BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE
Senator Ellen M. Corbett, Chair
2009-2010 Regular Session
SB 40 S
Senator Correa B
As Amended March 9, 2009
Hearing Date: March 24, 2009 4
Civil Code; Family Code; Health & Safety Code 0
KB
SUBJECT
Personal information: social security numbers
DESCRIPTION
This bill would impose a number of restrictions on the use
of social security numbers in public records.
Specifically, this bill would:
provide that a document containing more than the
last 4 digits of social security number is not
entitled for recording;
provide also that a recorder shall be deemed to be
in compliance if he or she uses due diligence to
locate social security numbers in documents presented
for recording;
require an abstract of judgment to contain only the
last 4 digits of the social security number of the
party who is ordered to pay spousal, child, or family
support;
require that only the last 4 digits of a person's
social security number be displayed on birth and death
records.
BACKGROUND
A social security number (SSN) is a 9-digit number issued
to citizens, permanent residents, and temporary (working)
residents under section 205(c)(2) of the Social Security
Act, codified as 42 U.S.C. 405(c)(2). The number is
issued to an individual by the Social Security
(more)
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Administration (SSA), an agency of the federal government.
Although the primary purpose of the SSN is to track
individuals for taxation and distribution of retirement
benefits, in recent years the SSN has effectively gained
use as a national identification number. The overall
growth in the use of SSNs is important to individual SSN
holders because this number is one of the personal
identifiers most sought after by identity thieves.
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.
In response to the growing threat of identity theft the
Legislature has enacted several measures which impose
restrictions on the use of social security numbers in
public records. ( See AB 1168 (Jones) Chapter 627, Statutes
of 2007); SB 644 (Correa) Chapter 189, Statutes of 2007.)
This bill further seeks to reduce the use of social
security numbers in public records.
CHANGES TO EXISTING LAW
1. Existing law requires the recorder of each county to
establish a social security number truncation program in
order to create a "public record" version of each
"official record." The "public record" is an exact copy
of the "official record" except that any social security
number contained in the "official record" is truncated by
redacting the first 5 digits of that number. (Government
Code Section 27300 et seq.)
Existing law requires that when a "public record" version
of an "official record" exists, and upon request of any
person to inspect, for a copy of, or to otherwise
publicly disclose that record, the recorder shall make
available only the "public record" version. The
"official record" may only be disclosed in response to a
subpoena or court order. (Government Code Section
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27303.)
Existing law requires any person, entity, or government
agency that is presenting a document for recording or
filing with a county recorder to only list the last 4
digits of a social security number. (Civil Code Section
1798.89.)
This bill would instead require the county recorder to
reject any document that contains more than the last 4
digits of a social security number.
2. Existing federal law requires that the social security
number of any individual who is subject to a divorce
decree, support order, or paternity determination or
acknowledgement be placed in the records relating to the
matter. (42 U.S.C Section 666(a)(13)(B).)
Existing law requires an abstract of judgment ordering a
party to pay spousal, child, or family support to contain
the social security number of the party who is ordered to
pay. (Family Code Section 4506.)
This bill would instead require an abstract of judgment
to contain only the last 4 digits of the social security
number of the party who is ordered to pay.
3.Existing law requires the State Registrar of Vital
Statistics to administer the registration of births and
deaths. (Health & Safety Code Section 102200.)
Existing law requires the State Registrar to arrange and
permanently preserve the certificates in a systematic
manner and to prepare and maintain a comprehensive and
continuous index of all certificates registered. (Health
& Safety Code Section 102230.)
Existing law requires the comprehensive birth and death
record indices prepared and maintained by the State
Registrar and by local registrars and county recorders to
be kept confidential. (Health & Safety Code Section
102230.)
Existing law requires that certain birth and death
records include specified information, including certain
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social security numbers. (Health & Safety Code Sections
102230, 102360, 102425.)
Existing law requires the local registrar of births and
deaths to furnish to the registrar of voters or county
clerk a notification of all deceased persons 18 years of
age and over whose deaths were registered during the
preceding month. The notification is required to include
the decedent's full social security number. (Health &
Safety Code Section 102360.)
