BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 447
Page 1
Date of Hearing: June 26, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS, PROFESSIONS AND CONSUMER
PROTECTION
Mary Hayashi, Chair
SB 447 (DeSaulnier) - As Amended: June 15, 2012
SENATE VOTE : (vote not relevant)
SUBJECT : State agencies: communications: social security
numbers.
SUMMARY : Prohibits a state agency from sending any
communication to any individual that contains the full social
security number (SSN) of that individual, unless required by
federal law.
EXISTING LAW prohibits a person or entity from printing an
individual's SSN on any materials that are mailed to the
individual, unless state or federal law requires the SSN to be
on the document to be mailed. SSNs may be included in
applications and forms sent by mail, including documents sent as
part of an application or enrollment process, or to establish,
amend or terminate an account, contract or policy, or to confirm
the accuracy of the SSN. A SSN that is permitted to be mailed
under this section may not be printed, in whole or in part, on a
postcard or other mailer not requiring an envelope, or visible
on the envelope or without the envelope having been opened.
(Civil Code Section 1798.85)
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
Purpose of this bill . According to the author's office, "This
bill is aimed at countering identity theft and ensuring every
Californian's privacy is protected. This bill ensures that a
state agency will not send any communication to any individual
that contains the full SSN of that individual, unless required
by federal law.
Background . In September 2005, the United States (U.S.)
Government Accountability Office issued a report entitled,
Social Security Numbers: Federal and State Laws Restrict Use of
SSNs, yet Gaps Remain. The report found that "SSN use is
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widespread. Agencies at all levels of government frequently
collect and use SSNs to administer their programs, verify
applicants' eligibility for services and benefits, and perform
research and evaluations of their programs. Although some
government agencies are taking steps to limit the use and
display of SSNs, these numbers are still available in a variety
of public records held by states, local jurisdictions, and
courts?
"The Social Security Act of 1935 authorized the Social Security
Administration (SSA) to establish a record-keeping system to
manage the Social Security program, which resulted in the
creation of the SSN. Through a process known as enumeration,
unique numbers are created for every person as a work and
retirement benefit record. Today, SSA issues SSNs to most U.S.
citizens, but they are also available to noncitizens lawfully
admitted to the U.S. with permission to work. Lawfully admitted
noncitizens may also qualify for a SSN for non-work purposes
when a federal, state, or local law requires that they have a
SSN to obtain a particular welfare benefit or service?
"In 2001, California enacted a law to restrict the use and
display of SSNs. The law generally prohibits companies and
persons from engaging in certain activities, such as:
" Posting or publicly displaying SSNs;
" Printing SSNs on cards required to access the company's
products or services;
" Requiring people to transmit an SSN over the Internet
unless the connection is secure or the number is encrypted;
" Requiring people to log onto a Web site using an SSN
without a password; or,
" Printing SSNs on anything mailed to a customer unless
required by law or the document is a form or application.
"After its enactment, California's Office of Privacy Protection
(OPP) published recommended practices for protecting the
confidentiality of the SSN, which included reducing its
collection, controlling institutional access to it, instituting
safeguards to protect it, and holding employees accountable for
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protecting it."
According to the author's office, mail theft is a growing issue
within the U.S. According to the United States Postal Service
(U.S.P.S.), in 2011, postal inspectors arrested more than 5,500
suspects for crimes involving the mail or against the U.S.P.S.
About half of those arrested involved mail theft and more than
750 involved mail related fraud.
According to the OPP, there were more than 8.1 million victims
of identity theft in the U.S. in 2010, and more than 1 million
of those victims were Californians. According to the U.S.
Federal Trade Commission, in 2010, there were 38,148 identity
theft complaints from California victims. Of those victims,
6,142 reported that their identity theft was related to
government documents or benefits fraud, ranking as the
second-leading type of identity theft behind credit card fraud.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
None on file.
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Joanna Gin / B.,P. & C.P. / (916)
319-3301