BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 2383 Page 1 Date of Hearing: May 2, 2012 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Felipe Fuentes, Chair AB 2383 (Ammiano) - As Amended: March 26, 2012 Policy Committee: TransportationVote:14-0 Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: No Reimbursable: No SUMMARY As proposed to be amended, this bill authorizes the San Francisco City Attorney and his or her investigators to obtain copies of Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) photographs of individuals directly from the DMV. FISCAL EFFECT Minor, absorbable costs to the DMV. (Motor Vehicle Account.) COMMENTS 1)Rationale. The City and County of San Francisco (sponsor) notes that the city attorney had access to DMV records for 21 years until DMV denied the city attorney access last year. The city further notes that the City Attorney's Office utilizes DMV records, in particular DMV license photos, to serve parents with notices of dependency hearings and to fulfill other functions not typically performed by city attorneys that reside within distinct counties. 2)Background . Existing law generally prohibits access to DMV records; however, statute excepts from this prohibition law enforcement officials, which statute identifies as the Attorney General, district attorneys, law enforcement agencies and city attorneys prosecuting misdemeanor violations of state law upon authorization of a district attorney. Statute also makes exception for public defenders and public defender investigators. As noted above, the San Francisco City Attorney previously had AB 2383 Page 2 access to DMV files. However, last year, following an internal audit, DMV determined the access, which the city attorney used for purposes other than prosecution of criminal actions, was not appropriate and revoked the city attorney's access. DMV notes that the city attorney can still access DMV records by going through the city's law enforcement agencies. Proposed author's amendments delete a prior provision of this bill that would have granted the city attorney access to all DMV records, consistent with access enjoyed by law enforcement personnel. The proposed amendments instead grant the city attorney access to DMV photo images, parallel to access granted by existing law to the Department of Real Estate Analysis Prepared by : Jay Dickenson / APPR. / (916) 319-2081