BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    






                           SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE
                        Senator Ellen M. Corbett, Chair
                           2007-2008 Regular Session


          AB 1168                                                A
          Assemblymember Jones                                   B
          As Amended July 2, 2007
          Hearing Date: July 10, 2007                            1
          Civil Code; Commercial Code;                           1
          Education Code; Government Code                        6
          SIK/ADM                                                8
                                                                 

                                     SUBJECT
                                         
                            Social Security numbers

                                   DESCRIPTION  

          This bill would impose a number of restrictions on the use  
          of Social Security numbers in public records. With the  
          proposed author's amendments, this bill would require all  
          local agencies, except county recorders, to redact a social  
          security number from any record filed with the agency on or  
          after July 1, 2008 
          before disclosing it to the public. This bill would also  
          require these local agencies to redact a social security  
          number from a document presented for filing or recording on  
          or after July 1, 2008.  This bill would require county  
          recorders to create a dual records system made up of  
          "official records" which contain a social security number  
          but are exempt from disclosure under the Public Records Act  
          (except pursuant to a subpoena or court order) and "public  
          records" which are an exact copy of the official record,  
          but the social security number is truncated so that only  
          the last four digits are displayed. The bill would allow a  
          recorder, if approved by its county board of supervisors,  
          to charge up to $1 for recording a document to pay for the  
          system.

          This bill would require the Secretary of State to truncate  
          a social security number before disclosing a record to the  
          public. The bill would also allow the Secretary of State to  
          reject a filing pursuant to the Uniform Commercial Code  
                                                                 
          (more)



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          (UCC) that contains a social security number, and it would  
          amend UCC forms to delete the line for a social security  
          number. This bill would require the Franchise Tax Board to  
          truncate Social Security numbers on lien abstracts and  
          other records before disclosing them to the public.

          This bill would also require the Office of Privacy  
          Protection to create a task force to review the use of  
          Social Security numbers by colleges and universities and  
          report back to the Legislature by July 1, 2009, on  
          recommendations to minimize the collection, use, and  
          retention of Social Security numbers. 

          (This analysis reflects author's amendments to be offered  
          in committee)

                                    BACKGROUND  

          Social Security numbers were originally created to track  
          workers' earnings and eligibility for social security  
          programs, but in recent years the numbers have been used  
          for purposes entirely unrelated to the social security  
          system. In fact, the number is used widely as a unique  
          identifier by both the public and the private sector and  
          has been called the "most frequently used recordkeeping  
          number in the United States." 

          Social Security numbers are often used to verify identity,  
          and, in the wrong hands, can be used by an identity thief  
          to fraudulently open credit card or utility accounts,  
          access financial accounts, or obtain loans, among other  
          things. In addition to a name and date of birth, a social  
          security number is one of the three pieces of information  
          most sought by identity thieves, making its easy  
          availability, particularly in public records, of special  
          concern. This bill would reduce the use of Social Security  
          numbers in public records.

          Recent security breaches at colleges and universities have  
          highlighted the vulnerability of the personal information  
          collected and maintained by these entities. A chronology of  
          data breaches maintained by the Privacy Rights  
          Clearinghouse indicates that many breaches occur at  
          institutions of higher learning. For example, in 2006,  
          hackers gained access to a University of California, Los  
                                                                       




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          Angeles database which contained the personal information  
          of current and former students, faculty, staff, and student  
          applicants. It was reported that 800,000 records, which  
          contained names, Social Security numbers, birth dates, and  
          home addresses, were breached. This bill would require the  
          Office of Privacy Protection to convene a task force to  
          review colleges and universities' use of Social Security  
          numbers and develop recommendations.

                             CHANGES TO EXISTING LAW
           
           1.Existing law  places various restrictions on the use of  
            Social Security numbers including prohibiting the public  
            posting or display of an individual's social security  
            number.  These restrictions do not apply to documents  
            required to be open to the public.  (Civil Code Section  
            1798.85.)

             Existing law  , the California Public Records Act, provides  
            that public records of state and local agencies are open  
            to inspection, unless exempt. (Government Code Section  
            6250 et seq.) 

             Existing law  , the Information Practices Act, imposes  
            limitations on the collection and disclosure of personal  
            information, including Social Security numbers, by state  
            agencies; local agencies are specifically exempted.   
            (Civil Code Section 1798.3.)

