BILL NUMBER: SB 1268 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 19, 2010
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 20, 2010
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 5, 2010
INTRODUCED BY Senator Simitian
FEBRUARY 19, 2010
An act to add Chapter 8 (commencing with Section 31490) to
Division 17 of the Streets and Highways Code, relating to
transportation.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 1268, as amended, Simitian. Toll bridges, lanes, and highways:
electronic toll collection mechanisms: disclosure of personal
information.
Existing law authorizes development and implementation of various
electronic bridge and highway toll collection mechanisms.
This bill would prohibit a transportation agency, as defined, from
selling or providing personally identifiable information of a person
obtained pursuant to the person's participation in an electronic
toll collection system or use of a toll facility, subject to
specified exceptions. The bill would require a transportation agency
to establish a privacy policy regarding personally identifiable
information in that regard and to provide the policy to subscribers
and post the policy on its Internet Web site. The bill would allow a
transportation agency to store certain personally identifiable
information of a person and would require it to discard other
information within a designated time period. The bill would authorize
a person whose personally identifiable information has been sold or
provided in violation of the bill to bring specified actions for
recovery of damages, costs, and attorney's fees. The bill would
authorize a transportation agency to impose an administrative fee to
implement these provisions, as specified. By imposing new
duties on local transportation agencies, the bill would impose a
state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates
determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these
statutory provisions.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 8 (commencing with Section 31490) is added to
Division 17 of the Streets and Highways Code, to read:
CHAPTER 8. ELECTRONIC TOLL COLLECTION SYSTEMS
31490. (a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, a
transportation agency may not sell or otherwise provide to any other
person or entity personally identifiable information of any person
who subscribes to an electronic toll collection system or who uses a
toll bridge, toll lane, or toll highway that employs an electronic
toll collection system.
(b) A transportation agency that employs an electronic toll
collection system shall establish a privacy policy regarding the
collection and use of personally identifiable information and provide
to subscribers of that system a copy of the privacy policy in a
manner that is conspicuous and meaningful, such as by providing a
copy to the subscriber with the transponder or other device used as
an electronic toll collection mechanism, or, if the system does not
use a mechanism, with the application materials. A transportation
agency shall conspicuously post its privacy policy on its Internet
Web site. For purposes of this subdivision, "conspicuously post" has
the same meaning as that term is defined in paragraphs (1) to (4),
inclusive, of subdivision (b) of Section 22577 of the Business and
Professions Code. The policy shall include, but need not be limited
to, a description of the following:
(1) The types of personally identifiable information that is
collected by the agency.
(2) The categories of third-party persons or entities with whom
the agency may share personally identifiable information.
(3) The process by which a transportation agency notifies
subscribers of material changes to its privacy policy.
(4) The effective date of the privacy policy.
(5) The process by which a subscriber may review and request
changes to any of his or her personally identifiable information.
(c) A transportation agency may, within practical business and
cost constraints, store only personally identifiable information of a
person such as the account name, credit card number, billing
address, vehicle information, and other basic account information
required to perform account functions such as billing, account
settlement, or enforcement activities. All other information shall be
discarded six months after the closure date of the billing cycle or
60 days after the bill has been paid, whichever occurs last.
(d) A transportation agency shall take every effort, within
practical business and cost constraints, to purge the personal
account information of an account within 60 days after the date the
account is closed or terminated. In no case shall a transportation
agency maintain personal information more than 150 days after the
date an account is closed or terminated.
(e) (1) A transportation agency may make personally identifiable
information of a person available to a law enforcement agency only
pursuant to a search warrant. Absent a provision in the search
warrant to the contrary, the law enforcement agency shall
immediately, but in any event within no more than five days, notify
the person that his or her records have been obtained and shall
provide the person with a copy of the search warrant and the identity
of the law enforcement agency or peace officer to whom the records
were provided.
(2) (A) This section does not prohibit a peace officer, as defined
in Section 830.1 or 830.2 of the Penal Code, when conducting a
criminal or traffic collision investigation, from obtaining
personally identifiable information of a person if the officer has
good cause to believe that a delay in obtaining this information by
seeking a search warrant would result in an imminent danger to the
health or safety of a member of the public. The peace officer shall
provide the transportation agency with a written statement setting
forth the basis for his or her good cause belief.
