BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 634 Page 1 Date of Hearing: August 28, 2014 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY Bob Wieckowski, Chair AB 634 (Gomez) - As Amended: June 15, 2014 FOR Concurrence SUBJECT : Public records: exception to disclosure: public officials KEY ISSUE : Should the law that permits a public official to designate an employer or professional association to make a Public Records non-disclosure request on his or her behalf be expanded to allow the official to designate his or her collective bargaining representative to make that request? synopsis Under existing law, elected and appointed officials may demand that his or her home address or telephone number not be disclosed to the public, and if such a demand has been made, the law prohibits a person, business, or association from publicly posting or displaying that official's home address or telephone number on the Internet. Existing law also allows the official to designate his or her employer, or a related governmental entity or professional association, to act as that official's agent for the purpose of making the written demand. This bill would, additionally, authorize a peace officer, District Attorney, or Deputy District Attorney to also authorize his or her recognized collective bargaining representative to make that written demand. SUMMARY : Authorizes the recognized collective bargaining representative of an elected or appointed official who is a peace officer, a District Attorney, or a Deputy District Attorney to make a demand that certain information not be disclosed under a Public Records Act request. EXISTING LAW : 1)Provides, under the California Public Records Act (CPRA), that all public records are accessible to the public upon request, unless the record requested is exempt from public disclosure. AB 634 Page 2 2)Prohibits a state or local agency, as defined, from posting the home address or telephone number of any elected or appointed official on the Internet without first obtaining the written permission of that individual. 3)Prohibits a person from knowingly posting the home address or telephone number of any elected or appointed official, or of the official's residing spouse or child, on the Internet knowing that person is an elected or appointed official and intending to cause imminent great bodily harm that is likely to occur or threatening to cause imminent great bodily harm to that individual, and provides that a violation is a misdemeanor, unless the violation leads to the bodily injury of the official, or his or her residing spouse or child, in which case the violation is a misdemeanor or a felony. 4)Prohibits a person, business, or association from publicly posting or publicly displaying on the Internet the home address or telephone number of any elected or appointed official if that official has made a written demand of that person, business, or association to not disclose his or her home address or telephone number. 5)States that a written non-disclosure demand made by a state constitutional officer, a mayor, or a Member of the Legislature, a city council, or a board of supervisors must include a statement describing a threat or fear for the safety of that official or of any person residing at the official's home address, and provides that written demand made by an elected official is effective for four years, regardless of whether or not the official's term has expired prior to the end of the four-year period. 6)Authorizes an elected or appointed official to designate in writing the official's employer, a related governmental entity, or any voluntary professional association of similar officials to act, on behalf of that official, as that official's agent with regard to making a written demand. 7)Requires a written demand made by an official's agent to include a statement describing a threat or fear for the safety of that official or of any person residing at the official's home address. AB 634 Page 3 8)Defines "elected or appointed official" to include, but is not limited to, all of the following: state constitutional officers; Members of the Legislature; judges and court commissioners; district attorneys; public defenders; members of a city council; members of a board of supervisors; appointees of the Governor; appointees of the Legislature; mayors; city attorneys; police chiefs and sheriffs; a public safety official; state administrative law judges; federal judges and federal defenders; and Members of the United States Congress and appointees of the President. FISCAL EFFECT : As currently in print this bill is keyed non-fiscal. COMMENTS : The California Public Records Act requires state and local agencies to make public records available for inspection by the public, with specified exceptions. One such exception prohibits a person, business, or association from publicly posting or displaying on the Internet the home address or telephone number of any elected or appointed official if that official has made a written demand to not have that information disclosed, and allows the official to designate his or her employer, or a related governmental entity or professional association, to act as that official's agent for the purpose of making the written demand. This bill would, additionally, authorize a peace officer, as defined, a District Attorney, or a Deputy District Attorney to also authorize his or her recognized collective bargaining representative to make that written demand. The content of the written demand made by the official's collective bargaining representative shall, like any other demand under existing law, include a statement describing the threat or fear for the safety of the official and persons residing at the official's home address. Peace officers, District Attorneys, and Deputy District Attorneys often rely upon the services of their union representatives regarding work-related problems. This bill would simply give the elected or appointed official the option of asking a collective bargaining representative to submit the written demand on his or her behalf instead of asking the employer or a professional association. REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION : AB 634 Page 4 Support : California Fraternal Order of Police Los Angeles County Professional Peace Officers Association Long Beach Police Officers Association Sacramento County Deputy Sheriffs Association Santa Ana Police Officers Association Opposition : None on file Analysis Prepared by : Thomas Clark / JUD. / (916) 319-2334