BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1222
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 1222 (Bonnie Lowenthal)
As Amended July 23, 2009
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |76-0 |(May 28, 2009) |SENATE: |39-0 |(August 24, |
| | | | | |2009) |
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Original Committee Reference: HIGHER ED.
SUMMARY : Removes the January 1, 2011, sunset date on the
University of California's (UC) and the California State
University's (CSU) ability to participate in affinity programs,
thereby allowing UC and CSU to continue to release the names and
addresses of their alumni to businesses with whom they have
affinity-partner agreements, providing certain privacy
requirements are met.
The Senate amendments :
1)Require the opt-out form that UC and CSU must provide to
alumni prior to releasing their names to businesses be
provided through a link on the homepage of the Internet Web
site of the alumni association or in the alumni association's
privacy policy.
2)Expresses legislative intent that UC, CSU, and the Hastings
College of the Law (HCL) report to the Legislature by July 1,
2014, regarding compliance with these provisions.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill was substantially similar
to the version passed by the Senate.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state costs.
COMMENTS : It is common practice for public and private
universities to offer benefits and services through affinity
partnerships with commercial vendors to alumni as one way to
stay connected to their university. However, existing law
(California Information Practices Act of 1977 and the California
Financial Information Privacy Act) created ambiguity about the
authority of state agencies to enter into affinity agreements
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with financial institutions. SB 569 (Torlakson), Chapter 498,
Statutes of 2005, addressed this ambiguity as follows:
1)Permits UC, CSU, and HCL to distribute the name, addresses and
email addresses of their respective alumni for the following
purposes: to provide informational materials relating to the
college or university, to provide commercial opportunities,
and to promote and support the educational mission of the
college or university.
2)Requires the contracts with businesses who receive the alumni
information from UC, CSU, or HCL to:
a) Maintain the confidentiality of the names and addresses
of the alumni; UC, CSU, and/or HCL must retain the right to
approve or reject any purpose for which the information is
to be used;
b) Allow UC, CSU, and/or HCL to review the text of
mailings; and,
c) Prohibit the business from using the information for any
purposes other than those specifically allowed in SB 569.
3)Prohibits the disclosure of the personal information of: a)
alumni who have directed the trustees or an alumni association
not to disclose their names and addresses; b) current students
at the college or university; and, c) alumni who as students
indicated that they did not want their information disclosed.
4)Requires the institutions to provide notice to the alumni, as
specified, and requires the instructions to provide alumni
with multiple opportunities to opt not to have the alumni
association share their information with the affinity
partners.
What are affinity programs? An affinity program provides a
means whereby a tax-exempt organization may generate funds by
allowing the use of its name and/or logo to endorse products or
services. In the case of UC and CSU, through partnerships with
commercial entities, affinity programs allow alumni
organizations to offer a variety of financial products to
graduates and alumni members, such as group rates and discounts
for home and auto insurance, mortgage programs, credit cards,
and other credit lines. In return for allowing access to alumni
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association mailing lists, the affinity partner pays a fee to
the campus association.
Privacy protections: As noted previously, SB 569 requires a
contractual agreement with a commercial entity that, in essence,
restricts the use of the data to purposes that afford alumni,
governing body members, and alumni associations with commercial
opportunities that provide a benefit to them. In addition,
alumni must be given the opportunity to "opt out" of the sharing
their private information, and all affinity partnerships contain
confidentiality clauses that prohibit misuse of alumni
information. Finally, under no circumstances are campuses
allowed to share student information with affinity partners.
Analysis Prepared by : Sandra Fried / HIGHER ED. / (916)
319-3960
FN: 0002192