             Existing law  expressly requires the collection of a  
            Social Security number in certain instances, including in  
            an abstract of judgment requiring the payment of money  
            (Code of Civil Procedure Section 674); an abstract of  
            judgment ordering a party to pay spousal or child support  
            (Family Code Section 4506); and a tax lien.  (Revenue and  
            Taxation Code Section 2191.3.)

             Existing law  prohibits employers, beginning January 1,  
            2008, from using more than the last four digits of an  
            employee's Social Security number when providing  
            employees with an itemized statement of earnings.  (Labor  
            Code Section 226(a).)

             Existing federal law  , the Fair Credit Reporting Act,  
            requires a credit reporting agency to truncate a  
                                                                       




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            consumer's Social Security number in his or her credit  
            report, upon the consumer's request.  (Fair Credit  
            Reporting Act, Section 609(a)(1)(A), 15 U.S.C. 1681g.)

             This bill  , with the proposed author's amendments, would  
            require a local agency, before disclosing a record to the  
            public, to redact a Social Security number from any  
            record filed with the agency on or after July 1, 2008,  
            that is required to be open to the public.   This bill   
            would also require a local agency, beginning July 1,  
            2008, to redact a Social Security number from a document  
            presented for filing or recording on or after July 1,  
            2008.   This bill  would further specify that these  
            provisions do not apply to county recorders (they are  
            required to instead establish a dual records system as  
            described below). The redaction requirements also do not  
            apply to the disclosure of death records.
             
            This bill  would provide that no person, entity, or  
            government agency may present for recording or filing  
            with a local agency a document containing more than the  
            last four digits of a Social Security number if the  
            document is required by law to be open to the public.

             This bill  would require county recorders to establish a  
            Social Security number truncation program creating a dual  
            records system made up of: (1) "official records" which  
            contain a Social Security number but are exempt from the  
            Public Records Act and so not available to the public  
            (except pursuant to a subpoena or court order); and (2)  
            "public records" which are an exact copy of the official  
            record, but the Social Security number is truncated so  
            that only the last four digits are displayed.   This bill   
            would provide that a public record shall have the same  
            legal force and effect as the official record. 
             This bill  would specify a procedure for county recorders  
            to follow to implement the Social Security number  
            truncation program, providing that all official records  
            recorded between January 1, 1962 (the date when the  
            Social Security number began to be used for a purpose  
            unrelated to the social security system) and December 31,  
            2008, must be truncated in descending chronological order  
            with any records currently existing in electronic format  
            truncated first.   This bill  would further require a  
            county recorder to create an electronic copy of any  
                                                                       




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            official record recorded after January 1, 2009, and  
            truncate any Social Security number contained in that  
            electronic copy. 

             This bill  would provide that, when a public record  
            version of an official record exists, a county recorder  
            may only make available the public record version in  
            response to any request for inspection, copying, or other  
            disclosure; an official record may be disclosed only in  
            response to a subpoena or court order.   This bill  would  
            exempt an official record from disclosure under the  
            Public Records Act if a public record version of that  
            record is available.

             This bill  would provide that a county recorder shall be  
            deemed to be in compliance if he or she uses due  
            diligence to locate and truncate Social Security numbers  
            in official records while applying industry best  
            practices.  This bill  would further specify that a county  
            recorder shall not be liable for failure to truncate a  
            Social Security number.

             This bill  would permit a county recorder, if approved by  
            the county board of supervisors, to charge an additional  
            fee of up to $1 for recording a document. The funds  
            generated may only be used for implementation of the  
            Social Security number truncation program required by the  
            bill. 

             This bill  would require the County Recorders Association  
            of California to report to the Senate and Assembly  
            Judiciary Committees and the Office of Privacy Protection  
            by January 1, 2009, and annually thereafter, on  
            implementation of the bill's requirements concerning  
            Social Security number truncation.   This bill  would  
            provide that the annual report is no longer required once  
            the Office of Privacy Protection determines that all  
            counties have complied with these requirements.

           1.Existing law  establishes the Franchise Tax Board to  
            administer the Personal Income Tax Law and the  
            Corporation Tax Law.  (Government Code Section 15700 et  
            seq.)

