BILL ANALYSIS
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1222
Author: Bonnie Lowenthal (D), et al
Amended: 6/30/09 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE : 5-0, 06/23/09
AYES: Corbett, Harman, Florez, Leno, Walters
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 76-0, 5/28/09 (Consent) - See last page
for vote
SUBJECT : California State University and University of
California:
Disclosure of alumni personal information
SOURCE : California State University
University of California
DIGEST : This bill extends the sunset date on current law
which permits the California State University and the
University of California to disclose the names, addresses,
and e-mail addresses of alumni to their "affinity partners"
(nonaffiliated businesses with whom the university has a
contractual agreement to, among other things, offer
commercial products and services to alumni), subject to
specified privacy requirements. These provisions are
scheduled to sunset on January 1, 2011; this bill extends
the provisions to January 1, 2016.
ANALYSIS : Existing law establishes the California State
CONTINUED
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University, administered by the Trustees of the California
State University, and the University of California,
administered by the Regents of the University of
California, as two of the segments of public postsecondary
education in this state. Existing law establishes the
Hastings College of the Law, under the governance of the
Board of Directors of the Hastings College of the Law,
within the University of California.
Existing law prescribes criteria for the disclosure of the
names and addresses of alumni of the California State
University, the University of California, and the Hastings
College of the Law. Existing law requires that the names,
addresses, and electronic mail addresses of alumni be
disclosed only to provide those persons with informational
materials relating to the California State University, the
University of California, and the Hastings College of the
Law, and its programs and activities; to provide those
persons, or the trustees, auxiliary organizations of the
California State University, as defined, or the Regents of
the University of California, the Board of Directors of the
Hastings College of the Law, or the alumni associations
with beneficial commercial opportunities; or to promote and
support the educational mission of the California State
University, the University of California, the trustees, the
regents, the Board of Directors of the Hastings College of
the Law, or the alumni associations.
Existing law authorizes this disclosure only if the
trustees, auxiliary organizations, or the alumni
associations, in the case of the California State
University, or the regents, the board of directors, or the
alumni associations, in the case of the University of
California and the Hastings College of the Law, have a
written agreement with a business, as defined, that
maintains control over this data that requires the business
to maintain the confidentiality of the names, addresses,
and electronic mail addresses of the alumni, that requires
that the university or the college retain the right to
approve or reject any purpose for which the private
information is to be used by the business and to review and
approve the text of mailings sent to alumni, and that
prohibits the business from using the information for any
purposes other than those described, and the disclosure of
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alumni names, addresses, and electronic mail addresses does
not include the names and addresses of alumni who have
directed the trustees, the regents, the board of directors,
or an alumni association or auxiliary organization, not to
disclose their names, addresses, or electronic mail
addresses.
Existing law requires the California State University, the
University of California, and the Hastings College of the
Law to make available to its alumni a specified form or an
alternative notice, including specified information, in a
mailing or in an Internet posting, as prescribed, before
alumni names, addresses, and electronic mail addresses may
be disclosed.
This bill requires the form to be provided to alumni
through a link on the homepage of the Internet website of
the alumni association or in the alumni association's
privacy policy.
The bill expresses the intent of the Legislature that, by
July 1, 2014, the California State University and the
University of California submit reports to the Legislature
regarding compliance with these provisions.
Under existing law, these provisions are applicable to the
University of California and the Hastings College of the
Law only to the extent that the regents or the board of
directors act, by resolution, to make them applicable.
Existing law specifies that these provisions are repealed
as of January 1, 2011.
This bill extends those repeal dates to January 1, 2016.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 7/10/09)
California State University (co-source)
University of California (co-source)
San Jose State University
California State University, Fullerton Alumni Association
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California Postsecondary Education Commission
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The author's office states, campus
alumni associations have been established at all 23
California State University (CSU) campuses as well as the
10 University of California (UC) campuses. The primary
purpose of these associations is to maintain relationships
and build long-term connections to graduates with the
ultimate goal to support the University in the form of
donations, scholarships, and involvement. It is common
practice among public universities throughout the country,
and private institutions in California, to offer benefits
and services through affinity partnerships with commercial
vendors to alumni as one way to stay connected to their
university. Examples of these affinity partnerships
include group rates and discounts for home and auto
insurance, mortgage programs and travel programs.
In light of California's recent revenue shortfalls and
budget reductions to public universities, the role of
alumni associations and the need for private funding of
public universities is more critical then ever to help
University leaders get non-state dollars necessary to
maintain program quality.
Affinity programs must continue to support CSU and UC with
donations, scholarships, and community involvement. All 23
CSU campus associations currently use the funding they
receive from these programs to further their programming
and outreach to alumni as well as to provide both general
and athletic scholarships to students.
The University of California, a co-sponsor of this bill,
explains the benefits of affinity partner agreements to the
university, noting that "[r]evenues generated from UC
campus affinity partnerships generally provide funding to
supplement the operational costs of campus alumni programs.
For example, revenue generated by affinity partnerships at
the University of California, Santa Barbara account for
almost 30 percent of the total $12 million in construction
costs for the Mosher Alumni House. [another] example is
the UC Irvine alumni association's affinity partnership
revenues, of which almost 35 percent are used to support
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the cost of student programs and scholarships. The funds
generated by affinity partnerships allow the UC campus
alumni associations to provide services and events to
alumni and students that the campuses would otherwise not
be able to offer."
Co-sponsor California State University writes that
"[t]hroughout the first three years of implementation of
this statute both public universities have held the privacy
of their alumni in the highest regard, keeping meticulous
record of all opt-out information obtained from alumni as
well as continually following the letter of the law by
ensuring ample opportunities for alumni to have their
information removed from records."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Beall, Bill
Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Blakeslee, Block, Blumenfield,
Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero, Charles Calderon, Carter,
Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De Leon,
DeVore, Emmerson, Eng, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes,
Fuller, Furutani, Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick, Gilmore,
Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill, Huber,
Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Krekorian, Lieu, Logue,
Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Miller, Monning, Nava, Niello,
Nielsen, John A. Perez, V. Manuel Perez, Portantino,
Price, Ruskin, Salas, Saldana, Silva, Skinner, Smyth,
Solorio, Audra Strickland, Swanson, Torlakson, Torres,
Torrico, Tran, Villines, Yamada, Bass
NO VOTE RECORDED: Duvall, Evans, Mendoza, Nestande
RJG:do 7/10/09 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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