This bill would instead require only the last 4 digits of
a person's social security number to be displayed on
birth and death certificates and records.
COMMENT
1. Stated need for the bill
The sponsor of the bill, the Orange County Board of
Supervisors, states:
This bill supports the state's ongoing efforts to combat
identity theft and provides a cost-savings to counties. As
of January 1, 2009, California counties are required to
create "public copies" of any document that contains an
SSN. The "public copy" must redact the first five digits
of the SSN, and only that copy can be provided for public
viewing or copying. This bill will reduce the number of
"public copies" needed in the future and reduce costs to
the County.
2.This bill would clarify that documents presented for
recording may not contain full social security numbers
unless otherwise required by law
Under current law, no person, entity, or government agency
may present for recording or filing with a county recorder
a document that is required by any provision of the law to
be open to the public if that record displays more than the
last four digits of a social security number. (Civil Code
Section 1798.89.) Concerns have been expressed that the
current statute is unclear as to whether county recorders
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have the authority to reject documents which contain a full
social security number. As a result, some county recorders
have been accepting documents with full SSNs per the advice
of their county counsels. This bill seeks to clarify that
documents which contain a full social security number are
not entitled to recording, unless it is authorized by state
or federal law. A recorder would be required to use due
diligence in locating social security numbers in the
documents presented for recording and have the authority to
reject them if they do not comport with the standards for
recording. The due diligence requirement is consistent
with that imposed on county recorders in other provisions
of the Social Security Number Truncation Program. (See
Government Code Section 27302.)
3.Implications for compliance with federal child support
laws
Under current law, when individuals involved in family law
actions have judgments entered against them, the abstracts
of judgments issued by the court clerks contain the
individual's full social security number. The abstracts of
judgments are subsequently filed with the county recorders,
where they become part of the public record. This bill
woud remove the requirement that abstracts of judgments
ordering a party to pay spousal, child, or family support
contain the social security number of the party ordered to
pay support, and instead require only the last four digits
of that person's social security number.
In 2007, SB 644 (Correa, Chapter 189, Statutes of 2007)
deleted the requirement that abstracts of judgment
requiring the payment of money must contain the judgment
debtor's full social security number, and instead required
that only the last four digits of the debtor's social be
placed in the abstract. As introduced, SB 644 would have
also revised the requirements for abstracts of judgments of
support orders in family law actions. Those provisions of
the bill were removed after concerns were expressed that
they may have put the state out of compliance with federal
law, which mandates that the social security number of any
individual who is subject to a support order be placed in
the records relating to the matter. (42 U.S.C.
666(a)(13)(B).)
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The Department of Child Support Services (DCSS) has since
obtained clarification from the Office of Child Support
Enforcement (OCSE), Department of Health and Human Services
as to whether an obligor's full social security number must
be displayed on a publicly recorded abstract of judgment.
According to the OCSE, there is no violation of federal law
if the full nine digit SSN is redacted so that only the
last four digits appear on any child support related
documents that could be accessed by the general public.
However, the full nine-digit SSN must remain in the records
relating to the matter that are not accessible by the
public. Thus, although the abstract itself need not
contain the full nine-digit SSN of an obligor, the entire
SSN must remain part of the internal child support record.
California's automated child support system is programmed
to recognize and utilize the abstract of support judgment
(FL-480) as it is currently written. This bill would
revise the abstract of support judgment issued by courts in
family law actions. According to DCSS, it is possible to
retain the obligor's full social security number in a
separate internal electronic record, and have the redacted
SSN on the abstracts of support judgment that are stored
within the automated system. In this manner, DCSS can
comply with both federal law governing child support
enforcement, and the requirements of this bill.
4. Implications for recordkeeping of vital statistics
In California, the Department of Public Health (CDPH),
Office of Vital Records is charged with the responsibility
of maintaining a uniform system for registration and a
permanent central registry with a comprehensive and
continuous index for all birth, death, marriage and
dissolution certificates registered for vital events which
occur in the state. The State Registrar of Vital
Statistics is required by statute to provide full SSNs to
various governmental agencies including registrars of
voters, county clerks, county welfare departments, law
enforcement agencies, and the Social Security
Administration (SSA). (Health & Safety Code Sections
102360, 102231, 102440.) However, SSNs are currently not
contained in the public portion of birth certificates.
