BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1971
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Date of Hearing: April 6, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HIGHER EDUCATION
Marty Block, Chair
AB 1971 (Lowenthal) - As Introduced: February 17, 2010
SUBJECT : California State University and University of
California: alumni: disclosure.
SUMMARY : Extends by five years the authority for the
University of California (UC) and the California State
University (CSU) to release the names and addresses of their
alumni to businesses with whom they have affinity-partner
agreements. Specifically, this bill :
1)Extends from January 1, 2011, to January 1, 2016, the sunset
date on UC's and CSU's ability to release the names and
addresses of their alumni to businesses with whom they have
affinity-partner agreements, providing certain privacy
requirements are met.
2)Requires 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.
3)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.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Contains a body of statutes, known as the "California
Information Practices Act of 1977" (CIPA), which prohibits an
individual's name and address from being distributed for
commercial purposes or being sold or rented by a state office,
officer, department, division, bureau, board, commission or
other state agency, unless such action is specifically
authorized by law (Civil Code Section 1798.60).
2)Prohibits financial institutions from sharing or selling
personally identifiable nonpublic information without
obtaining a consumer's consent, known as the California
Financial Information Privacy Act (CFIPA), which was
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established by SB 1 (Speier), Chapter 241, Statutes of 2003.
CFIPA controls the disclosure of names, addresses, telephone
numbers and electronic addresses by financial institutions
within the context of an agreement with an affinity partner.
3)Permits UC, CSU, and HCL to release the names and addresses of
their alumni to businesses with whom they have
affinity-partner agreements, providing certain privacy
requirements are met [SB 569 (Torlakson), Chapter 498,
Statutes of 2005].
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown, although the Assembly Appropriations
Committee determined the cost of identical legislation from 2009
was minor and absorbable.
COMMENTS : This bill is identical to AB 1222 (Lowenthal) of
2009, which was vetoed by the Governor because the legislation
was not necessary until 2010, when UC's and CSU's ability to
enter into affinity programs expires.
Background : It is common practice for public and private
universities to offer benefits and services to alumni through
affinity partnerships with commercial vendors as one way for
alumni to stay connected to their university. However,
existing law (CIPA and CFIPA) created ambiguity about the
authority of state agencies to enter into affinity agreements
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
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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 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
association mailing lists, the affinity partner pays a fee to
the campus association.
Revenue generated by affinity programs : UC and CSU state that
their affinity programs have provided important funding for
their institutions and that without the affinity programs they
would face serious problems in supporting their activities,
sustaining and attracting membership, and facilitating future
donations worth millions of dollars. UC's affinity programs
generated approximately $3.6 million for UC campuses in 2007-08,
and CSU's affinity programs provided approximately $1.8 million
for its campuses in 2007-08.
Privacy protections : As noted previously, SB 569 requires a
contractual agreement with a commercial entity that, in essence,
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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.
Double-referral : This bill is double-referred to the Assembly
Judiciary Committee.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Postsecondary Education Commission
California State University
University of California
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Sandra Fried / HIGHER ED. / (916)
319-3960