Amended in Senate April 21, 2014

Senate Bill No. 849

Introduced by Senator Anderson

January 9, 2014

An act to amend Section begin delete 22575 of the Business and Professions Code, relating to consumers. end delete begin insert 9650 of the Probate Code, relating to decedents end insert begin insert ’ estates. end insert

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 849, as amended, Anderson. begin delete Consumers: Internet privacy. end delete begin insert Decedents’ estates: electronic mail. end insert

begin insert

Existing law prescribes a process for the appointment of a personal representative for the purpose of administering the estate of a decedent. Existing law grants to the personal representative certain powers, including the right to possess and control the property of the decedent to be administered in the estate, and limits the liability of a personal representative for actions taken in good faith in connection with real or personal property.

end insert begin insert

This bill would authorize the personal representative to request, and would authorize an electronic communication service or remote computer service to provide, access to the electronic mail account of a decedent or to copies of the content of the account, subject to any applicable service agreement. To exercise this right, the bill would require the personal representative to provide the account’s service provider with a certified copy of the court order appointing the personal representative, a copy of the decedent’s death certificate, a written request for access or copies, and an order of the probate court designating the executor or administrator as an agent for the subscriber and requiring the estate to indemnify the electronic communication service or remote computing service from all liability in complying with the order.

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Existing law requires an operator of a commercial Internet Web site or online service that collects personally identifiable information through the Internet about consumers residing in California who use or visit its commercial Internet Web site or online service to conspicuously post its privacy policy on its Internet Web site or online service and to comply with that policy. Existing law requires that the privacy policy specify how personally identifiable information is managed by the operator.

end delete begin delete

This bill would make nonsubstantive changes to this law.

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Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

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begin insert SECTION 1. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 9650 of the end insert begin insert Probate Code end insert begin insert is amended to
read: end insert

9650.  

(a) Except as provided by statute and subject to
subdivision (c):

(1) The personal representative has the right to, and shall take
possession or control of, all the property of the decedent to be
administered in the decedent’s estate and shall collect all debts
due to the decedent or the estate. The personal representative is
not accountable for any debts that remain uncollected without his
or her fault.

(2) The personal representative is entitled to receive the rents,
issues, and profits from the real and personal property in the estate
until the estate is distributed.

begin insert

(3) The personal representative may request, and an electronic
communication service or remote computer service, as defined in
the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (18 U.S.C. Secs. 2510
and 2711), may provide to the personal representative or
administrator of the estate of a deceased person who was domiciled
in this state at the time of his or her death, access to the electronic
mail account of a decedent, or copies of the content of the account,
by providing the service provider of the account with all of the
following:

end insert begin insert

(A) A certified copy of the court order appointing the personal
representative.

end insert begin insert

(B) A copy of the death certificate of the decedent.

end insert begin insert

(C) A written request for access to, or copies of the content of,
the electronic mail account.

end insert begin insert

(D) An order of the probate court which, by law, has jurisdiction
over the estate of a deceased person, designating the executor or
administrator as an agent for the subscriber, as defined in the
Electronic Communications Privacy Act (18 U.S.C. Sec. 2701),
on behalf of his or her estate, and ordering that the estate shall
first indemnify the electronic communication service or remote
computing service, as defined in the Electronic Communications
Privacy Act (18 U.S.C. Secs. 2510 and 2711), from all liability in
complying with the order.

end insert begin insert

(4) Any provision of access or copies of electronic
communications is subject to copyright law as well as any
applicable and enforceable terms of a service agreement.

end insert

(b) The personal representative shall pay taxes on, and take all
steps reasonably necessary for the management, protection, and
preservation of, the estate in his or her possession.

(c) Real property or tangible personal property may be left with
or surrendered to the person presumptively entitled to it unless or
until, in the judgment of the personal representative, possession
of the property by the personal representative will be necessary
for purposes of administration. The person holding the property
shall surrender it to the personal representative on request by the
personal representative.

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SECTION 1.  

Section 22575 of the Business and Professions
Code is amended to read:

22575.  

(a) An operator of a commercial Web site or online
service that collects personally identifiable information through
the Internet about individual consumers residing in California who
use or visit its commercial Web site or online service shall
conspicuously post its privacy policy on its Web site, or in the case
of an operator of an online service, make that policy available in
accordance with paragraph (5) of subdivision (b) of Section 22577.
An operator shall be in violation of this subdivision only if the
operator fails to post its policy within 30 days after being notified
of noncompliance.

(b) The privacy policy required by subdivision (a) shall do all
of the following:

(1) Identify the categories of personally identifiable information
that the operator collects through the Web site or online service
about individual consumers who use or visit its commercial Web
site or online service and the categories of third-party persons or
entities with whom the operator may share that personally
identifiable information.

(2) If the operator maintains a procedure for an individual
consumer who uses or visits its commercial Web site or online
service to review and request changes to any of his or her
personally identifiable information that is collected through the
Web site or online service, provide a description of that procedure.

(3) Describe the procedure by which the operator notifies
consumers who use or visit its commercial Web site or online
service of material changes to the operator’s privacy policy for
that Web site or online service.

(4) Identify its effective date.

(5) Disclose how the operator responds to Web browser “do not
track” signals or other mechanisms that provide consumers the
ability to exercise choice regarding the collection of personally
identifiable information about an individual consumer’s online
activities over time and across third-party Web sites or online
services, if the operator engages in that collection.

(6) Disclose whether other parties may collect personally
identifiable information about an individual consumer’s online
activities over time and across different Web sites when a consumer
uses the operator’s Web site or service.

(7) An operator may satisfy the requirement of paragraph (5)
by providing a clear and conspicuous hyperlink in the operator’s
privacy policy to an online location containing a description,
including the effects, of any program or protocol the operator
follows that offers the consumer that choice.

end delete