Bill Text: CA AB179 | 2013-2014 | Regular Session | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

---

Bill Title: Public transit: electronic transit fare collection systems: disclosure of personal information.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Passed) 2013-09-27 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 375, Statutes of 2013. [AB179 Detail]

Download: California-2013-AB179-Introduced.html

---

BILL NUMBER: AB 179	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Members Bocanegra and Levine

                        JANUARY 24, 2013

   An act to amend Section 31490 of, to amend the heading of Chapter
8 (commencing with Section 31490) of Division 17 of, and to amend the
heading of Division 17 (commencing with Section 30000) of, the
Streets and Highways Code, relating to transportation.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 179, as introduced, Bocanegra. Public transit: electronic
transit fare collection systems: disclosure of personal information.
   Existing law prohibits a transportation agency from selling or
providing personally identifiable information of a person obtained
through the person's participation in an electronic toll collection
system or use of a toll facility that uses an electronic toll
collection system. Existing law, with certain exceptions, requires a
transportation agency to discard personally identifiable information
after 4 1/2 years, as specified. Existing law provides various
remedies in that regard.
   This bill would make these and other related provisions applicable
to a transportation agency that employs an electronic transit fare
collection system for payment of transit fares. The bill would
require transportation agencies that obtain personally identifiable
information of a person from electronic toll collection or electronic
transit fare collection systems to discard that information after 6
months, as specified.
   By imposing new duties on local transportation agencies, the bill
would impose a state-mandated local program.
   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 no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
   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.  The heading of Division 17 (commencing with Section
30000) of the Streets and Highways Code is amended to read:

      DIVISION 17.  TOLL  BRIDGES, TOLL FERRIES, AND TOLL
ROADS   FACILITIES   AND RELATED MATTERS 


  SEC. 2.  The heading of Chapter 8 (commencing with Section 31490)
of Division 17 of the Streets and Highways Code is amended to read:
      CHAPTER 8.  ELECTRONIC TOLL COLLECTION  AND ELECTRONIC
TRANS   IT FARE COLLECTION  SYSTEMS


