BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 636|
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 636
Author: Corbett (D), et al.
Amended: 6/22/11
Vote: 21
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE : 4-0, 4/12/11
AYES: Evans, Harman, Corbett, Leno
NO VOTE RECORDED: Blakeslee
SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE : 7-0, 5/3/11
AYES: Hancock, Anderson, Calderon, Harman, Liu, Price,
Steinberg
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
SENATE FLOOR : 39-0, 5/23/11 (Consent)
AYES: Alquist, Anderson, Berryhill, Blakeslee, Calderon,
Cannella, Corbett, Correa, De León, DeSaulnier, Dutton,
Emmerson, Evans, Fuller, Gaines, Hancock, Hernandez,
Huff, Kehoe, La Malfa, Leno, Lieu, Liu, Lowenthal,
Negrete McLeod, Padilla, Pavley, Price, Rubio, Runner,
Simitian, Steinberg, Strickland, Vargas, Walters, Wolk,
Wright, Wyland, Yee
NO VOTE RECORDED: Harman
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 76-0, 7/14/11 (Consent) - See last page
for vote
SUBJECT : Personal information: Internet disclosure
SOURCE : Privacy Rights Clearinghouse
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DIGEST : This bill makes specified changes in law
relating to the disclosure of protected personal
information about domestic violence and stalking victims,
including changes to the Safe at Home" program, as
specified.
Assembly Amendments (1) provide that all records or
documents pertaining to a program participant shall be
retained for three years after termination of certification
and then destroyed without further notice with specified
exceptions, and (2) add coauthors.
ANALYSIS : Existing law authorizes victims of domestic
violence or stalking and reproductive health care
providers, employees, and volunteers, as defined, to
complete an application to be approved by the Secretary of
State for the purposes of enabling state and local agencies
to respond to requests for public records without
disclosing a program participant's residence address
contained in any public record. Existing law prohibits the
Secretary of State from making a program participant's
address publicly available, except in specified
circumstances, including when the participant's program
certification has been canceled.
This bill enacts, for purposes of the program for victims
of domestic violence or stalking, similar provisions that
would protect the address and phone number of those
participants in the Safe at Home program. Specifically,
this bill:
Prohibits any person, business, or association from
knowingly and intentionally publicly posting or
displaying on the Internet the home address, phone
number, or image of any participant or other individual
residing at the same address with the intent to (1)
incite a third person to cause great imminent bodily harm
to the person identified; or (2) threaten the person in a
manner that places the person in objectively reasonable
fear for his or her personal safety. A participant whose
home address, phone number or image is made public in
violation of that prohibition may (1) bring an action for
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injunctive or declaratory relief, and if awarded, receive
costs and reasonable attorney's fees; and/or (2) bring an
action for money damages, in which case the court would
be required to award three times actual damages, but in
no case less than $4,000.
Prohibits any person, business, or association from
knowingly and intentionally publicly posting or
displaying on the Internet the home address or phone
number if the person has made a written demand not to
disclose their address or phone number. The demand must
include a sworn statement declaring that the person is
subject to the protection by the section and describe a
reasonable fear of safety, as specified. That demand
shall be effective for four years, regardless of whether
the individual's participation in the program has expired
during that period. A participant whose home address or
phone number is made public as a result of the failure to
honor the above demand may bring an action for
declaratory or injunctive relief. If a violation is
found to occur, the court or jury may grant injunctive or
declaratory relief and award the plaintiff court costs
and attorney's fees.
This bill prohibits any person, business, or association
from soliciting, selling, or trading on the Internet the
home address, phone number, or image of a participant with
the intent to (1) incite a third person to cause imminent
great bodily harm to the person identified in the posting
or display where the third party is likely to commit this
harm; or (2) threaten the person identified in the posting
or display in a manner that places the person identified in
objectively reasonable fear for his or her personal safety.
This bill provides that a participant whose address or
phone number is solicited, sold or traded in violation of
the prohibition may bring an action in a court of competent
jurisdiction and authorize the jury or court to award
damages up to three times the actual damages, but in no
case less than $4,000.
This bill provides that an interactive computer service or
access software provider shall not be liable for violations
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of the above provisions unless the service or provider
intends to abet or cause bodily harm that is likely to
occur or threatens to cause bodily harm to a participant or
person residing at the same address.
