BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 859
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB 859 (Padilla)
As Amended August 23, 2011
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE :35-3
TRANSPORTATION 10-3 JUDICIARY 8-1
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|Ayes:|Bonnie Lowenthal, |Ayes:|Feuer, Wagner, Atkins, |
| |Achadjian, Blumenfield, | |Dickinson, Beth Gaines, |
| |Bonilla, Buchanan, Eng, | |Huber, Monning Wieckowski |
| |Furutani, Galgiani, | | |
| |Portantino, Solorio | | |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Logue, Miller, Norby |Nays:|Jones |
| | | | |
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APPROPRIATIONS 13-4
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|Ayes:|Fuentes, Blumenfield, | | |
| |Bradford, Charles | | |
| |Calderon, Campos, Davis, | | |
| |Gatto, Hall, Hill, Lara, | | |
| |Mitchell, Solorio, Wagner | | |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Harkey, Donnelly, | | |
| |Nielsen, Norby | | |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Allows electric utilities to access Department of
Motor Vehicles (DMV) information on the type of vehicle owned
and residence location of electric vehicle owners so that
utilities can better anticipate electrical grid demand.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Allows the disclosure of residence addresses in DMV records to
an electrical corporation or a local publicly-owned electric
utility, if the corporation or utility, or its agent, requests
SB 859
Page 2
and uses the information only for the purposes identifying
where an electric vehicle is registered.
2)Allows DMV to disclose to the electrical corporation or local
publicly-owned utility only the type of vehicle and address of
the electric vehicle owner.
3)Prohibits DMV from disclosing the name of the electric vehicle
owner.
4)Requires the electrical corporation or local publicly-owned
electric utility, within 15 days of receiving residence
address information from DMV, to provide a clear, express
disclosure to the electric vehicle owner that his or her
residence address information is permitted by law to be shared
with the corporation or utility.
5)Requires that the disclosure not contain marketing information
or a solicitation for the purchase of goods or services.
6)Allows confidential home address information of electric
vehicle owners and type of vehicle owned to be disclosed only
for the purpose of identifying where an electric vehicle is
registered and not for any other purpose, including
identifying the individual or individuals residing at the
address.
7)Prohibits an electrical corporation or local publicly-owned
utility, or its agent or subsidiary, from selling, sharing, or
disclosing residence address or vehicle information obtained
pursuant to these provisions.
8)Prohibits an electric corporation or local publicly-owned
utility, or its agent or subsidiary, from selling, sharing, or
disclosing residence address or vehicle information obtained
by matching residence information against corporation or
utility customer records.
SB 859
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9)Prohibits residential addresses released to electrical
corporations or local publicly-owned utilities from being used
for direct marketing or solicitation for purchase of any
consumer product or service.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Provides, pursuant to the California Constitution, the right
to privacy.
2)Provides that any residence address in DMV records is
confidential and shall not be disclosed to any person with the
exception of a court, law enforcement, or other government
agency, as specified.
3)Provides that residential addresses may be disclosed to a
vehicle manufacturer if the manufacturer or its agent, under
penalty of perjury, requests and uses the information only for
the purpose of safety, warranty, emission, or product recall
at no cost to the vehicle owner.
4)Provides that any residential addresses released by DMV may
not be used for direct marketing or solicitation for the
purchase of any consumer product or service.
5)Requires any person who has access to confidential or
restricted DMV information to establish procedures to protect
the confidentiality of those records.
6)Requires any person, or agent, who obtains confidential
information from DMV to take all steps necessary to ensure
confidentiality and prevent the release of any information to
a third party.
7)Prohibits an agent from obtaining or using any confidential or
restricted records for any purpose other than for the reason
the information was requested.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, the costs associated with this bill are minor and
absorbable.
SB 859
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COMMENTS : Under this bill, electrical corporations or local
publicly-owned utilities would be able to obtain home address
and type of vehicle information for electric vehicle owners from
the DMV in order to determine where electric vehicles are likely
being charged. The sponsor indicates that this information will
help the electrical corporations or local publicly-owned
utilities anticipate and plan for increased grid demand
associated with home charging of plug-in electric vehicles
(PEVs). The sponsor, California Electric Transportation
Coalition, contends that being able to plan for and accommodate
increased electricity demand will help to avert potential grid
overload that could result in localized outages and rate
fluctuations especially given that at least 1 million PEVs are
anticipated to be in use in California in the next 10 years.
This bill safeguards PEV owners' privacy by ensuring that the
utilities do not use the information obtained from DMV for any
marketing purposes; that electric vehicle owners are notified
that their residence information is required by law to be shared
with electrical corporations or local publicly-owned utilities;
and, that electrical corporations or local publicly-owned
utilities are precluded from selling, sharing, or further
disclosing residence information of electric vehicle owners.
Analysis Prepared by : Victoria Alvarez / TRANS. / (916)
319-2093
FN: 0002066