BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE
Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson, Chair
2013-2014 Regular Session
AB 2215 (Maienschein)
As Introduced
Hearing Date: June 17, 2014
Fiscal: Yes
Urgency: No
TH
SUBJECT
Veterans: Recorded Documents
DESCRIPTION
Existing law authorizes any military veteran to request the
recordation in any county of any military discharge document,
including a veteran's service record DD 214, upon signing an
acknowledgment that the military discharge document will become
part of the official record of the county and will be open to
inspection by any person.
This bill would, in addition to a military veteran, authorize
the following individuals and entities to request recordation of
a military discharge document on the same terms:
the person who is the subject of the record;
a family member or legal representative of the person who is
the subject of the record;
a county office; and
a United States official.
BACKGROUND
Under the Public Records Act ("Act"), records of state and local
agencies are open for inspection and copying at all times during
the office hours of the agency. The Act provides for an agency
to withhold disclosure of records that are made exempt from
disclosure by statute or where the public interest in such
records is outweighed by other interests such as the right to
privacy. Many records, such as health and medical records,
juvenile records, and other records with personal identifying
information, are exempt from disclosure.
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Historically, former military personnel have been advised to
record their military discharge documents, such as a veteran's
service form DD 214, with the county recorder in the county of
their residence, for the purpose of having a recorded document
just in case they lose their original or copy. Recordation of
this military discharge document, which contains at the very
least the veteran's name, birth date, current address, and
social security number but sometimes contains detailed military
history or medical information, is purely voluntary. Groups
such as the California Association of County Veterans Service
Officers have, in the past, reported many instances of theft of
veterans' identities and have intimated that recorded discharge
documents like DD 214s are good sources of information for
identity thieves. In an effort to protect veterans' privacy,
the Legislature passed SB 544 (Chesbro, Ch. 301, Stats. 2003),
which required county recorders, when recording military
discharge documents, to obtain the signature of a veteran on a
form acknowledging that such documents become part of the
official record of the county and are subject to public
inspection.
This bill would authorize, in addition to a military veteran, a
family member or legal representative of the military veteran, a
county office, and a United States official, to record military
discharge documents so long as the party seeking recordation
signs an acknowledgment that the discharge document will become
part of the official record of the county and will be open to
public inspection.
CHANGES TO EXISTING LAW
Existing law , the California Public Records Act (PRA), provides
that public records of state and local public agencies are open
to inspection and copying upon request and payment of cost. An
agency may withhold disclosure of a record only where the record
is statutorily exempt from disclosure or where the public
interest in not disclosing the record clearly outweighs the
public interest in disclosing the record. This balancing test
is done on a case-by-case basis. (Gov. Code Sec. 6250 et seq.)
Existing law provides that if a military veteran requests the
recordation of any military discharge document, including a
veteran's service form DD 214, the county recorder shall require
the veteran to sign a form stating the following: "I, the
undersigned, hereby acknowledge that I am informed that by
recording the attached military discharge document, all
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information referenced within it becomes part of the official
record of this county, and that this information is open to
inspection by any person." (Gov. Code Sec. 27337(a).)
Existing law prohibits a public entity from charging a fee for
recording, indexing, or issuing certified copies of military
records of any member of the armed forces, and for furnishing
copies of or searching for records related to a veteran's claim
for veterans' benefits. (Gov. Code Sec. 6107(a).)
Existing law provides that a certified copy of a military
discharge document may be made available only to one of the
following:
the person who is the subject of the record, upon presentation
of proper photo identification;
a family member or legal representative of the person who is
the subject of the record, upon presentation of proper photo
identification and certification of their relationship to the
subject of the record;
a county office that provides veterans' benefits services,
upon written request of that office; and
a United States official, upon written request of that
official. (Gov. Code Sec. 6107(b).)
Existing law states that no copy of a recorded military
discharge document may be issued except as provided above.
(Gov. Code Sec. 27337(b).)
This bill would provide that a military veteran or any person
authorized to receive a certified copy of a military discharge
document may request recordation in any county in this state of
any military discharge document, including a veteran's service
form DD 214, provided that the county recorder requires the
person requesting the recordation to sign a form stating: "I,
the undersigned, hereby acknowledge that I am informed that by
recording the attached military discharge document, all
information referenced within it becomes part of the official
record of this county, and that this information is open to
inspection by any person."
COMMENT
1. Stated need for the bill
The author writes:
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Why record a DD 214? Recording a DD 214 is generally done to
prevent the loss of the document and provide easy access to
certified copies as necessary. An additional reason to record
includes family members wishing to preserve a loved one's
military service history. Regardless of the purpose,
recording is completely discretionary. There is no
requirement that a veteran record the document with the county
recorder's office.