New Criminal Penalties
Current law includes the crime of making a credible threat
of death or great bodily injury, which includes the
following elements: The defendant made the threat
"verbally," in writing or by means of an electronic
communication device and with the intent that it be taken
as a threat; and it appears that the defendant had the
means and intent to carry out the threat such that the
victim was placed in sustained fear for his own safety or
that of his immediate family. This crime is a wobbler,
punishable by a jail term of up to one year in jail, a fine
of up to $1,000, or both, or by imprisonment in a state
prison for 16 months, two years or three years and a fine
of up to $10,000. (Penal Code Section 422)
This bill provides that no person shall post, with the
intent that another person imminently use that information
to commit a crime involving violence or a threat of
violence against the participant or the program
participant's family members who are participating in the
program on the Internet the home address, phone number, or
personal identifying information of a program participant
or family members who are participating in the program. A
violation of this provision would be a misdemeanor,
punishable by a fine of up to $2,500, jail for up to six
months, or both; violations that lead to the bodily injury
of a participant or their family members would be a
misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of up to $5,000, jail up
to one year, or both.
This bill also enacts an identical new criminal penalty
provision that would apply to individuals associated with
reproductive health care services who are participants in
the Safe at Home program.
Effect of Certification Cancellation
Existing law allows a participant to withdraw from the Safe
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at Home program, and authorizes the address confidentiality
program manager to terminate a participant's certification
for specified reasons, including the use of false
information or using the program as subterfuge.
(Government Code Sections 6206.7 and 6215.4)
Existing law prohibits the Secretary of State from making a
program participant's address available for inspection or
copying except (1) if requested by a law enforcement
agency, to that agency; (2) if directed by a court order,
to a person identified in the order; or (3) if the
certification has been cancelled. (Government Code Sections
6208 and 6215.7)
This bill narrows the provision allowing the Secretary of
State to make the address available if certification has
been cancelled, and, instead, permit the Secretary of State
to make the address available if the certification has been
terminated because either (1) false information was used in
the application process; or (2) participation in the
program is being used as subterfuge to avoid detection of
illegal or criminal activity or apprehension by law
enforcement.
This bill provides that any records or documents pertaining
to a program participant shall be held confidential for a
period of three years after termination of certification,
except as provided for in Government Code Section 6208, and
then destroyed, except for change of name records, which
shall be retained permanently.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
SUPPORT : (Verified 7/19/11)
Privacy Rights Clearinghouse (source)
Calegislation
California Commission on the Status of Women
California District Attorneys Association
California Partnership to End Domestic Violence
Crime Victims United of California
Secretary of State Debra Bowen
Survivors in Action
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ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author:
"Since 1999, California's Safe at Home Program has helped
protect the personal information of over 4,500 survivors
of domestic violence, stalking, and sexual assault.
Although participants in the program have the ability to
obtain a mailing address from the Secretary of State that
can be used as their official address on government
documents in order to protect the confidentiality of
their actual addresses, they do not have the legal right
to have their personal identifying information removed
from public websites, even though the information may
compromise their safety.
"Participants in the Safe at Home program may request
that businesses, including internet websites, remove
personal identifying information about the participant
from their records, but there is no requirement in
existing law for them to do so. Because program
participants are endangered when their personal
identifying information is publicized, they should be
able to protect their personal identifying information.
"SB 636 seeks to provide further protection to
individuals participating in the Safe at Home Program by
prohibiting their addresses and telephone numbers from
being posted on the Internet, and establishing crimes for
publishing or failing to remove their identifying
information."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 76-0, 7/14/11 (Consent)
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall,
Bill Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford,
Brownley, Buchanan, Butler, Charles Calderon, Campos,
Carter, Cedillo, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Davis, Dickinson,
Donnelly, Eng, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Furutani,
Galgiani, Gatto, Gordon, Grove, Hagman, Halderman, Hall,
Harkey, Hayashi, Roger Hernández, Hill, Huber, Hueso,
Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Lara, Logue, Bonnie
Lowenthal, Ma, Mansoor, Mendoza, Miller, Monning,
Morrell, Nestande, Nielsen, Norby, Olsen, Pan, Perea, V.
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Manuel Pérez, Portantino, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio,
Swanson, Torres, Valadao, Wagner, Wieckowski, Williams,
Yamada, John A. Pérez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Beth Gaines, Garrick, Gorell, Mitchell
RJG:mw 7/20/11 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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