BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1813|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1813
Author: Lieu (D)
Amended: 4/15/10 in Assembly
Vote: 21
SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE : 7-0, 6/22/10
AYES: Leno, Cogdill, Cedillo, Hancock, Huff, Steinberg,
Wright
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 74-0, 5/6/10 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Public officials: personal information
SOURCE : California Statewide Law Enforcement
Association
DIGEST : This bill includes the information provided to
cellular phone applications in the information that a
public official may ask to be removed from the internet and
to expand the definition of peace officer within the
definition of public official.
ANALYSIS : Existing law, the Public Records Act (PRA),
provides that all records of state and local agencies are
open and the public has the right to inspect those records
under specified conditions. The PRA exempts specified
records, and other provisions of law exempt specified
records from the PRA requirement of open records.
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(Government Code Section 6250 et seq.)
Existing law prohibits a state or local agency from posting
on the Internet the home address or telephone number of any
elected or appointed official without first obtaining the
written permission of the elected official. (Government
Code Section 6254.21(a).)
Existing law makes it a misdemeanor for a person to
knowingly post on the Internet the home address or
telephone number of any elected or appointed official, his
or her spouse or child, knowing that the information
concerns 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 that leads to bodily injury of the
official, his or her spouse or child, is prosecutable as a
wobbler. (Government Code Section 6254.21(b).)
Existing law 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).)
Existing law 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).)
Existing law defines "elected or appointed official" to
include, but is not limited to, all of the following:
State constitutional officers
Members of the Legislature
Judges and court commissioners
District attorneys
Public defenders
Members of a city council
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Members of a board of supervisors
Appointees of the Governor
Appointees of the Legislature
Mayors
City attorneys
Police chiefs and sheriffs
A public safety official, as defined in Government
Code Section 6254.24
State administrative law judges
Federal judges and federal defenders and,
Members of the United States Congress and
appointees of the President. (Government Code Section
6254.21(1) to (16).)
Existing law states nothing in this section is intended to
preclude punishment instead under provisions of the Penal
Code of or any other provision of law. (Government Code
Section 6254.21(g).)
This bill provides that the information that must be
removed includes information provided to cellular telephone
applications.
Existing law defines public safety official for the
purposes of Government Code Section 6254.21 as follows:
1. An active or retired peace officer as defined in
Sections 830 and 830.1of the Penal Code.
2. An active or retired public officer or other person
listed in Sections 1808.2 and 1808.6 of the Vehicle
Code.
3. An "elected or appointed official" as defined in
subdivision (f) of Section 6254.21.
4. An attorney employed by the Department of Justice, the
State Public Defender, or a county office of the
district attorney or public defender, the United States
Attorney, or the Federal Public Defender.
5. A city attorney and an attorney who represent cities in
criminal matters.
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6. A specified employee of the Department of Corrections
and Rehabilitation who supervises inmates or is required
to have a prisoner in his or her care or custody, sworn
or nonsworn employee who supervises inmates in a city
police department, a county sheriff's office, the
Department of the California Highway Patrol, federal,
state, or a local detention facility, and a local
juvenile hall, camp, ranch, or home, and a probation
officer as defined in Section 830.5 of the Penal Code.
7. A federal prosecutor, a federal criminal investigator,
and a National Park Service Ranger working in
California.
8. The surviving spouse or child of a peace officer defined
in Section 830 of the Penal Code, if the peace officer
died in the line of duty.
9. State and federal judges and court commissioners.
10.An employee of the Attorney General, a district
attorney, or a public defender who submits verification
from the Attorney General, district attorney, or public
defender that the employee represents the Attorney
General, district attorney, or public defender in
matters that routinely place that employee in personal
contact with persons under investigation for, charged
with, or convicted of, committing criminal acts.
11.A nonsworn employee of the Department of Justice or a
police department or sheriff's office that, in the
course of his or her employment, is responsible for
collecting, documenting, and preserving physical
evidence at crime scenes, testifying in court as an
expert witness, and other technical duties, and a
nonsworn employee that, in the course of his or her
employment, performs a variety of standardized and
advanced laboratory procedures in the examination of
physical crime evidence, determines their results, and
provides expert testimony in court. (Government Code
Section 6254.24.)
Existing law defines a number of different types of "peace
officers" and people who have duties similar to peace
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officers. (Penal Code Sections 830-830.65 and 830.7.)
This bill includes in the definition of peace officer for
the purposes of defining "public safety official" peace
officers as defined in Penal Code sections 830-830.65 and a
person who is not a peace officer but may exercise the
powers of arrest during the course and within the scope of
their employment pursuant to Penal Code section 830.7.
This bill also extends the definition of peace officers to
retired officers.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/2/10)
Anaheim Police Officers Political Action Committee
Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs
California Attorneys, Administrative Law Judges and Hearing
Officers
California Correctional Peace Officers Association
California District Attorneys Association
California Probation Parole and Correctional Association
California Public Defenders Association
California State Sheriffs' Association
Chief Probation Officers of California
Irvine Police Association
Los Angeles County Probation Officers Union
Orange County Employees Association
Peace Officers Research Association of California
Riverside Sheriffs' Association
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office,
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 to the existing opt-out
provisions under the Public Safety Officials Home
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Protection Act. Additionally, this bill includes more
peace officers to the definition of public safety officials
for the existing opt-out provisions. This bill helps
ensure the safety and wellbeing of more public safety
officials and their families.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Beall, Bill
Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Blakeslee, Blumenfield,
Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero, Charles
Calderon, Carter, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Coto, Davis, De
Leon, DeVore, Emmerson, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fletcher,
Fong, Fuentes, Fuller, Furutani, Gaines, Galgiani,
Garrick, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill,
Huber, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Lieu, Logue,
Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Miller, Monning, Nava, Nestande,
Niello, Nielsen, Norby, V. Manuel Perez, Portantino,
Ruskin, Salas, Saldana, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio,
Audra Strickland, Swanson, Torlakson, Torres, Torrico,
Tran, Villines, Yamada, John A. Perez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Bass, Block, De La Torre, Gilmore,
Mendoza, Vacancy
RJG:do 8/2/10 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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