provisions that apply to peace
officers. (The home addresses of peace officers and others on
the statutory list may only be disclosed to a court, a law
enforcement agency, the BOE, or any governmental agency legally
required to be furnished that information. The home addresses
of everyone else may also be disclosed, in limited
circumstances, to financial institutions, insurance companies,
attorneys, vehicle manufacturers, and persons doing statistical
research.)
Historically, the Senate Committee on Public Safety had
jurisdiction over a number of the confidentiality bills that
have been introduced during recent legislative sessions. After
much testimony and debate, it was decided that adding more
groups to the list of those eligible for peace officer
confidentiality served no useful purpose and was simply another
administrative burden for state and local agencies. The
testimony indicated that a growing number of private sources
provide home addresses with little or no scrutiny.
In fact, most persons seeking confidential information about
others no longer look to DMV records for the data since those
records are so carefully protected and much more easily
obtainable via the internet. DMV is not aware of any instance
since the enactment of AB 1779 where DMV home address
information has been used for a criminal purpose.
Most recent bills proposing to expand the statutory
confidentiality list have either died or have been vetoed. In
2007, AB 1311 (Berryhill) would have extended confidentiality
provisions to community service and public service officers
employed by police departments. That bill died in the Assembly
Transportation Committee after being withdrawn by its author.
In 2005, AB 1706 (Strickland) would have added fraud
investigators, park rangers, emergency dispatchers, and DMV
employees who test new drivers. That bill also died in
committee. In the 2003-04 Session, AB 130 (Campbell) and AB 246
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(Cox) both would have added members of Congress to the existing
statutory list. Neither author ever took up his bill in
committee. AB 2012 (Chu) from that session would have made
court-appointed attorneys, their investigators and social
workers assigned to child abuse cases eligible for special
address confidentiality in the department's records. These
provisions were eventually amended out of that bill.
An additional factor in the issue of home address
confidentiality came to light last year as a result of an
investigation conducted by the Orange County Register. That
investigation revealed thousands of unpaid violations and tolls
accrued by a number of peace officers and other individuals
whose DMV records are afforded enhanced confidentiality. These
unpaid tolls and fines cost agencies in Orange County over $5
million over the past five years. Parking and toll agencies
throughout the state, including those in San Diego and San
Francisco, have experienced similar abuses.
When parking agencies or toll road operators attempt to collect
fines from such individuals, DMV is not able to provide the
offender's registered addresses in a manner timely enough for
fines to be collected under the statute of limitations.
Therefore, it is generally not cost effective for agencies to
pursue money owed, so that fines for these violations are
usually written off. While some agencies attempt to collect the
money by sending a notice to the individuals' employing entities
on file at DMV, there is no way to enforce the collection of
violations because this practice is not authorized under the
law. AB 996 (Spitzer) of 2008 would have addressed this
situation but was vetoed by the Governor last year.
Related legislation : AB 592 (Bonnie Lowenthal) would extend the
same confidentiality privileges to BOE staff who have police
powers. That bill will also be heard in this committee today.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
(sponsor)
California Association of Code Enforcement Officers
California Narcotic Officers Association
California Police Chiefs Association
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San Diego Municipal Employees Association
Opposition
None received
Analysis Prepared by : Howard Posner / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093