BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2221|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 2221
Author: Block (D)
Amended: 8/6/12 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE : 7-0, 6/19/12
AYES: Hancock, Anderson, Calderon, Harman, Liu, Price,
Steinberg
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 75-0, 5/14/12 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Public Records Act
SOURCE : San Diego District Attorney
DIGEST : This bill (1) adds prosecutors and public
defenders to the list of professionals whose home address
and telephone number, contained in firearm licenses and
license applications, are not fully required to be
disclosed as public records under the California Public
Records Act (PRA); and (2) adds confidential information or
records pertaining to crime victims, as provided in the
Victims' Bill of Rights Act of 2008: Marsy's Law, Section
28 of Article I of the California Constitution, to the list
of information not required to be disclosed as public
records under the PRA.
Senate Floor Amendments of 8/6/12 express Legislative
CONTINUED
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intent regarding provisions of this bill and the Governor's
Reorganization Plan No. 2 of 2012. The purpose of these
non-substantive amendments is to advise drafters of any
future legislation implementing the Governor's
Reorganization Plan No. 2 of 2012 that the terms of this
bill are not intended to supersede amendments to Government
Code section 6254 changing the name of California Emergency
Management Agency to Office of Emergency Services, included
in the GRP and becoming fully operative July 1, 2013.
ANALYSIS : Existing law provides that public records are
open to inspection at all times during the office hours of
the state or local agency and every person has a right to
inspect any public record, except as provided. Any
reasonably segregable portion of a record shall be
available for inspection by any person requesting the
record after deletion of the portions that are exempted by
law. �Government Code Section 6253(a).]
Existing law declares legislative intent to assist members
of the public and state and local agencies in identifying
exemptions to the California PRA. It is the intent of the
Legislature that, after January 1, 1999, each addition or
amendment to a statute that exempts from disclosure any
information contained in a public record shall be listed
and described in this article pursuant to a bill authorized
by a standing committee of the Legislature to be introduced
during the first year of each session of the Legislature.
The statutes listed in this article may operate to exempt
certain records, or portions thereof, from disclosure. The
statutes listed and described may not be inclusive of all
exemptions. The listing of a statute in this article does
not itself create an exemption. Requesters of public
records and public agencies are cautioned to review the
applicable statute to determine the extent to which the
statute, in light of the circumstances surrounding the
request, exempts public records from disclosure.
(Government Code Section 6275.)
Existing law exempts from the disclosure requirements under
the PRA records that are exempted or prohibited pursuant to
federal or state law, including, but not limited to,
provisions of the Evidence Code relating to privilege.
(Government Code Section 6254(k).)
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Existing law exempts from the disclosure requirements under
the PRA information contained in applications for licenses
to carry firearms issued by the sheriff of a county or the
chief or other head of a municipal police department that
indicates when or where the applicant is vulnerable to
attack or that concerns the applicant's medical or
psychological history or that of members of his or her
family. (Government Code Section 6254(u)(1).)
Current law exempts from the disclosure requirements under
the PRA the home address and telephone number of peace
officers, judges, court commissioners, and magistrates that
are set forth in applications for licenses to carry
firearms, and such licenses issued by the sheriff of a
county or the chief or other head of a municipal police
department. (Government Code Section 6254(u)(2), (3).)
Existing law forbids a state or local agency from posting
the home address or telephone number of any elected or
appointed official, as defined, on the Internet without
first obtaining the written permission of that individual.
(Government Code Section 6254.21(a).)
Existing law prohibits any person from knowingly posting
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).)
Existing law defines "elected or appointed official" to
include district attorneys, city attorneys, public
defenders, and other public safety officials. (Government
Code Section 6254.21(f).)
Existing law requires in each county, the district attorney
and the courts, in consultation with any local law
enforcement agencies that may desire to provide information
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or other assistance, to establish a mutually agreeable
procedure to protect confidential personal information
regarding any witness or victim contained in a police
report, arrest report, or investigative report if one of
these reports is submitted to a court by a prosecutor in
support of a criminal complaint, indictment, or
information, or by a prosecutor or law enforcement officer
in support of a search warrant or an arrest warrant.
(Penal Code Section 964(a).)
Existing law defines "confidential personal information"
includes, but is not limited to, an address, telephone
number, driver's license or California Identification Card
number, Social Security number, date of birth, place of
employment, employee identification number, mother's maiden
name, demand deposit account number, savings or checking
account number, or credit card number. (Penal Code Section
964(b).)
Existing law prohibits law enforcement officers or
employees of a law enforcement agency from disclosing to
any arrested person, or to any person who may be a
defendant in a criminal action, the address or telephone
number of any person who is a victim or witness in the
alleged offense. (Penal Code Section 841.5(a).)
Existing law forbids an attorney from disclosing or
permitting to be disclosed to a defendant, members of the
defendant's family, or anyone else, the address or
telephone number of a victim or witness whose name is
disclosed to the attorney as part of the discovery process,
unless specifically permitted to do so by the court after a
hearing and a showing of good cause. (Penal Code Section
1054.2(a)(1).)
