BILL NUMBER: AB 2263	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Baker
   (Coauthors: Assembly Members Brough, Gipson, Lackey, and Wilk)
   (Coauthors: Senators Bates and Nielsen)

                        FEBRUARY 18, 2016

   An act to amend Section 6207 of the Government Code, relating to
the protection of victims.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 2263, as introduced, Baker. Protection of victims: address
confidentiality.
   The California Public Records Act requires state and local
agencies to make public records available for inspection by the
public, subject to specified criteria and with specified exceptions.
The act prohibits a state or local agency from posting the home
address or telephone number of any elected or appointed official on
the Internet without first obtaining the written permission of that
individual.
   Existing law authorizes victims of domestic violence, sexual
assault, or stalking to complete an application to be approved by the
Secretary of State for the purposes of enabling state and local
agencies to respond to requests for public records without disclosing
a program participant's residence address contained in any public
record and otherwise provides for confidentiality of identity for
that person, subject to specified conditions. Existing law authorizes
a program participant to request that state and local agencies use
the address designated by the Secretary of State as his or her
address, and requires state and local agencies, when creating,
modifying, or maintaining a public record, to accept the address
designated by the Secretary of State as a program participant's
substitute address except as specified.
   This bill would, in addition, specifically require a county
assessor to keep confidential, and prohibit a county assessor from
publicly posting, publicly displaying on the Internet, or otherwise
making available to the general public, the home address of any
program participant without first obtaining the written permission of
that individual, consistent with existing provisions of law
applicable to the confidentiality of the home address and telephone
number of an elected or appointed official. Because the bill would
require local agencies to perform additional duties, it would impose
a state-mandated local program.
   Existing constitutional provisions require a statute that limits
the right of public access to meetings or writings of public
officials to be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest to
be protected by that limitation and the need to protect that
interest.
   This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.
   The California Constitution requires local agencies, for the
purpose of ensuring public access to the meetings of public bodies
and the writings of public officials and agencies, to comply with a
statutory enactment that amends or enacts laws relating to public
records or open meetings and contains findings demonstrating that the
enactment furthers the constitutional requirements relating to this
purpose.
   This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.
   The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
   This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates
determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these
statutory provisions.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 6207 of the Government Code is amended to read:

   6207.  (a) A program participant may request that state and local
agencies use the address designated by the Secretary of State as his
or her address. When creating a public record, state and local
agencies shall accept the address designated by the Secretary of
State as a program participant's substitute address, unless the
Secretary of State has determined both of the following:
   (1) The agency has a bona fide statutory or administrative
requirement for the use of the address  which  
that  would otherwise be confidential under this chapter.
   (2) This address will be used only for those statutory and
administrative purposes and shall not be publicly disseminated.
   (b) A program participant may request that state and local
agencies use the address designated by the Secretary of State as his
or her address. When modifying or maintaining a public record,
excluding the record of any birth, fetal death, death, or marriage
registered under Division 102 (commencing with Section 102100) of the
Health and Safety Code, state and local agencies shall accept the
address designated by the Secretary of State as a program participant'
s substitute address, unless the Secretary of State has determined
both of the following:
   (1) The agency has a bona fide statutory or administrative
requirement for the use of the address  which  
that  would otherwise be confidential under this chapter.
   (2) This address will be used only for those statutory and
administrative purposes and shall not be publicly disseminated. 
   (c) A county assessor shall keep confidential, and shall not
publicly post, publicly display on the Internet, or otherwise make
available to the general public, the home address of any program
participant without first obtaining the written permission of that
individual, consistent with subdivision (a) of Section 6254.21. 

   (c) 
    (d)  A program participant may use the address
designated by the Secretary of State as his or her work address.

   (d) 
    (e)  The office of the Secretary of State shall forward
all first-class mail and all mail sent by a governmental agency to
the appropriate program participants. The office of the Secretary of
State may, in its discretion, refuse to handle or forward packages
regardless of size or type of mailing. 
   (e) 
    (f)  Notwithstanding subdivisions (a) and (b), program
participants shall comply with the provisions specified in
subdivision (d) of Section 1808.21 of the Vehicle Code if requesting
suppression of the records maintained by the Department of Motor
Vehicles. Program participants shall also comply with all other
provisions of the Vehicle Code relating to providing current address
information to the department.
  SEC. 2.  The Legislature finds and declares that Section 1 of this
act limits the public's right of access to public documents within
the meaning of paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of Section 3 of
Article I of the California Constitution. Pursuant to that
constitutional provision, the Legislature makes the following
findings to demonstrate the interest and the need for protecting that
interest:
   (a) The interest protected by this limitation is the privacy and
security of victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, or
stalking.
   (b) The need for protecting that interest is that home address and
telephone numbers of victims of domestic violence, sexual assault,
or stalking, if released to the public, could result in negative
consequences.
  SEC. 3.  The Legislature finds and declares that Section 1 of this
act, which amends Section 6207 of the Government Code, furthers,
within the meaning of paragraph (7) of subdivision (b) of Section 3
of Article I of the California Constitution, the purposes of that
constitutional section as it relates to the right of public access to
the meetings of local public bodies or the writings of local public
officials and local agencies. Pursuant to paragraph (7) of
subdivision (b) of Section 3 of Article I of the California
Constitution, the Legislature makes the following findings:
   Because the act appropriately balances the right to public access
to local records with the need for the privacy and safety of victims
of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking, the act furthers
the purpose of Section 3 of Article I of the California Constitution.

  SEC. 4.  If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this
act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local
agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant
to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of
the Government Code.