BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1595
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Date of Hearing: April 12, 2005
Counsel: Steven Meinrath
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Mark Leno, Chair
AB 1595 (Evans) - As Introduced: February 22, 2005
SUMMARY : Prohibits any person, business, or association from
selling or trading for value 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.
EXISTING LAW :
1)No state or local agency shall post the home address or
telephone number of any elected or appointed official on the
Internet without first obtaining the written permission of
that individual. [Government Code Section 6254.21(a).]
2)No person shall knowingly post 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. A violation of this subdivision is a misdemeanor.
A violation of this subdivision that leads to the bodily
injury of the official, or his or her residing spouse or
child, is an alternate felony/misdemeanor. [Government Code
Section 6254.21(b).]
3)Provides that any person who, with apparent ability and
intention to carry out the threat, threatens to kill or cause
serious bodily injury to any elected official, county public
defender, county clerk, exempt Governor's appointee, judge,
deputy commissioner of the Board of Prison Terms, or the staff
or a family member of such officials, is guilty of an
alternate felony/misdemeanor. [Penal Code Section 76(a).]
4)Requires public records to be open to inspection at all times
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during the office hours of a state or local agency and affords
every person the right to inspect any public record, except as
specifically provided. (Government Code Section 6253.)
5)Defines "public record" to include any writing containing
information relating to the conduct of the public's business
prepared, owned, used, or retained by any state or local
agency regardless of physical form or characteristics.
[Government Code Section 6252(e).]
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Author's Statement : According to the author, "Californians
deserve having the finest individuals serve in government and
as public safety officers. Those who serve their fellow
citizens should be able to work with the confidence that they
and their families are not vulnerable to attacks at home
because of their occupations."
"Any person with access to the Internet can find the home
addresses of police officers, prosecutors, public defenders,
judges and other public safety officials with the push of a
button. To help keep this information from the hands of
criminals or aggrieved individuals seeking revenge, this bill
would help government and public safety officials keep their
personal home addresses and phone numbers private."
2)Need for the Bill : Several Web sites offer name and address
information quite legitimately as essentially a virtual
phonebook. However, some Web sites specialize in providing
the names and home addresses of public officials, including
those of judges, police officers, prosecutors and public
officeholders of all types. One such site, which is no longer
in operation, recently posted an offer of $3,500 for the home
address of a specific police officer in Los Angeles or $1,000
for any recent picture of the officer. The following
statement was also posted on the same Web site, "Do you know
you have the right to legally kill a cop or anyone else for
that matter?" Because personal information regarding public
officials is so readily available, potential threats to those
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officials are much more serious today than ever before.
3)Consistency with Existing Policy : Under existing law, all
state or local public agencies are prohibited from releasing
the home address and telephone number of any elected or
appointed public official on the Internet without first
obtaining the official's permission in writing. [Penal Code
Section 6254.21(a).] This bill would, in addition, prohibit
private parties from selling or trading this same information
for value on the Internet where the elected or appointed
official has made a written demand of that person or entity
not to disclose this information.
As the Internet has created greater opportunities for the
widespread dissemination of personal information, the
Legislature has placed various limitations on the collection
and use of such information. One such recently enacted
measure, the California's Consumer Credit Reporting Agencies
Act, creates a process similar to that proposed in this bill.
[Civil Code Sections 1785.1 to 1785.36.] This Act allows a
consumer, by making a request in writing by certified mail to
a consumer credit reporting agency, to place a "security
freeze" on the release of his or her personal information that
prohibits the credit reporting agency from releasing the
consumer's credit report or any information from that credit
report without the express authorization of the consumer.
[Civil Code Section 1785.11.2.] The provisions of this bill
are similar in allowing elected or appointed officials place a
"security freeze" on their personal information to prevent its
dissemination for commercial purposes. The Legislature's
purpose in enacting the Consumer Credit Reporting Agencies Act
was to allow consumers to protect his or her personal
information to prevent identity theft or other forms of fraud.
Protecting the personal safety of public officials by
allowing them to restrict private entities from disseminating
their personal information for commercial purposes is of even
greater importance.
4)Argument in Support : According to Judicial Council of
California, "Increased ability to access home address
information poses a threat to judges and other public safety
officials and their families. An independent judiciary
depends on a judge being able to make decisions free from fear
of retribution. This bill would provide public safety
officials with an important tool to assist in protecting their
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family's privacy and safety."
5)Argument in Opposition : The California Association of
Realtors states, "The documents held by the county recorders
and assessors are not private information - on the contrary
they are specifically intended to 'give notice to the world'
of property ownership. Without the ready ability to search
the public record for liens and encumbrances, our current
system of financing real property and transferring title
cannot function."
6)Related Legislation : AB 1035 (Spitzer) prohibits any state or
local agency from hosting or providing service to an Internet
Web site that posts an official's home address or telephone
number. AB 1035 makes it punishable as a misdemeanor to
knowingly host or provide servicing to an Internet Web site
that posts the home address or telephone number of any elected
or appointed official, or of the official's residing spouse or
child knowing that person is an elected or appointed official,
and intending to cause imminent great bodily harm likely to
occur or threatening to cause imminent great bodily harm to
that individual. AB 1035 provides that an official whose home
address or telephone number is disclosed as a result of a
violation of these provisions may recover actual and punitive
damages up to $10,000.
AB 1035 is pending hearing by the Assembly Judiciary Committee.
REGISTERED SUPPORT/OPPOSITION :
Support
California Association of Highway Patrolmen
California District Attorneys Association
California Public Defenders Association
Judicial Council of California
Los Angeles County Police Chiefs Association
Peace Officers Research Association of California
San Bernardino Sheriff's Department
Opposition
California Association of Realtors
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Analysis Prepared by : Steven Meinrath / PUB. S. / (916)
319-3744