BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1813
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 6, 2010
Counsel: Kimberly A. Horiuchi
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Tom Ammiano, Chair
AB 1813 (Lieu) - As Amended: March 22, 2010
As Proposed to be Amended in Committee
SUMMARY : Expands the definition of "public safety official" to
include any peace officer or public officer, as specified in
provisions of law related to removal of an official's home
address or telephone number from public display on the Internet
within 48 hours of the request and includes information provided
to cellular telephone applications.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires that 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)Prohibits any person 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 a misdemeanor or a felony. [Government
Code Section 6254.21(b).]
3)States that no person, business, or association shall publicly
post or publicly display 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. [Government Code Section 6254.21(c)(1)(A).]
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4)Prohibits any person, business, or association from
soliciting, selling, or trading on the Internet the home
address or telephone number of an elected or appointed
official with the intent to cause imminent great bodily harm
to the official or to any person residing at the official's
home address. [Government Code Section 6254.21(d)(1).]
5)Defines "elected or appointed official" to include, but is not
limited to, all of the following:
a) State constitutional officers;
b) Members of the Legislature;
c) Judges and court commissioners;
d) District attorneys;
e) Public defenders;
f) Members of a city council;
g) Members of a board of supervisors;
h) Appointees of the Governor;
i) Appointees of the Legislature;
j) Mayors;
aa) City attorneys;
bb) Police chiefs and sheriffs;
cc) A public safety official, as defined;
dd) State administrative law judges;
ee) Federal judges and federal defenders; and,
ff) Members of the United States Congress and appointees of
the President. [Government Code Section 6254.21(1) to
(16).]
6)States nothing in this section is intended to preclude
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punishment instead under provisions of the Penal Code of or
any other provision of law. [Government Code Section
6254.21(g).]
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Author's Statement : According to the author, "In the past two
years, Los Angeles law enforcement officers were killed at
their homes. These tragic deaths continue to serve as a
reminder of how vulnerable our public safety officials are,
even while off-duty at their homes. Current law allows public
safety officials to opt-out of having their personal
information on the Internet; however, with the expansion of
smart cellular phones (iphone, blackberry, droid, etc.) and
their applications the personal information still remains
available. AB 1813 is designed to include smart cellular
phone applications to the existing opt-out provisions under
the Public Safety Officials Home Protection Act.
Additionally, this bill will include more peace officers to
the definition of public safety officials for the existing
opt-out provisions. This bill will help ensure the safety and
wellbeing of more public safety officials and their families."
2)Background : According to information provided by the author,
"California Government Code section 6254.21 provides for
privacy of home addresses and telephone numbers on the
Internet for public safety officials. Specifically, this
section provides that no public agency shall post the private
information of a public safety official on the Internet
without the written consent of that individual. The section
also prescribes that a public safety official may opt-out of
having their private information posted on any
non-governmental Internet website for a period of four years.
"Under AB 32 (Lieu - Chapter 403, Statutes of 2009), the data
vendor now has a duty to maintain a suppression list,
cross-reference new information against the list, prohibit any
transfers of that information to another website, and a $1,000
civil penalty will be imposed for violating a court order for
failure to remove the reposted information.
"Unfortunately, with the expansion of smart cellular phones
(iphone, blackberry, droid, etc) and their applications, the
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opted-out information still remains available on these phones
because data vendors can purchase public information from a
variety of sources including the county recorder's office,
county assessor's office and school alumni lists. The concern
is that when data vendors purchase the public information from
a different source, the public safety official's home address
and telephone number is posted once again, but now on cell
phone applications. AB 1813 seeks to include smart cellular
phone applications to the existing opt-out provisions for
public safety official under Government Code section 6254.21.
"Current law also provides for privacy of home addresses and
telephone numbers on the Internet for public safety officials
as defined in Government Code section 6254.24. Under that
section, the opt-out provisions are limited to the following
members of law enforcement who are: active or retired peace
officers; specified employees of the Department of Corrections
and Rehabilitation and county jails who supervise inmates; and
an employee conducting investigations for local law
enforcement or the Department of Justice.
"AB 1813 expands the definition of public safety official to
include those active or retired peace officers as defined in
California Penal Code section 830.2 to 830.7. Specifically,
this expansion includes a few of the following: University of
California, California State University and Community College
police officers; Department of Fish and Game, Department of
Parks and Recreation Directors; Alcohol Beverage Control
investigators; investigators for Department of Motor Vehicle
and Department of Consumer Affairs; State Fire Marshal and
deputies; public transportation police officers; court
bailiffs, and probation and parole officers.