  SEC. 3.  Section 31490 of the Streets and Highways Code is amended
to read:
   31490.  (a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, a
transportation agency may not sell or otherwise provide to any other
person or entity personally identifiable information of any person
who subscribes to an electronic toll  or electronic transit fare
 collection system or who uses a toll bridge, toll lane, or toll
highway that employs an electronic toll collection system  or
who uses a public transportation system that employs an electronic
transit fare collection system  .
   (b) A transportation agency that employs an electronic toll
collection  or an electronic transit fare collection  system
shall establish a privacy policy regarding the collection and use of
personally identifiable information and provide to subscribers of
that system a copy of the privacy policy in a manner that is
conspicuous and meaningful, such as by providing a copy to the
subscriber with the transponder  , electronic transit pass, 
or other device used as an electronic toll  or transit fare
 collection mechanism, or, if the system does not use a
mechanism, with the application materials. A transportation agency
shall conspicuously post its privacy policy on its Internet Web site.
For purposes of this subdivision, "conspicuously post" has the same
meaning as that term is defined in paragraphs (1) to (4), inclusive,
of subdivision (b) of Section 22577 of the Business and Professions
Code. The policy shall include, but need not be limited to, a
description of the following:
   (1) The types of personally identifiable information that is
collected by the agency.
   (2) The categories of third-party persons or entities with whom
the agency may share personally identifiable information.
   (3) The process by which a transportation agency notifies
subscribers of material changes to its privacy policy.
   (4) The effective date of the privacy policy.
   (5) The process by which a subscriber may review and request
changes to any of his or her personally identifiable information.
   (c) A transportation agency may, within practical business and
cost constraints, store only personally identifiable information of a
person such as  , to the extent applicable,  the account
name, credit card number, billing address, vehicle information, and
other basic account information required to perform account functions
such as billing, account settlement, or enforcement activities. All
other information  , on and after July 1, 2011, 
shall be discarded no more than  four years and  six
months after the  closure date of the  billing
cycle  and   has   concluded,  the
bill has been paid  ,  and all toll violations, if
applicable, have been resolved.
   (d)  On and after July 1, 2011, a   A 
transportation agency shall take every effort, within practical
business and cost constraints, to purge the personal account
information of an account that is closed or terminated. In no case
shall a transportation agency maintain personal information more than
 four years and  six months after the date an
account is closed or terminated.
   (e) (1) A transportation agency may make personally identifiable
information of a person available to a law enforcement agency only
pursuant to a search warrant. Absent a provision in the search
warrant to the contrary, the law enforcement agency shall
immediately, but in any event within no more than five days, notify
the person that his or her records have been obtained and shall
provide the person with a copy of the search warrant and the identity
of the law enforcement agency or peace officer to whom the records
were provided.
   (2) This section does not prohibit a peace officer, as defined in
Section 830.1 or 830.2 of the Penal Code, when conducting a criminal
or traffic collision investigation, from obtaining personally
identifiable information of a person if the officer has good cause to
believe that a delay in obtaining this information by seeking a
search warrant would cause an adverse result, as defined in paragraph
(2) of subdivision (a) of Section 1524.2 of the Penal Code.
   (f) This section does not prohibit a transportation agency in
subdivision (a) from providing aggregated traveler information
derived from collective data that relates to a group or category of
persons from which personally identifiable information has been
removed.
   (g) This section does not prohibit a transportation agency  ,
with respect to an electronic toll collection system,  from
providing the license plate number of an intermodal chassis to the
owner of the chassis for purposes of locating the driver of the
chassis in the event the driver fails to pay  the 
 a  toll.
   (h) This section  ,   with respect to an electronic
toll collection system,  does not prohibit a transportation
agency from sharing data with another transportation agency solely to
comply with interoperability specifications and standards adopted
pursuant to Section 27565 regarding electronic toll collection
devices and technologies. A third-party vendor may not use personally
identifiable information obtained under this subdivision for a
purpose other than described in this subdivision.
   (i) Subdivision (d) shall not prohibit a transportation agency, or
its designee, from performing financial and accounting functions
such as billing, account settlement, enforcement, or other financial
activities required to operate and manage the toll facilities  or
transit operations  .
   (j) This section does not prohibit a transportation agency from
communicating about products and services offered by itself, a
business partner, or the agency with which it contracts to
subscribers of the transportation agency through a contracted
third-party vendor using personally identifiable information limited
to the subscriber's name, address, and electronic mail address,
provided that  , for customer agreements entered into on or
after January 1, 2011,  the transportation agency has
received the subscriber's express written consent to receive the
communications.
   (k) A transportation agency may not use a nonsubscriber's
personally identifiable information obtained using an electronic toll
collection  or electronic transit fare collection  system
to market products or services to that nonsubscriber. This
subdivision shall not apply to toll-related products or services
contained in a notice of toll evasion issued pursuant to Section
23302 of the Vehicle Code.
   (l) For purposes of this section, "transportation agency" means
the Department of Transportation, the Bay Area Toll Authority, any
entity operating a toll bridge, toll lane, or toll highway within the
state,  any transportation agency administering an electronic
transit fare collection system and any transit operator participating
in that system,  or any entity under contract with any of the
above entities.
   (m) For purposes of this section, "electronic toll collection
system" is a system where a transponder, camera-based vehicle
identification system, or other electronic medium is used to deduct
payment of a toll from a subscriber's account or to establish an
obligation to pay a toll  , and "electronic transit fare
collection system" means a system for issuing an electronic transit
pass that enables a transit passenger subscriber to use the transit
systems of one or more participating transit operators without having
to pay individual fares, where fares are instead deducted from the
subscriber's account as loaded onto the electronic   transit
pass  .
   (n) For purposes of this section, "person" means any person who
subscribes to an electronic toll collection  or electronic
transit fare collection  system or any person who uses a toll
bridge, toll lane, or toll road that employs an electronic toll
collection system  or who uses a public transportation  
system that participates in an electronic transit fare collection
system  .
   (o) For purposes of this section, "personally identifiable
information" means any information that identifies or describes a
person including, but not limited to, travel pattern data, address,
telephone number, e-mail address, license plate number, photograph,
bank account information, or credit card number.
   (p) (1) In addition to any other remedies provided by law, a
person whose personally identifiable information has been knowingly
sold or otherwise provided in violation of this section may bring an
action to recover either actual damages or two thousand five hundred
dollars ($2,500) for each individual violation, whichever is greater,
and may also recover reasonable costs and attorney's fees.
   (2) A person whose personally identifiable information has been
knowingly sold or otherwise provided three or more times in violation
of this section may bring an action to recover either actual damages
or four thousand dollars ($4,000) for each individual violation,
whichever is greater, and may also recover reasonable costs and
attorney's fees.
   (q) Nothing in subdivisions (c) and (d) shall preclude compliance
with a court order or settlement agreement that has been approved on
or before April 25, 2010.
   (r) A transportation agency that employs an electronic toll
collection  or electronic transit fare collection  system
may impose an administrative fee on persons who use  that
system   those systems  in an amount sufficient to
cover the cost of implementing this section.
  SEC. 4.  No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because a
local agency or school district has the authority to levy service
charges, fees, or assessments sufficient to pay for the program or
level of service mandated by this act, within the meaning of Section
17556 of the Government Code.