             This bill  would require the Franchise Tax Board, unless  
                                                                       




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            prohibited by federal law, to truncate Social Security  
            numbers on lien abstracts and other public records before  
            disclosing these documents to the public.

           3.   Existing law  contains requirements concerning the  
            perfection of a security interest under the UCC and  
            specifies that the office in which to file a financing  
            statement to perfect the interest is either the Secretary  
            of State's office or another office, as specified.   
            (Commercial Code Section 9501.)

             This bill  would permit the Secretary of State to reject  
            UCC filings that contain a Social Security number.

         4.  Existing law requires the University of California, the  
            California State University system, and the California  
            community college districts to comply with restrictions  
            that prohibit the public posting or display of Social  
            Security numbers.  These requirements also prohibit: (a)  
            printing an individual's Social Security number on a card  
            that he or she must use to access products or services;  
            (b) requiring an individual to transmit his or her Social  
            Security number over the Internet unless the connection  
            is secure or the Social Security number is encrypted; (c)  
            requiring an individual to use his or her Social Security  
            number to access a Web site unless a password is also  
            required; and (d) printing an individual's Social  
            Security number on any materials mailed to him or her  
            unless required by state or federal law.  (Civil Code  
            Section 1798.85(a).)

             Existing law  permits the use of a Social Security number  
            for internal verification or administrative purposes.   
            (Civil Code Section 1798.85(b).)

             This bill  would require the Office of Privacy Protection  
            to create a task force to review the use of Social  
            Security numbers by colleges and universities and report  
            back to the Legislature by July 1, 2009, on  
            recommendations to minimize the collection, use, storage,  
            and retention of Social Security numbers by colleges and  
            universities.
          
                                     COMMENT
           
                                                                       




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           1.Stated need for the bill  

            The author writes in support of the bill's restrictions  
            on the use of Social Security numbers in public records:

               California privacy laws require businesses to  
               safeguard sensitive consumer information that can be  
               used to commit identity theft, including Social  
               Security numbers. But government agencies routinely  
               release Social Security numbers to the general public  
               with virtually no limitation on who can purchase the  
               numbers or how the numbers can be used.  . . .  
               Truncated Social Security numbers displaying only the  
               last four digits cannot be used by fraudsters to open  
               new credit card accounts, which studies show is the  
               most common form of identity theft in California. 

               How does the release of Social Security numbers in  
               public records lead to ID theft? A major concern of  
               privacy advocates is the mass collection and storage  
               of public records from local government offices by  
               private data base companies that sell access to the  
               records over the Internet.  These data brokers  
               purchase compact disks full of public records from  
               county recorders' offices, for example.   . . . When a  
               data broker's own security standards are inadequate  
               (e.g., they fail to adequately screen their customers  
               to ensure they have legitimate business purposes for  
               the records), fraudsters and ID thieves gain access to  
               millions of public records.

            This bill would also create a task force addressing the  
            use of Social Security numbers by colleges and  
            universities. The author writes:

               [California] law has shined a light on numerous data  
               breaches at colleges and universities, including a  
               breach at UCLA announced December 2006 in which  
               hackers gained access to the sensitive personal data,  
               including the Social Security numbers, of 800,000  
               students, alumni, applicants, employees, and parents.  
               These breaches at institutions of higher education  
               raise a fundamental question: for what purposes do  
               universities collect Social Security numbers, and why  
               do they store them in Internet-accessible format for  
                                                                       




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               as long as they do? 

           2.Existing California law does not sufficiently restrict  
            the use of Social Security numbers in public records  
            maintained by local agencies  

            While California's Information Practices Act imposes  
            limitations on the collection and disclosure of personal  
            information, including Social Security numbers, the law  
            applies only to state agencies; local agencies are  
            specifically exempted.  Also, existing prohibitions on  
            the public posting or display of Social Security numbers  
            do not apply to documents required to be open to the  
            public.  Under the California Public Records Act, state  
            and local agencies must make public records available for  
            inspection unless they are expressly exempt from  
            disclosure. 