[However,] California Government Code 27337 does not consider
situations where the veteran is deceased or unable to sign the
statement, nor does the statute allow for a family member to
record on behalf of the veteran. . . . [The] San Diego County
Recorder's Office, on multiple occasions, has encountered
family members attempting to record [a] DD 214 but the office
has been unable to assist. As a result [the] San Diego
Recorder's office sponsored this issue with the statewide
Recorders' Association who have brought it to the attention of
Assembly Member Maienschein. AB 2215 will explicitly allow a
family member who is currently authorized by Government Code
6107(b) to receive a certified copy, to also be allowed to
record the DD 214 in the first place. AB 2215 allows a family
member to sign the required notification form and record the
DD 214.
2. Assisting Families of Disabled and Deceased Veterans
As noted above, existing law permits military veterans to record
military discharge documents at no cost. However, the law does
not expressly permit others to record these documents on behalf
of a veteran when the veteran is unable to record a document him
or herself. According to the sponsor, the County Recorders'
Association of California:
Current law prohibits anyone other than the veteran from
recording his or her military discharge document (DD 214). . .
. County Recorders have encountered situations where a veteran
was incapacitated or deceased and a family member is
requesting recordation in order to obtain benefits or preserve
the historical significance of the veteran's service. Under
current law, the Recorder is required to reject the recording.
Similarly, the California Association of County Veterans Service
Officers, writing in support, states "[w]e support allowing
family members the ability to record this document [DD 214]
which will help disabled veterans who may not be able to go to
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the County Recorder themselves or for the family of deceased
veterans who need to record the document."
This bill would explicitly authorize family members of veterans,
among others, to record military discharge documents at no cost
with a county recorder, provided the person seeking recordation
signs the required acknowledgment form stating that the recorded
document will be open to public inspection.
3. Right to Privacy
Staff notes that the right to privacy is a fundamental right
protected by Section 1 of Article I of the California
Constitution. In the past, the Legislature has acted to protect
the privacy interests of veterans who record their military
discharge documents, as well as the personal information
contained within, by limiting who can receive certified copies
of these documents and by requiring veterans to sign an
acknowledgment that recording such documents makes them part of
the official record of the county, which must be made available
to public inspection (SB 544, See Prior Legislation). Indeed,
under current law, any person may inspect a recorded military
discharge document for any reason.
This bill would allow not only a veteran, but also a family
member, a county office, and a federal official, to record a
veteran's military discharge document without first obtaining
the consent of the veteran. In some cases, it may be impossible
to get such consent, such as when a veteran has died or has
become incapacitated. However, in those cases where obtaining
consent is possible, a party authorized to record a discharge
document does not necessarily have to get permission from the
subject veteran before proceeding.
In order to preserve a veteran's control over whether or not
their military discharge documents are recorded and placed into
the public record, the author offers the following amendment
which would allow only veterans and their family members to
record these documents:
Author's Amendment :
On page 2, line 5, strike "(b)" and insert "(b)(2)"
Support : California Association of County Veterans Service
Officers
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Opposition : None Known
HISTORY
Source : County Recorders' Association of California
Related Pending Legislation : None Known
Prior Legislation :
AB 1798 (Chavez, 2002) would have required county recorders to
inform a veteran that recordation of a military discharge
document (such as a DD 214) makes it a public record subject to
inspection by any person. This bill died on the Senate
Committee on Appropriations suspense file.
SB 1614 (Speier, Ch. 712, Stats. 2002) requires the county
clerk-recorder or local registrar to prepare comprehensive and
noncomprehensive indices of births and deaths, to transmit the
comprehensive indices to the State Registrar, and make available
as public documents only the noncomprehensive indices.
SB 544 (Chesbro, Ch. 301, Stats. 2003) requires, if any military
veteran requests the recordation of any military discharge
document, including a veteran's service form DD 214, that the
county recorder shall require the veteran to sign a form
acknowledging that the document shall become part of the
official record of the county and subject to inspection, as
provided.
SB 1028 (Ashburn, 2003) would have restricted access to
certified copies of veterans' records but also would require a
comprehensive index of the records to be prepared by the county
recorder and made available to the public. This bill died in
the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs.
AB 1179 (Parra, Ch. 6, Stats. 2004) prohibits county recorders
from providing certified copies of military discharge papers
except to specified persons and allows county recorders to
accept faxed, notarized documents if specified information is
present and photographically reproducible.
Prior Vote :
Assembly Floor (Ayes 73, Noes 0)
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Assembly Committee on Appropriations (Ayes 17, Noes 0)
Assembly Committee on Local Government (Ayes 9, Noes 0)
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