BILL ANALYSIS
SB 909
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB 909 (Wright)
As Amended August 12, 2010
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE :22-7
JUDICIARY 7-0
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|Ayes:|Feuer, Brownley, Evans, | | |
| |Huffman, Jones, Monning, | | |
| |Saldana | | |
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| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Requires a person (i.e., a prospective employer) who
procures an investigative consumer report for employment
purposes to disclose to the consumer (i.e., an applicant) the
Internet Web site of the investigative consumer reporting
agency. Requires the agency to conspicuously post on its
Internet Web site its privacy policy, including information on
whether reports are prepared or processed outside of the United
States or its territories. Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires, as of January 1, 2012, a person who procures or
causes to be prepared an investigative consumer report for
employment purposes to notify the consumer of the Internet Web
site address of the investigative reporting agency's privacy
practices, including whether the consumer's personal
information will be sent outside of the United States or its
territories for preparation.
2)Requires an investigative consumer reporting agency doing
business in this state to conspicuously post on its primary
Internet Web site a description of its privacy practices with
respect to the preparation and processing of investigative
consumer reports. If the agency does not have an Internet Web
site, it shall mail a written copy of the information to the
consumer upon request. Specifies that the privacy statement
shall include, but not be limited to, both of the following:
a) A statement entitled "Personal Information Disclosure:
United States or Overseas," that indicates whether the
personal information will be transferred to third parties
SB 909
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outside of the United States or its territories; and,
b) A separate section that includes the name, mailing
address, e-mail address, and telephone number of the
consumer reporting agency representatives who can assist
the consumer with additional information about privacy
practices and policies in the event of a compromise of the
consumer's information.
3)Provides that an investigative consumer reporting agency shall
be liable if a consumer is harmed by an unauthorized access of
the consumer's personally identifiable information, or act or
omission that occurs as a result of the agency negligently
preparing or processing a report, or portion thereof, outside
of the United States or one of its territories.
FISCAL EFFECT : None
COMMENTS : Under existing law, an "investigative consumer
reporting agency" is defined as any entity that, for a fee,
collects information about a person and prepares an
"investigative consumer report" relating to a person's general
reputation and personal characteristics. For example, such
reports may include information on whether the person has
recently (usually within the past 7-10 years) filed for
bankruptcy, committed a crime, or been subject to an unlawful
detainer. Such reports are typically obtained by employers
seeking background on a job applicant, landlords seeking
information on prospective tenants, or insurance companies
attempting to determine eligibility or calculate appropriate
rates for prospective subscribers. Because of the sensitive
nature of the information contained in such reports - and the
profound impact that it can have on a person's ability to obtain
employment, housing, or insurance - the state has regulated such
agencies since 1975. In general, existing law prescribes the
kinds of information that may be contained in such a report,
limits the purposes of which such a report can be procured, and
subjects both the reporting agency and the person procuring the
report to prescribed penalties and liabilities for violations.
("Investigative consumer reports" should not be confused with
"consumer credit reports," which generally pertain to a person's
credit worthiness and which are regulated under a separate
statute.)
This bill would amend existing law only as it relates to reports
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relating to employment . According to the author, investigative
consumer reporting agencies are increasingly subcontracting the
actual assembling and preparation of such reports to "offshore"
companies - that is, companies located outside of the United
States or its territories. Because these other countries might
not have the same privacy protections that are available under
California and federal law, the author believes that job
applicants should know if their personal information will be
sent offshore for report preparation and, in the event that the
personal information is compromised as a result, then the
applicant should have an appropriate remedy. Specifically, this
bill would require the person procuring the employment report to
provide the consumer with the reporting agency's Internet Web
site address so that the consumer can obtain information on the
agency's privacy policies, including whether personal
information will be sent outside of the United States for
processing or preparation. In addition, the reporting agency
will be required to conspicuously post on its primary Internet
Web site its privacy policy, including information on whether
reports are prepared outside of the United States and its
policies in the event that personal information is compromised.
If the agency does not have an Internet Web site, it will be
required to provide such information in writing upon request by
the consumer. Finally, the bill would specify that an
investigative consumer reporting agency - which is already
generally liable to consumers for harms caused by the acts or
omissions of the agency that are in violation of existing
regulations -- is also liable to a consumer for harms that
result from unauthorized access to the consumer's personal data
or other acts or omissions that result from the preparation or
processing of the report outside of the United States or its
territories.
Analysis Prepared by : Thomas Clark / JUD. / (916) 319-2334
FN: 0005779