           3.Trend is toward truncation of Social Security numbers,  
            but different truncation methods may still permit the  
            reconstruction of full Social Security numbers  

            In recent years, both state and federal agencies have  
            taken steps to truncate the Social Security numbers  
            contained in their public records, displaying only the  
            last four digits. For example, the General Accounting  
            Office (GAO) reported in a June 2007 report that both the  
            Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Department of  
            Justice (DOJ)-which provide property lien notices  
            containing Social Security numbers to state and local  
            record keepers-have taken steps to truncate or remove  
            Social Security numbers in those records. According to  
            the author, the Franchise Tax Board recently began  
            truncating Social Security numbers on tax liens and the  
            Secretary of State has begun eliminating or truncating  
            Social Security numbers on public filings it receives  
            from banks.

            There is no standard truncation method, however, and the  
            GAO reported that its studies have shown that some  
            entities in the private sector use a different method of  
            truncation.  For example, information resellers, or data  
            brokers, sometimes use truncated Social Security numbers  
            which display the first five digits and mask the last  
            four. As a result, the GAO notes, it is possible to  
                                                                       




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            combine an individual's truncated social security number  
            from an IRS or DOJ-generated lien notice with a truncated  
            social security number from an information reseller in  
            order to reconstruct an individual's full social security  
            number.  In its report, the GAO indicated that it tested  
            this method and "found that it can potentially be used by  
            identity thieves to reconstruct full SSNs." 

            While the GAO's report noted that truncation does not  
            provide complete protection against identity theft, it  
            concluded that its analysis still suggests that  
            truncation provides better protection than records that  
            display full Social Security numbers.  Although  
            truncation may not be foolproof, it would appear to at  
            least make it more difficult for thieves to commit  
            identity theft by reducing the availability of full  
            nine-digit Social Security numbers in public records.   
            This bill would require county recorders and the  
            Franchise Tax Board to truncate Social Security numbers  
            in public records, concealing all but the last four  
            digits.  It would also go a step further and require  
            local agencies to redact full Social Security numbers  
            from public records filed on or after July 1, 2008 (the  
            bill's requirements concerning redaction or truncation of  
            Social Security numbers would not apply to court  
            records).

           4.Truncation of Social Security numbers in county  
            recorders' records will reduce the amount of information  
            that may be the source of identity theft  

            The public records of county recorders often contain  
            Social Security numbers, including deeds, deeds of trust,  
            judgments, and liens.  Many public records are  
            increasingly becoming available electronically and even  
            online. Because many records are now kept electronically,  
            in some cases they are available for sale in bulk,  
            according to the author.  And, the information contained  
            in them has become part of the databases maintained and  
            mined by data brokers- companies which compile  
            significant amounts of personal information about  
            individual consumers, often from public records.

            At the same time, information obtained from public  
            records is often used for legitimate business and  
                                                                       




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            government uses.  For example, Social Security numbers in  
            public records can be used to detect crime and fraud or  
            locate missing children.  Title companies use public  
            records to perform a title search on a piece of property  
            and determine whether it is subject to a tax lien.

            This bill attempts to balance these legitimate needs for  
            information to verify an individual's identity with the  
            need to provide additional protection against identity  
            theft by reducing the amount of sensitive personal  
            information-namely Social Security numbers-in county  
            recorders' records. The bill would still permit the  
            inclusion of the last four digits of a social security  
            number in county recorders' public records thus allowing  
            the verification of an individual's identity. 

           5.Committee suggested amendments  

              a)   Protection for county recorders  

               This bill would deem a county recorder to be in  
               compliance with its truncation requirements if the  
               recorder uses due diligence in locating and truncating  
               Social Security numbers and applies "industry best  
               practices." The bill does not define industry best  
               practices, however.  Furthermore, the bill would  
               provide that a county recorder is not liable for  
               failure to truncate a Social Security number, but does  
               not require the recorder to comply with any particular  
               standard.  In order to address these concerns, the  
               bill should be amended as follows:  

               On page 20, line 31, revise Section 27302 to read:

               A county recorder shall be deemed to be in compliance  
               with the requirements of Section 27301 and shall not  
               be liable for failure to truncate a Social Security  
               number if he or she uses due diligence to locate  and  
               truncate  Social Security numbers in official records  
                while applying industry best practices  and truncate  
               Social Security numbers in the public record version  
               of those official records.  A county recorder shall not  
               be liable for failure to truncate a social security  
                    number.   The use of an automated program with a high  
               rate of accuracy shall be deemed to be due diligence.
                                                                       




