BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    �



                                                                            



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                                    THIRD READING


          Bill No:  AB 908
          Author:   Bonilla (D)
          Amended:  6/13/13 in Senate
          Vote:     21

           
           SENATE LABOR & INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS COMMITTEE  :  5-0, 6/12/13
          AYES: Monning, Wyland, Leno, Padilla, Yee

           SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE  :  Senate Rule 28.8

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  75-0, 5/9/13 (Consent) - See last page for vote


           SUBJECT  :    Unemployment insurance:  use of information

           SOURCE  :     California Peace Officers Association


           DIGEST  :    This bill allows the Employment Development  
          Department (EDD) to share information, with peace officers  
          employed by the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV)  
          Investigations Division in order to assist identity theft  
          investigations, counterfeiting, document fraud or consumer  
          fraud.

           ANALYSIS  :    Existing law vests the EDD with the responsibility  
          of ensuring employers remit appropriate Unemployment Insurance  
          (UI) contributions and to collect the employee wage deductions  
          to the Disability Fund.  EDD uses these funds to finance the UI  
          and Disability Insurance (DI) Programs.  

          Existing law also authorizes EDD to collect personal income  
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          taxes required to be withheld by employers.  

          Existing law requires that EDD collects appropriate data in  
          order to carry out the responsibilities listed above.  This  
          information includes the employer's name and address, the number  
          and contact information of employees employed by an employer,  
          the wages paid to those employees, and any independent  
          contractors that have performed services for an employer.  

          Existing law requires that, unless specifically provided, the  
          information obtained in the administration of the UI Program and  
          DI program are confidential and must be used for the exclusive  
          use and information of the director of EDD in discharge of  
          his/her duties.  Any person violating the confidentiality of  
          this information is guilty of a misdemeanor.

          Existing law specifically provides that EDD may share with any  
          law enforcement agency the name, address, telephone number,  
          birth date, social security number, physical description, and  
          names and addresses of present and past employers, of any  
          victim, suspect, missing person, potential witness, or person  
          for whom a felony arrest warrant has been issued when:

          1. A request for this information is made by any investigator or  
             peace officer; and 

          2. The investigator or peace officer is investigating a specific  
             felonious crime.  

          Information cannot be shared if doing so violates federal law or  
          regulations.  

          This bill allows EDD to share information with a designated  
          peace officer employed by the DMV Investigations Division if:

          1. The request is in the course of, and as part of, an  
             investigation into identity theft, counterfeiting, document  
             fraud, or consumer fraud.

          2. There is reasonable suspicion that the information requested  
             is relevant to the investigation and may lead to other  
             information regarding the identity theft, counterfeiting,  
             document fraud, or consumer fraud.


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           Comments
           
          The author's office notes that, identity theft and criminal  
          activity associated with it using the California driver license  
          or identification card has been a long-term and growing problem  
          facing the state and the public.  Identity theft costs American  
          businesses and consumers a reported $50 billion a year, causing  
          untold difficulties for an estimated 10 million U.S. victims  
          annually.  The author's office believes that this bill assists  
          the DMV in their investigations of identity theft and  
          counterfeiting.

           Prior Legislation
           
          SB 691 (Lieu, Statutes of 2012, Chapter 832) permits EDD to  
          share employment data and information with the Contractors'  
          State License Board for the purposes of aiding any specific  
          workers' compensation fraud investigation and the Agricultural  
          Labor Relations Board for the enforcement of the Agricultural  
          Labor Relations Act.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :    Appropriation:  No   Fiscal Com.:  Yes    
          Local:  Yes

           SUPPORT  :   (Verified  7/1/13)

          California Peace Officers Association (source)
          California Statewide Law Enforcement Association

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  75-0, 5/9/13
          AYES:  Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Bigelow, Bloom,  
            Blumenfield, Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown,  
            Buchanan, Ian Calderon, Campos, Chau, Ch�vez, Chesbro, Conway,  
            Cooley, Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Eggman, Fong, Fox, Frazier,  
            Beth Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gordon, Gorell, Gray,  
            Grove, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Roger Hern�ndez, Jones,  
            Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Lowenthal, Maienschein, Mansoor,  
            Medina, Melendez, Mitchell, Morrell, Mullin, Muratsuchi,  
            Nazarian, Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Patterson, Perea, V. Manuel  
            P�rez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Salas, Skinner, Stone,  
            Ting, Torres, Wagner, Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk, Williams,  
            Yamada, John A. P�rez
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Donnelly, Holden, Logue, Waldron, Vacancy


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          PQ:d  7/2/13   Senate Floor Analyses 

                           SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

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