Existing law requires state and local law enforcement
agencies, subject to restrictions provided in other
provisions of law, to make public the current address of
every individual arrested by the agency and the current
address of the victim of a crime, where the requester
declares under penalty of perjury that the request is made
for a scholarly, journalistic, political, or governmental
purpose, or that the request is made for investigation
purposes by a licensed private investigator. However, the
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address of the victim of the following crimes shall remain
confidential: assault with the intent to commit mayhem,
rape, sodomy, or oral copulation, human trafficking, rape,
unlawful sexual intercourse with a person under 18 years of
age, rape of a spouse, penetration or rape by a foreign
object, abduction for marriage or defilement, inveiglement
or enticement of an unmarried minor female under 18 for
prostitution, abduction or procurement by fraudulent
inducement for prostitution, abduction to live in illicit
relation, unlawful sexual intercourse where consent is
procured by fear, sale of a person for immoral purpose,
procurement of child under age 16 for lewd or lascivious
acts, abduction of person under age 18 for prostitution,
aggravated sexual assault of a child, willful harm or
injury to a child, corporal punishment or injury of child,
willful infliction of corporal injury, incest, sodomy, lewd
or lascivious acts, oral copulation, harmful matter sent
with intent to seduce minor, contact of minor with intent
to commit sexual offense, continual sexual abuse of a
child, sexual intercourse or sodomy with a child 10 years
of age or younger, forcible acts of sexual penetration,
interference with the exercise of civil rights because of
actual or perceived characteristics of the victim, hate
crime, stalking, or annoying or molesting a child under 18.
Address information obtained pursuant to this paragraph
may not be used directly or indirectly, or furnished to
another, to sell a product or service to any individual or
group of individuals, and the requester shall execute a
declaration to that effect under penalty of perjury.
Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to prohibit or
limit a scholarly, journalistic, political, or government
use of address information obtained pursuant to this
paragraph. (Government Code Section 6254(f)(3).)
Existing law states that a victim has the right to prevent
the disclosure of confidential information or records to
the defendant, the defendant's attorney, or any other
person acting on behalf of the defendant, which could be
used to locate or harass the victim or the victim's family
or which disclose confidential communications made in the
course of medical or counseling treatment, or which are
otherwise privileged or confidential by law. (California
Constitution Art. I, Sec. 28(b)(4).)
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Existing law defines a "victim" as a person who suffers
direct or threatened physical, psychological, or financial
harm as a result of the commission or attempted commission
of a crime or delinquent act. The term "victim" also
includes the person's spouse, parents, children, siblings,
or guardian, and includes a lawful representative of a
crime victim who is deceased, a minor, or physically or
psychologically incapacitated. The term "victim" does not
include a person in custody for an offense, the accused, or
a person whom the court finds would not act in the best
interests of a minor victim. (California Constitution Art.
I, Sec. 28(e).)
Existing law states that a statute, court rule, or other
authority that limits the right of access to information
that concerns the conduct of the people's business shall be
narrowly construed to demonstrate the interest protected by
the limitation and the need for protecting that interest.
(California Constitution Art. I, Sec. 3(b)(2).)
This bill adds prosecutors and public defenders to the list
of professionals whose home address and telephone number,
contained in firearm licenses and license applications, are
not fully required to be disclosed as public records under
the California Public Records Act (PRA).
This bill adds confidential information or records
pertaining to crime victims, as provided in the Victims'
Bill of Rights Act of 2008: Marsy's Law, Section 28 of
Article I of the California Constitution, to the list of
information not required to be disclosed as public records
under the PRA.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/6/12)
San Diego District Attorney (source)
California District Attorneys Association
Crime Victims Action Alliance
Crime Victims United of California
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author:
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Currently, the California Public Records Act (PRA)
requires law enforcement agencies to disclose certain
information relating to investigative, arrest and
incident reports in response to requests for
information. This material may under certain
circumstances include crime victims' confidential
information prohibited from being disclosed to
defendants, defendant's attorneys or to anyone working
on behalf of defendant under the California
Constitution, Article I, Section 28 (b)(4). However,
it is unclear whether the PRA recognizes the state
constitutional protections. As a result, uncertainty
exists as to who may be entitled to information
relating to crime victims. AB 2221 incorporates the
constitutional protections into the PRA to bring
clarity to questions of disclosure.
The bill also protects prosecutors and public
defenders from disclosure of personal identifying
information when they fill out an application for a
firearm license. This would provide them with the
same protections currently extended to judges and law
enforcement officers against disclosure of addresses
and phone numbers associated with firearm
applications. The release of personal identifying
information of prosecutors and public defenders, which
may be used to locate them, creates an unreasonable
risk of harm for them and their families solely
because of their involvement in the criminal justice
system.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 75-0, 5/14/12
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Beall, Bill
Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford,
Brownley, Buchanan, Charles Calderon, Campos, Carter,
Cedillo, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Davis, Dickinson,
Donnelly, Eng, Feuer, Fong, Fuentes, Furutani, Beth
Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick, Gatto, Gordon, Gorell, Grove,
Hagman, Halderman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Roger
Hern�ndez, Hill, Huber, Hueso, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones,
Knight, Lara, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mansoor,
Mendoza, Miller, Mitchell, Monning, Morrell, Nestande,
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Nielsen, Norby, Olsen, Pan, V. Manuel P�rez, Portantino,
Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Swanson, Torres, Wagner,
Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada, John A. P�rez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Atkins, Butler, Fletcher, Perea, Valadao
RJG:n 8/6/12 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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