Bill Text: CA AB259 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Personal information: privacy.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Failed) 2016-11-30 - From Senate committee without further action. [AB259 Detail]
Download: California-2015-AB259-Introduced.html
BILL NUMBER: AB 259 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Dababneh
FEBRUARY 9, 2015
An act to amend Section 1798.29 of the Civil Code, relating to
personal information privacy.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 259, as introduced, Dababneh. Personal information: privacy.
Existing law requires an agency that owns or licenses computerized
data that includes personal information, as defined, to provide
notification of any breach in the security of that data to any
California resident whose personal information may have been
compromised by the breach, as specified. Existing law requires the
notification to be written in plain language and contain specified
information, including, but not limited to, the agency's contact
information and a list of the types of personal information that were
or are reasonably believed to have been the subject of the breach.
This bill would additionally require an agency, if the agency was
the source of the breach and the breach compromised a person's social
security number, driver's license number, or California
identification card number, to offer to provide the person with
identity theft prevention and mitigation services at no cost for not
less than 12 months, as specified.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 1798.29 of the Civil Code is amended to read:
1798.29. (a) Any An agency that
owns or licenses computerized data that includes personal information
shall disclose any a breach of the
security of the system following discovery or notification of the
breach in the security of the data to any a
resident of California whose unencrypted personal information
was, or is reasonably believed to have been, acquired by an
unauthorized person. The disclosure shall be made in the most
expedient time possible and without unreasonable delay, consistent
with the legitimate needs of law enforcement, as provided in
subdivision (c), or any measures necessary to determine the scope of
the breach and restore the reasonable integrity of the data system.
(b) Any An agency that maintains
computerized data that includes personal information that the agency
does not own shall notify the owner or licensee of the information of
any the breach of the security of the
data immediately following discovery, if the personal information
was, or is reasonably believed to have been, acquired by an
unauthorized person.
(c) The notification required by this section may be delayed if a
law enforcement agency determines that the notification will impede a
criminal investigation. The notification required by this section
shall be made promptly after the law enforcement agency
determines that it will not compromise the investigation.
(d) Any An agency that is required
to issue a security breach notification pursuant to this section
shall meet all of the following requirements:
(1) The security breach notification shall be written in plain
language.
(2) The security breach notification shall include, at a minimum,
the following information:
(A) The name and contact information of the reporting agency
subject to this section.
(B) A list of the types of personal information that were or are
reasonably believed to have been the subject of a breach.
(C) If the information is possible to determine at the time the
notice is provided, then any of the following: (i) the date of the
breach, (ii) the estimated date of the breach, or (iii) the date
range within which the breach occurred. The notification shall also
include the date of the notice.
(D) Whether the notification was delayed as a result of a law
enforcement investigation, if that information is possible to
determine at the time the notice is provided.
(E) A general description of the breach incident, if that
information is possible to determine at the time the notice is
provided.
(F) The toll-free telephone numbers and addresses of the major
credit reporting agencies, if the breach exposed a social security
number or a driver's license or California identification card
number.
(G) If the agency providing the notification was the source of the
breach, an offer to provide appropriate identity theft prevention
and mitigation services, if any, shall be provided at no cost to the
affected person for not less than 12 months, along with all
information necessary to take advantage of the offer to any person
whose information was or may have been breached if the breach exposed
or may have exposed personal information defined in subparagraphs
(A) and (B) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (g).
(3) At the discretion of the agency, the security breach
notification may also include any of the following:
(A) Information about what the agency has done to protect
individuals whose information has been breached.
(B) Advice on steps that the person whose information has been
breached may take to protect himself or herself.
(4) In the case of a breach of the security of the system
involving personal information defined in paragraph (2) of
subdivision (g) for an online account, and no other personal
information defined in paragraph (1) of subdivision (g), the agency
may comply with this section by providing the security breach
notification in electronic or other form that directs the person
whose personal information has been breached to promptly change his
or her password and security question or answer, as applicable, or to
take other steps appropriate to protect the online account with the
agency and all other online accounts for which the person uses the
same user name or email address and password or security question or
answer.
(5) In the case of a breach of the security of the system
involving personal information defined in paragraph (2) of
subdivision (g) for login credentials of an email account furnished
by the agency, the agency shall not comply with this section by
providing the security breach notification to that email address, but
may, instead, comply with this section by providing notice by
another method described in subdivision (i) or by clear and
conspicuous notice delivered to the resident online when the resident
is connected to the online account from an Internet Protocol address
or online location from which the agency knows the resident
customarily accesses the account.
(e) Any An agency that is required
to issue a security breach notification pursuant to this section to
more than 500 California residents as a result of a single breach of
the security system shall electronically submit a single sample copy
of that security breach notification, excluding any personally
identifiable information, to the Attorney General. A single sample
copy of a security breach notification shall not be deemed to be
within subdivision (f) of Section 6254 of the Government Code.
(f) For purposes of this section, "breach of the security of the
system" means unauthorized acquisition of computerized data that
compromises the security, confidentiality, or integrity of personal
information maintained by the agency. Good faith acquisition of
personal information by an employee or agent of the agency for the
purposes of the agency is not a breach of the security of the system,
provided that the personal information is not used or subject to
further unauthorized disclosure.
(g) For purposes of this section, "personal information" means
either of the following:
(1) An individual's first name or first initial and last name in
combination with any one or more of the following data elements, when
either the name or the data elements are not encrypted:
(A) Social security number.
(B) Driver's license number or California identification card
number.
(C) Account number, credit or debit card number, in combination
with any required security code, access code, or password that would
permit access to an individual's financial account.
(D) Medical information.
(E) Health insurance information.
(2) A user name or email address, in combination with a password
or security question and answer that would permit access to an online
account.
(h) (1) For purposes of this section, "personal information" does
not include publicly available information that is lawfully made
available to the general public from federal, state, or local
government records.
(2) For purposes of this section, "medical information" means any
information regarding an individual's medical history, mental or
physical condition, or medical treatment or diagnosis by a health
care professional.
(3) For purposes of this section, "health insurance information"
means an individual's health insurance policy number or subscriber
identification number, any unique identifier used by a health insurer
to identify the individual, or any information in an individual's
application and claims history, including any appeals records.
(i) For purposes of this section, "notice" may be provided by one
of the following methods:
(1) Written notice.
(2) Electronic notice, if the notice provided is consistent with
the provisions regarding electronic records and signatures set forth
in Section 7001 of Title 15 of the United States Code.
(3) Substitute notice, if the agency demonstrates that the cost of
providing notice would exceed two hundred fifty thousand dollars
($250,000), or that the affected class of subject persons to be
notified exceeds 500,000, or the agency does not have sufficient
contact information. Substitute notice shall consist of all of the
following:
(A) Email notice when the agency has an email address for the
subject persons.
(B) Conspicuous posting of the notice on the agency's Internet Web
site page, if the agency maintains one.
(C) Notification to major statewide media and the Office of
Information Security within the Department of Technology.
(j) Notwithstanding subdivision (i), an agency that maintains its
own notification procedures as part of an information security policy
for the treatment of personal information and is otherwise
consistent with the timing requirements of this part shall be deemed
to be in compliance with the notification requirements of this
section if it notifies subject persons in accordance with its
policies in the event of a breach of security of the system.
(k) Notwithstanding the exception specified in paragraph (4) of
subdivision (b) of Section 1798.3, for purposes of this section,
"agency" includes a local agency, as defined in subdivision (a) of
Section 6252 of the Government Code.
