BILL ANALYSIS SB 1268 Page 1 Date of Hearing: August 4, 2010 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Felipe Fuentes, Chair SB 1268 (Simitian) - As Amended: August 2, 2010 Policy Committee: TransportationVote:10-2 Judiciary 10-0 Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: Yes Reimbursable: No SUMMARY This bill requires transportation agencies that operate electronic toll collection system-Caltrans, the Bay Area Toll Authority, any entity operating a toll bridge, toll lane, or toll highway, or any party under contract with these entities-to regularly purge personal account information, and prohibits these agencies from selling or providing subscribers' personal information to others, with specified exceptions. Specifically, this bill: 1)Requires the transportation agencies to establish a privacy policy, as specified, provide this policy to subscribers and post the policy on the agencies' websites. 2)Authorizes the agencies to store only personally identifiable information on subscribers as needed to perform accounting functions and enforcement activities, and, after July 1, 2011, requires all other personal account information to be discarded within 4.5 years after the closure of a billing cycle. 3)Requires the agencies, after July 1, 2011, to take every effort to purge personal account information after an account is closed or terminated, and in no case to maintain such information more than 4.5 years after termination. 4)Stipulates this measure does not prohibit an agency from communicating to subscribers about its products or services if, for customer agreements entered into after January 1, 2011, the agency receives the subscriber's written consent to SB 1268 Page 2 do so. 5)Authorizes a person whose personally identifiable information has been sold or provided in violation of the above to bring an action to recover the greater of actual damages or $2,500 for each individual violation ($4,000 for three or such incidents) plus reasonable costs and attorney's fees. 6)Authorizes agencies to charge an administrative fee to cover the costs of implementing the above. FISCAL EFFECT No impact to Caltrans, as such personal identifiable information is kept by the local transportation agencies that operate toll systems. Any costs to these local agencies will not be state-reimbursable, because these costs will be covered through administrative fees authorized in the bill. COMMENTS Purpose . This bill is a response to the increasing use of electronic toll collections systems such as FasTrak, whereby the subscriber's vehicle contains a tag that is read electronically and the subscriber is subsequently billed for each pass through. The transportation agencies offering this service must collect personal information from subscribers, including name, address, and often a credit card number, for purposes of billing. This bill seeks to protect the privacy of the personal information by prohibiting agencies from selling or otherwise sharing data with third parties, subject to certain exceptions. This bill also requires the agencies to regularly purge personal information within 4.5 years of account closure and permits a transportation agency to communicate with subscribers about other services that it may offer, but only if the subscriber "opts in" and agrees to receive such communications in writing. The most recent amendments appear to have removed any opposition to the bill. Analysis Prepared by : Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081 SB 1268 Page 3