BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2215|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 2215
Author: Maienschein (R)
Amended: 6/24/14 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE : 6-0, 6/17/14
AYES: Jackson, Corbett, Lara, Leno, Monning, Vidak
NO VOTE RECORDED: Anderson
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 7-0, 8/4/14
AYES: De León, Walters, Gaines, Hill, Lara, Padilla, Steinberg
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 73-0, 5/8/14 (Consent) - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Veterans: recorded documents
SOURCE : County Recorders Association of California
DIGEST : This bill permits a family member or legal
representative of a veteran authorized by law to receive a
certified copy of specified documents to request recordation of
those documents on the same terms as a veteran.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1.Provides, under the Public Records Act (PRA), that public
records of state and local public agencies are open to
inspection and copying upon request and payment of cost. An
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agency may withhold disclosure of a record only where the
record is statutorily exempt from disclosure or where the
public interest in not disclosing the record clearly outweighs
the public interest in disclosing the record. This balancing
test is done on a case-by-case basis.
2.Provides that if a military veteran requests the recordation
of any military discharge document, including a veteran's
service form DD 214, the county recorder shall require the
veteran to sign a form stating the following: "I, the
undersigned, hereby acknowledge that I am informed that by
recording the attached military discharge document, all
information referenced within it becomes part of the official
record of this county, and that this information is open to
inspection by any person."
3.Prohibits a public entity from charging a fee for recording,
indexing, or issuing certified copies of military records of
any member of the armed forces, and for furnishing copies of
or searching for records related to a veteran's claim for
veterans' benefits.
4.Provides that a certified copy of a military discharge
document may be made available only to one of the following:
The person who is the subject of the record, upon
presentation of proper photo identification;
A family member or legal representative of the person
who is the subject of the record, upon presentation of
proper photo identification and certification of their
relationship to the subject of the record;
A county office that provides veterans' benefits
services, upon written request of that office; and
A United States official, upon written request of that
official.
1.States that no copy of a recorded military discharge document
may be issued except as provided above.
This bill provides that a military veteran or a family member or
legal representative of a veteran authorized to receive a
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certified copy of a military discharge document may request
recordation in any county in this state of any military
discharge document, including a veteran's service form DD 214,
provided that the county recorder requires the person requesting
the recordation to sign a form stating: "I, the undersigned,
hereby acknowledge that I am informed that by recording the
attached military discharge document, all information referenced
within it becomes part of the official record of this county,
and that this information is open to inspection by any person."
Background
Under the PRA, records of state and local agencies are open for
inspection and copying at all times during the office hours of
the agency. The PRA provides for an agency to withhold
disclosure of records that are made exempt from disclosure by
statute or where the public interest in such records is
outweighed by other interests such as the right to privacy.
Many records, such as health and medical records, juvenile
records, and other records with personal identifying
information, are exempt from disclosure.
Historically, former military personnel have been advised to
record their military discharge documents, such as a veteran's
service form DD 214, with the county recorder in the county of
their residence, for the purpose of having a recorded document
just in case they lose their original or copy. Recordation of
this military discharge document, which contains at the very
least the veteran's name, birth date, current address, and
social security number but sometimes contains detailed military
history or medical information, is purely voluntary. Groups
such as the California Association of County Veterans Service
Officers have, in the past, reported many instances of theft of
veterans' identities and have intimated that recorded discharge
documents like DD 214s are good sources of information for
identity thieves. In an effort to protect veterans' privacy,
the Legislature passed SB 544 (Chesbro, Chapter 301, Statutes of
2003), which required county recorders, when recording military
discharge documents, to obtain the signature of a veteran on a
form acknowledging that such documents become part of the
official record of the county and are subject to public
inspection.
Prior Legislation
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AB 1798 (Chavez, 2002) would have required county recorders to
inform a veteran that recordation of a military discharge
document (such as a DD 214) makes it a public record subject to
inspection by any person. The bill died on the Senate
Appropriations Committee suspense file.
SB 1614 (Speier, Chapter 712, Statutes of 2002) requires the
county clerk-recorder or local registrar to prepare
comprehensive and noncomprehensive indices of births and deaths,
to transmit the comprehensive indices to the State Registrar,
and make available as public documents only the noncomprehensive
indices.
SB 544 (Chesbro, Chapter 301, Statutes of 2003) requires, if any
military veteran requests the recordation of any military
discharge document, including a veteran's service form DD 214,
that the county recorder shall require the veteran to sign a
form acknowledging that the document shall become part of the
official record of the county and subject to inspection, as
provided.
AB 1179 (Parra, Chapter 6, Statutes of 2004) prohibits county
recorders from providing certified copies of military discharge
papers except to specified persons and allows county recorders
to accept faxed, notarized documents if specified information is
present and photographically reproducible.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, ongoing local
costs to county recorders to record veterans' discharge
documents. As county recorders are prohibited from charging a
fee for recording military records, any potential reimbursable
mandate due to the additional work for county clerks is
estimated to be minor but could potentially exceed $50,000
(General Fund) in any one year.
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/4/14)
County Recorders' Association of California (source)
California Association of County Veterans Service Officers
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ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The author writes:
Why record a DD 214? Recording a DD 214 is generally done to
prevent the loss of the document and provide easy access to
certified copies as necessary. An additional reason to record
includes family members wishing to preserve a loved one's
military service history. Regardless of the purpose,
recording is completely discretionary. There is no
requirement that a veteran record the document with the county
recorder's office.
[However,] California Government Code 27337 does not consider
situations where the veteran is deceased or unable to sign the
statement, nor does the statute allow for a family member to
record on behalf of the veteran. . . . [The] San Diego County
Recorder's Office, on multiple occasions, has encountered
family members attempting to record [a] DD 214 but the office
has been unable to assist. As a result [the] San Diego
Recorder's office sponsored this issue with the statewide
Recorders' Association who have brought it to the attention of
Assembly Member Maienschein. AB 2215 will explicitly allow a
family member who is currently authorized by Government Code
6107(b) to receive a certified copy, to also be allowed to
record the DD 214 in the first place. AB 2215 allows a family
member to sign the required notification form and record the
DD 214.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 73-0, 5/8/14
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Bigelow, Bloom,
Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian
Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chávez, Chesbro, Conway, Cooley,
Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Donnelly, Fong, Fox,
Frazier, Beth Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon,
Grove, Hagman, Harkey, Roger Hernández, Holden, Jones,
Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Logue, Lowenthal, Maienschein,
Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian, Nestande,
Olsen, Pan, Patterson, Perea, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon,
Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Skinner, Stone, Ting, Wagner,
Waldron, Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk, Williams, Yamada, John A.
Pérez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Eggman, Gorell, Gray, Hall, Mansoor, V.
Manuel Pérez, Vacancy
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AL:k 8/6/14 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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