BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 40|
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UNFINSHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 40
Author: Correa (D)
Amended: 8/17/09
Vote: 21
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE : 5-0, 3/24/09
AYES: Corbett, Harman, Florez, Leno, Walters
SENATE FLOOR : 33-0, 4/20/09
AYES: Aanestad, Alquist, Ashburn, Benoit, Cedillo,
Cogdill, Corbett, Correa, Cox, Denham, DeSaulnier,
Ducheny, Dutton, Hancock, Hollingsworth, Kehoe, Leno,
Liu, Lowenthal, Maldonado, Negrete McLeod, Padilla,
Pavley, Romero, Runner, Simitian, Steinberg, Strickland,
Walters, Wiggins, Wolk, Wright, Yee
NO VOTE RECORDED: Calderon, Florez, Harman, Huff, Oropeza,
Wyland, Vacancy
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 78-0, 8/20/09 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Personal information: social security numbers
SOURCE : Orange County Board of Supervisors
DIGEST : This bill imposes a number of restrictions on
the use of social security numbers in public records.
Specifically, this bill:
1.Provides that a document containing more than the last
four digits of social security numbers is not entitled
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for recording beginning January 1, 2010.
2.Provides that a recorder shall be deemed to be in
compliance if he or she uses due diligence to truncate
social security numbers in documents presented for
recordings, as specified.
3.Requires an abstract of judgment to contain only the last
four digits of the social security number of the party
who is ordered to pay spousal, child, or family support.
Assembly Amendments made a clarifying change.
ANALYSIS : 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 five 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 also be disclosed in response to a subpoena or court
order. (Government Code Section 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 four
digits of a social security number. (Civil Code Section
1798.89.)
This bill instead provides that unless otherwise required
to do so by state or federal law, no person, entity, or
governmental agency shall present for recording or filing
with a county recorder a document that is required by an
provision of law to be open to the public if that record
displays more than the last four digits of a social
security number. Unless otherwise authorized by state or
federal law, a document containing more than the last four
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digits of a social security number is not entitled for
recording.
The bill provides that a recorder shall be deemed to be in
compliance with the requirements of this section if he or
she uses due diligence to truncate social security numbers
in documents recorded, as provided in Article 3.5
(commencing with Section 27300) of Chapter 6 of Part 3 of
Division 2 of Title 3 of the Government Code.
This bill provides that the above provisions shall not
apply to documents created prior to January 1, 2010.
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 instead requires an abstract of judgment to
contain only the last four digits of the social security
number of the party who is ordered to pay. The bill
specifies that the above provisions shall not apply to
documents created prior to January 1, 2010.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/21/09)
Orange County Board of Supervisors (source)
American Civil Liberties Union
American Federation of State, County and Municipal
Employees, AFL-CIO
California Alliance for Retired Americans
California Funeral Directors Association
Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The sponsor of the bill, the
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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."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Beall, Bill
Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Blakeslee, Block, Blumenfield,
Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero, Carter, Chesbro, Conway,
Cook, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De Leon, DeVore, Duvall,
Emmerson, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes,
Fuller, Furutani, Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick, Gilmore,
Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill, Huber,
Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Krekorian, Lieu, Logue,
Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Miller, Monning, Nava,
Nestande, Niello, Nielsen, John A. Perez, V. Manuel
Perez, Portantino, Ruskin, Salas, Saldana, Silva,
Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Audra Strickland, Swanson,
Torlakson, Torres, Torrico, Tran, Villines, Yamada, Bass
NO VOTE RECORDED: Charles Calderon, Vacancy
RJG:cm 8/21/09 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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