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              b)   Clarifying amendment needed to help reduce the  
               amount of Social Security numbers in records of local  
               agencies and county recorders
           
               This bill would prohibit any person, entity, or  
               government agency from presenting a document for  
               recording or filing that contains more than the last  
               four digits of the Social Security number.  Because  
               local agencies will be required to redact entire  
               Social Security numbers from records filed on or after  
               July 1, 2008, this section should be revised to  
               prohibit a document that contains the entire Social  
               Security number from being presented for recording or  
               filing.  This will help reduce the instances when a  
               Social Security number is included in documents filed  
               with a local agency, thereby helping them to meet the  
               redaction requirement.  This change should be made on  
               page 5, beginning on line 7:

               1798.89.  (a) Unless otherwise required to do so by  
               state or federal law, no person, entity, or government  
               agency shall present for recording and filing with a  
               local agency, as defined in subdivision (a) of Section  
               6252 of the Government Code, a document that is  
               required by any provision of law to be open to the  
               public if that record displays a social security  
               number  that includes more than the last four digits of  
               that number  . This subdivision shall not apply to a  
               county recorder.

               (b) Unless otherwise required to do so by state or  
               federal law, no person, entity, or government agency  
               shall present for recording and filing with a county  
               recorder a document that is required by any provision  
               of law to be open to the public if that record  
               displays a social security number that includes more  
               than the last four digits of that number. 

               SHOULD THE BILL BE AMENDED TO HELP TO REDUCE THE  
               AMOUNT OF SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS APPEARING IN PUBLIC  
               RECORDS?

           1.Opposition arguments and responses thereto  

                                                                       




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            Opponents argue that the bill does not ensure that county  
            recorder records will be available before the truncation  
            process is completed.  They worry that county recorders  
            will cut off access to all records in the meantime.  The  
            author responds that he has been working closely with the  
            County Recorders Association of California, which  
            supports the measure, to ensure that the bill is workable  
            and does not result in logistical problems which would  
            delay transactions for customers such as title insurers  
            or realtors. 

            Furthermore, under the bill, an official record of a  
            county recorder is only exempt from disclosure under the  
            Public Records Act if a public version of that record is  
            available.  As a result, if a public version of an  
            official record had not yet been created at the time of  
            the request, the county recorder could release the  
            official record. 

            Opponents also raise concerns about the legal effect of  
            the public version of an official record, stating that  
            the lender, homebuyer, or title company should be  
            protected.  The most recent amendments to the bill should  
            address this concern as they expressly provide that the  
            public record "shall have the same legal force and effect  
            as the official record."
            Opponent Experian, a consumer credit reporting agency,  
            raises concerns that a truncated Social Security number  
            will not sufficiently match a public record about an  
            individual, such as a lien or judgment, to the correct  
            credit file, potentially resulting in a lender extending  
            a loan to an individual who is more likely to default.   
            The author responds that "credit reporting agencies are  
            already operating in a world where truncation and  
            redaction of SSNs on public records is happening" as  
            several federal and state agencies already truncate the  
            numbers.  In addition, Florida counties have begun  
            redacting Social Security numbers in many public records,  
            including tax liens and abstracts of judgment, according  
            to the author.  The author also notes that Nevada  
            recently passed a law requiring the removal of Social  
            Security numbers from public records.

            Other opponents object to the bill's provision allowing a  
            county recorder, if approved by its board of supervisors,  
                                                                       




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            to impose a $1 fee to help cover the costs of the Social  
            Security number truncation program, arguing that it is a  
            tax, not a fee, and therefore requires a two-thirds vote  
            of the Legislature.  The author responds first that  
            Legislative Counsel does not consider the bill to raise a  
            state tax and therefore has identified it as requiring a  
            majority vote, not a two-thirds vote. The author also  
            points out that filers paying the fee benefit from the  
            conversion of documents to electronic format.

            The California Association of Realtors has an oppose  
            unless amended position on this bill, arguing that there  
            should be a sunset on the fee, not to exceed 10 years,  
            and the bill should include codified legislative intent  
            language requiring the masking of other information such  
            as unconstitutional restrictive covenants.