"California has long recognized that public safety officials, by
virtue of their role in the justice system, require additional
privacy protection from potential risks. The expansion of
public safety official will only protect more law enforcement
officers who put their lives on the line everyday to keep the
public safe."
3)Public Information and Privacy : According to Modern Studies
in Privacy Law: Notice, Autonomy and Enforcement of Data
Privacy Legislation: Access and Aggregation: Public Records,
Privacy and the Constitution, "For a long time, public records
have been accessible only in the various localities in which
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they were kept. A person or entity desiring to find out about
the value of an individual's home would have to travel to the
town or county where the property was located and search
through the records at the local courthouse. Depending upon
local practice, the seeker of a record might be able to obtain
a copy through the mail. Court records, such as bankruptcy
records, would typically be obtained by visiting a courthouse
or engaging in a lengthy correspondence with the clerk's
office. The seeker of a record could not obtain records en
masse; records could only be obtained for specific
individuals.
"This reality, however, is rapidly changing. As records are
increasingly computerized, entire record systems rather than
individual records can be easily searched, copied, and
transferred. Private sector organizations sweep up millions of
records from record systems throughout the country and
consolidate those records into gigantic record systems. Many
websites now compile public records from across the country.
There are more than 165 companies offering public record
information over the Internet. These companies have
constructed gigantic databases of public records that were
once dispersed throughout different agencies, offices, and
courthouses, and with the click of a mouse, millions of
records can be scoured for details." [Daniel J. Solove,
Modern Studies in Privacy Law: Notice, Autonomy and
Enforcement of Data Privacy Legislation: Access and
Aggregation: Public Records, Privacy and the Constitution
(2002) 86 Minn. L. Rev. 1137, 1153.]
4)Arguments in Support : According to the California Statewide
Law Enforcement Association , "Current law provides peace
officers in Penal Code Section 830.1 with the ability to
opt-out of having their personal information posted on
internet search engines like ZABASEARCH.COM. This bill will
provide all peace officers who have the power of arrest the
same ability to protect their families as the peace officers
in Penal Code Section 830.1. As more and more cellular phone
technologies advance, a situation could arise where a gang
member is being arrested and one or more of the non-arrested
members of the gang catches the name of the arresting officer,
types the information into his/her cell phone application and
could be at the arresting officers home before the officer is
done booking the criminal. This new technology and the ease
of gaining personal information pose a dangerous threat to the
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safety and security of peace officers and their families.
5)Related Legislation : AB 32 (Lieu), Chapter 403, Statutes of
2009, required the removal of personal information of
specified officials from the Internet, and permits employers
or professional organizations to assert the rights of the
official in removing the personal information from the
Internet.
6)Prior Legislation :
a) AB 2238 (Dickerson), Statutes of 2002, Chapter 621,
creates a misdemeanor and felony for posting confidential
information of specified public safety officials with the
intent to cause imminent great bodily harm, as specified.
b) AB 2905 (Spitzer), Statutes of 2004, Chapter 248, added
judges, court commissioners, attorneys employed by the
Department of Justice, the State Public Defender, or a
county office of a district attorney or public defender to
the types of employees for whom a governmental employer
shall pay the moving and relocation expenses when it is
necessary to move because of an employment-related credible
threat against his or her life, or the life of an immediate
family member and made clarifications regarding the
implementation of this provision as it applies to judges
and court commissioners.
c) AB 1595 (Evans), Statutes of 2005, Chapter 343, allowed
for specified elected or appointed officials to obtain an
injunction against any person or entity that publicly posts
on the Internet the home address or telephone number of
that official, and allows for damages if this disclosure
was made with intent to cause bodily harm.
d) AB 1035 (Spitzer), of the 2005-06 Legislative Session,
would have prohibited any state or local agency or person
from hosting or providing service to an Internet web site
that posts an elected or appointed official's home address
or telephone number. AB 1035 was held in Senate Judiciary
Committee.
e) AB 32 (Lieu), Chapter 403, Statutes of 2009, required
the removal of personal information of specified officials
from the Internet, and permits employers or professional
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organizations to assert the rights of the official in
removing the personal information from the Internet.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Correctional Peace Officers Association
California Statewide Law Enforcement Association
Opposition
None
Analysis Prepared by : Kimberly Horiuchi / PUB. S. / (916)
319-3744