BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 636
Page 1
Date of Hearing: July 6, 2011
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
SB 636 (Corbett) - As Amended: June 22, 2011
Policy Committee:
JudiciaryVote:10-0 (Consent)
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
Yes Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill provides greater protections to participants in the
Safe at Home address confidentiality program for domestic
violence victims. Specifically, this bill:
1)Prohibits the Secretary of State (SOS) from disclosing the
personal information of a "Safe at Home" participant unless
the participant's certification has been cancelled because
false information was used in the application process to avoid
detection of illegal activity or apprehension by law
enforcement.
2)Prohibits a person, business, or association from knowingly
and intentionally posting, displaying, soliciting, selling, or
trading on the Internet the home address, home telephone
number, or image of a program participant or other individual
residing at the same address as the participant with the
intent to imminently cause great bodily harm to the person or
to place the person in reasonable fear for his or her safety.
3)Prohibits a person, business, or association from knowingly
and intentionally posting or displaying the home address or
home phone number of a program participant if the participant
has made a written demand of that person, business, or
association to not disclose his or her information.
4)Provides that a participant whose information is posted or
displayed in violation of the above provisions may bring an
action for injunctive relief or money damages, as specified.
SB 636
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5)Makes it a misdemeanor for a person to post on the Internet
the personal information of a program participant, or of a
participant's family member, with the intent that another
person imminently use that information to commit a crime
involving violence or a threat of violence against the
participant or the program participant's family members who
are participating in the program.
6)Makes it a misdemeanor, for activity as in (5), regarding a
provider, employee, volunteer, or patient of a reproductive
health service facility, or other individuals residing at the
same address.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)Minor ongoing costs, likely less than $50,000, for the SOS to
respond to inquiries from program participants regarding the
bill's privacy protections. These costs could be negligible to
the extent these inquiries can be forwarded to the Office of
Privacy Protection, within the State and Consumer Services
Agency. In signing the 2011-12 Budget Act, however, the
governor reduced funding for this office by about one-half.
2)Likely minor nonreimbursable costs to local governments for
prosecution and incarceration, offset to some extent by fine
revenues.
COMMENTS
1)Background . The Safe at Home program allows survivors of
domestic violence, stalking, and sexual abuse to participate
in a program that allows state and local agencies to respond
to requests for public records without disclosing the
participant's name change or residential address. A program
participant may also request that state and local agencies,
when creating a public record concerning the participant, use
an address designated by the SOS, and to have the SOS forward
any mail sent by a state or local agency to the program
participant. The SOS may not disclose the participant's name
change or residential address except to law enforcement or by
court order. The SOS may also disclose information if the
participant's program certification is cancelled.
2)Purpose . This bill, sponsored by the Privacy Rights
Clearinghouse, permits the SOS to disclose the information
SB 636
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only if cancelation resulted from a determination that the
participant had provided false information to avoid detection
of unlawful activity or apprehension by law enforcement.
In addition, this bill criminalizes and makes actionable the
posting of a participant's personal information with the
intent to cause harm to a participant, and it would require a
person, business, or association to remove a participant's
personal information if requested to do so by the participant.
The bill would also amend a parallel provision in an existing
law that similarly protects patients and workers at a
reproductive health facility so that the criminal and civil
penalties mirror each other.
3)Related Legislation . AB 906 (Galgiani), pending in Senate
Appropriations, makes witnesses at murder trials eligible to
participate in the Safe at Home Program.
Analysis Prepared by : Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081