           2.Author's amendments  

              a)   Amendment to address concern that bill's redaction  
               requirement is overly burdensome  

               The California State Association of Counties and the  
               Regional Council of Rural Counties have an oppose  
               unless amended position on this bill. These  
               organizations assert that the bill's requirement that  
               local agencies redact Social Security numbers from  
               records disclosed to the public is overly burdensome  
               because "there could be millions-if not tens of  
               millions-of documents that exist in county offices  
               pertaining to contracts, applications, and other  
               identifying documents that contain Social Security  
               numbers."  In order to address this concern, author's  
               amendments would amend the redaction requirement to  
               apply it only to documents recorded or filed with a  
               local agency on or after July 1, 2008.  The amendments  
               would also require a local agency to begin the process  
               of redaction when they receive documents for filing or  
               recording on or after July 1, 2008. The amendments  
               would amend the bill on page 4, line 3 to read:

               SECTION 1.  Section 1798.88 is added to the Civil  
               Code, to read:
                  1798.88.  (a) Notwithstanding subdivision (c) of  
               Section 1798.85 or any other provision of law, unless  
                                                                       




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               required by federal law, a local agency, as defined in  
               subdivision (a) of Section 6252 of the Government  
               Code, before disclosing to the public any record that  
               is required to be open to the public by any provision  
               of law, shall redact all the digits of any social  
               security number on the record.  This subdivision shall  
               apply only to documents recorded or filed with a local  
               agency on or after July 1, 2008. 

               (b) Beginning July 1, 2008, a local agency, as defined  
               in subdivision (a) of Section 6252 of the Government  
               Code, shall redact any social security number  
               contained in a document presented for filing or  
               recording on or after July 1, 2008, unless the social  
               security number is required by state or federal law.

                (b)  (c) Notwithstanding subdivisions (a) and (b), the  
               provisions of this section shall not apply to either  
               of the following: 
               (1) A county recorder.
               (2) The disclosure of death records pursuant to  
               Section 103525 of the Health and Safety Code.

              b)   Amendments to address concerns raised by the  
               University of California regarding study by the Office  
               of Privacy Protection  

               The University of California has raised concerns about  
               the bill's provisions requiring that the study by the  
               Office of Privacy Protection include a list of "all  
               existing uses of Social Security numbers at colleges  
               and universities." They worry that, in order to come  
               up with such a list, they will have to audit every  
               instance when a social security number is used,  
               raising cost concerns. In response, the author  
               proposes to amend the bill on page 19, line 9 to read:

               (2) The final report shall also include a list of  all  
               existing use of Social Security numbers at colleges  
               and universities.  the existing uses of Social Security  
               numbers common among colleges and universities for  
               routine operations and compliance with state and  
               federal laws.  
           
           1.Technical and clarifying amendments needed  
                                                                       




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            The author has agreed to the following technical and  
            clarifying amendments:

             1)   On page 18, line 30, after "students," insert  
               "applicants,"

             2)   On page 20, line 21, after "the" insert "copied" 
             3)   On page 20, line 21, delete "The" and insert "In  
               order to create a public record copy, the" 

             4)   On page 20, beginning on line 37, revise Section  
               27302(b) to read: (b) In the event that a county  
               recorder fails to truncate a social security number  
               contained in a public record, any  Any  person may  
               request that  a  the county recorder truncate  his or her   
               the Social Security number contained in  a public  the  
               record.

             5)   On page 21, delete line 9 and on line 10 delete  
               "otherwise publicly disclose" and insert "Upon a  
               request for inspection, copying, or any other public  
               disclosure of"

             6)   Add Legislative findings justifying the need for  
               the bill's limitations on the right of public access  
               to government records pursuant to Proposition 59:

                 The Legislature finds and declares that Section 8 of  
                 this act, which adds Section 6254.27 to the  
                 Government Code, imposes a limitation on the  
                 public's right of access to the meetings of public  
                 bodies or the writings of public officials and  
                 agencies within the meaning of Section 3 of Article  
                 I of the California Constitution.  Pursuant to that  
                 constitutional provision, the Legislature makes the  
                 following findings to demonstrate the interest  
                 protected by this limitation and the need for  
                 protecting that interest:

                 In order to protect against the risk of identity  
                 theft when government documents maintained by county  
                 recorders contain Social Security numbers, it is  
                 necessary to enact provisions which ensure the  
                 confidentiality of Social Security numbers while  
                                                                       




          AB 1168 (Jones)
          Page 16 of ?



                 upholding the public's right of access to  
                 information concerning the conduct of the people's  
                 business. 