Social security numbers on certificates of live birth are
required to be kept confidential. (Health and Safety Code
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Section 102425.) The California Department of Public
Health's Vital Records Image Redaction and Statewide Access
system was specifically designed to redact the SSN from
birth and death records.
In addition to providing full SSNs to various state
governmental agencies, CDPH also transmits SSNs to the
Social Security Agency as part of both the birth and death
registration process. Upon parental request, a newborn's
information (which includes parents' names and SSNs) is
transmitted to the SSA for issuance of an SSN to the
newborn. According to CDPH, it receives approximately
$500,000 annually for providing this service. Further,
decedents' SSNs are verified against the SSA database to
ensure that SSA is immediately notified of a person's
death, and that the SSN listed on the death certificate was
the correct one for the decedent. According to CDPH, it
receives approximately $285,000 annually for providing
death vital records to SSA.
This bill would change current law to require that only the
last four digits of a person's social security number be
displayed on birth and death records. As stated by the
author and sponsor, the goal is to reduce the amount of
information accessible by the public which may be used for
the purposes of identity theft. However, the bill as it is
currently written may inadvertently create complications
for vital recordkeeping. CDPH would have to modify the
state's vital record database and revise vital record
forms. Further, CDPH would no longer be able to provide
services in the birth and death registration process with
SSA. In considering proposals to reduce the collection of
SSNs in public records, it is important to balance the
legitimate need for data to confirm the identity of
individuals with the need for greater protection against
the growing threat of identity theft. The potential
interference with vital recordkeeping seems to outweigh the
need for increased protection against identity theft in
this instance, especially considering that SSNs on birth
and death records currently do not appear on the
certificates available to the public. Accordingly, this
committee may wish to consider whether provisions of this
bill requiring the truncation of SSNs on internal birth and
death records maintained by the CDPH should be removed.
The amendments would be as follows:
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On page 3, strike lines 37-40 inclusive
Strike pages 4-10
5. Concerns regarding recordation of older support
judgments
The Family Law Section of the State Bar (FLEXCOM) writes:
"The proposed bill would make older judgments unrecordable
and provides no mechanism for obtaining a document that
would be recordable.
Recordation of an abstract or entire judgment, unlike the
recording of a deed, is an enforcement tool, which would
likely be opposed by one of the original parties. Both
parties have an interest in making sure that the
requirements for a deed are met, while one party would be
happy if an abstract were not ever recorded. Older
documents are recordable only if they are certified copies
of the original. There is no mechanism for correcting
these documents by deleting excess digits. Correction and
reissuance are judicial, not ministerial acts, which would
require the delay and expense of a court hearing."
FLEXCOM is proposing that the bill be amended to allow for
the redaction of extra digits by the Court Clerk when
supplying a certified copy, by the recorder when inspecting
any document presented for recording, or by the party
seeking recording upon certification that only excess
digits have been deleted. Alternatively, FLEXCOM proposes
that the bill be amended to allow for the recording of
documents which predate the adoption of the bill.
6. Technical amendments
The following are suggested technical amendments.
On page 7, line 28, strike "state registrar of vital" and
insert "State Registrar of Vital"
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On page 7, line 29, strike "statistics" and insert
"Statistics"
Support : AFSCME, AFL-CIO; ACLU; Privacy Rights
Clearinghouse; Family Law Section of the State
Bar (if amended)
Opposition :None Known
HISTORY
Source :Orange County Board of Supervisors
Related Pending Legislation :None Known
Prior Legislation:
SB 644 (Correa, Chapter 189, Statutes of 2007) removed the
existing statutory requirements that abstracts of money
judgments and tax lien filings contain a full social
security number and instead required that only the last
four digits of the SSN be included in these documents.
AB 1168 (Jones, Chapter 627, Statutes of 2007) imposes a
number of restrictions on the use of Social Security
numbers in public records, requiring they be redacted or
truncated prior to filing or disclosure to the public by
specified dates.
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