(B) When obtaining personally identifiable information of a
person, the peace officer shall immediately, in any event within no
more than five days, notify the person that his or her records have
been obtained, identify the law enforcement agency or peace officer
to whom the records have been provided, and provide the person with a
copy of the written statement provided to the transportation agency
pursuant to subparagraph (A) that sets forth the basis for his or her
good cause belief. If the notification to the person would interfere
with an ongoing investigation, the peace officer or law enforcement
agency may request a court order for a 30-day extension of the notice
requirement.
(f) This section does not prohibit a transportation agency in
subdivision (a) from providing aggregated traveler information
derived from collective data that relates to a group or category of
persons from which personally identifiable information has been
removed.
(g) This section does not prohibit a transportation agency from
providing the license plate number of an intermodal chassis to the
owner of the chassis for purposes of locating the driver of the
chassis in the event the driver fails to pay the toll.
(h) This section does not prohibit a transportation agency from
sharing data with another transportation agency solely to comply with
interoperability specifications and standards adopted pursuant to
Section 27565 regarding electronic toll collection devices and
technologies. A third-party vendor may not use personally
identifiable information obtained under this subdivision for a
purpose other than described in this subdivision.
(i) Subdivision (d) shall not prohibit a transportation agency, or
its designee, from performing financial and accounting functions
such as billing, account settlement, enforcement, or other financial
activities required to operate and manage the toll facilities.
(j) This section does not prohibit a transportation agency from
communicating exclusively about its toll-related products and
services offered by itself or the agency with which it contracts to
subscribers of the transportation agency through a contracted
third-party vendor using personally identifiable information limited
to the subscriber's name, address, and electronic mail address,
provided that the transportation agency has received the subscriber's
express written consent to receive the communications.
(k) A transportation agency may not use a nonsubscriber's
personally identifiable information obtained using an electronic toll
collection system to market products or services to that
nonsubscriber.
(l) For purposes of this section, "transportation agency" means
the Department of Transportation, the Bay Area Toll Authority, any
entity operating a toll bridge, toll lane, or toll highway within the
state, or any entity under contract with any of the above entities.
(m) For purposes of this section, "electronic toll collection
system" is a system where a transponder, camera-based vehicle
identification system, or other electronic medium is used to deduct
payment of a toll from a subscriber's account or to establish an
obligation to pay a toll.
(n) For purposes of this section, "person" means any person who
subscribes to an electronic toll collection system or any person who
uses a toll bridge, toll lane, or toll road that employs an
electronic toll collection system.
(o) For purposes of this section, "personally identifiable
information" means any information that identifies or describes a
person, including, but not limited to, travel pattern data, address,
telephone number, e-mail address, license plate number, photograph,
bank account information, or credit card number.
(p) (1) In addition to any other remedies provided by law, a
person whose personally identifiable information has been knowingly
sold or otherwise provided in violation of this section may bring an
action to recover either actual damages or two thousand five hundred
dollars ($2,500) for each individual violation, whichever is greater,
and may also recover reasonable costs and attorney's fees.
(2) A person whose personally identifiable information has been
knowingly sold or otherwise provided three or more times in violation
of this section may bring an action to recover either actual damages
or four thousand dollars ($4,000) for each individual violation,
whichever is greater, and may also recover reasonable costs and
attorney's fees.
SEC. 2. If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this
act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local
agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant
to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of
the Government Code.
(q) Nothing in subdivisions (c) and (d) shall preclude compliance
with a court order or settlement agreement that has been approved on
or before April 25, 2010.
(r) A transportation agency that employs an electronic toll
collection system may impose an administrative fee on persons who use
that system in an amount sufficient to cover the cost of
implementing this section.
SEC. 2. No reimbursement is required by this act
pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution because a local agency or school district has the
authority to levy service charges, fees, or assessments sufficient to
pay for the program or level of service mandated by this act, within
the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code.