          Support:  AARP; American Civil Liberties Union; American  
          Federation of State,
                 County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME); California  
                 Teachers Association; Community College League of  
                 California; Consumer Federation of California;  
                 County Recorders Association of California;  
                 Consumers Union; Crime Victims United; Golden State  
                 Manufactured-Home Owners League (GSMOL); Gray  
                 Panthers; Los Angeles County District Attorney's  
                 Office; Los Rios Community College District;  
                 Secretary of State Debra Bowen; University of  
                 California Student Association

          Opposition:   California Association of Realtors (unless  
          amended); California
                    Land Title Association; California State  
                    Association of Counties (unless amended); Howard  
                    Jarvis Taxpayers Association; Experian (unless  
                    amended); Regional Council of Rural Counties  
                    (unless amended); Stop Hidden Taxes Coalition

                                     HISTORY
           
          Source:  Privacy Rights Clearinghouse

          Related Pending Legislation:   SB 904 (Battin) would  
          require a county recorder to
                                alter the noncertified copy of a  
                                military service record to mask the  
                                service member's address, date of  
                                birth, Social Security number, and  
                                service identification number.  (This  
                                bill was approved by the Assembly  
                                Judiciary Committee and has been  
                                referred to the Assembly Veterans  
                                Affairs Committee.)

                                SB 741 (Ackerman) would encourage  
                                school districts, from January 1,  
                                2008 to June 30, 2008 to omit a  
                                                                       




          AB 1168 (Jones)
          Page 17 of ?



                                pupil's Social Security number and  
                                birthdate from any materials mailed  
                                to the pupil's residence.  Beginning  
                                July 1, 2008, the bill would prohibit  
                                school districts from including this  
                                information in materials mailed to  
                                the pupil.  (This bill has been  
                                double-referred to the Assembly  
                                Education and Judiciary Committees.)

                                SB 644 (Correa) would delete the  
                                requirement that abstracts of  
                                judgment requiring the payment of  
                                money contain the judgment debtor's  
                                full Social Security number and would  
                                instead require only the last four  
                                digits of the number.  The bill would  
                                also provide that tax lien filings  
                                may only contain the last four digits  
                                of the assessee's Social Security  
                                number.  (This bill has been referred  
                                to the Assembly Judiciary Committee.)

                                SB 216 (Cox) would delete the  
                                requirement that abstracts of  
                                judgment requiring the payment of  
                                money or ordering a party to pay  
                                spousal, child, or family support  
                                include a full Social Security number  
                                and instead would require only the  
                                last four digits of the Social  
                                Security number.  (This bill has been  
                                referred to this committee; the  
                                hearing was canceled at the request  
                                of the author.)

                                SB 182 (Dutton) would make technical,  
                                nonsubstantive changes to existing  
                                law's requirement that a driver's  
                                license application contain the  
                                applicant's Social Security number.  
                                (This bill was referred to the Rules  
                                Committee.)

                                AB 703 (Ruskin) would prohibit a  
                                                                       




          AB 1168 (Jones)
          Page 18 of ?



                                person or entity from using a Social  
                                Security number as an identifier,  
                                except as required by federal or  
                                state law. The bill would also  
                                require that records containing  
                                Social Security numbers be discarded  
                                or destroyed in a specified manner,  
                                and would require the encryption or  
                                locked storage of records containing  
                                Social Security numbers. (This bill  
                                has been double-referred to the  
                                Assembly Judiciary and Banking and  
                                Finance Committees.)

          Prior Legislation:  None Known

          Prior Vote:   Assembly Judiciary Committee (Ayes 10, Noes  
          0)
                   Assembly Higher Education Committee (Ayes 6, Noes  
                   0)
                   Assembly Appropriations Committee (Ayes 12, Noes  
                   0)
                   Assembly Floor (Ayes 75, Noes 0)

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