(1) 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. Existing law exempts from disclosure statements of personal worth or personal financial data required by a licensing agency and filed by an applicant with the licensing agency to establish his or her personal qualification for the license, certificate, or permit.
This bill would exempt from disclosure sensitive personal information regarding an application for public services or programs, as defined, and prohibit that information from being disclosed to any other person, including, but not limited to, any other state or federal agency or official,
except as specified. By imposing new duties on local officials with respect to disclosing sensitive personal information, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
(2) The Information Practices Act of 1977 requires an agency to maintain in its records only that personal information, as defined, that is relevant and necessary to accomplish a purpose of the agency required or authorized by the California Constitution or statute or mandated by the federal government, as provided. The act defines “agency” for these purposes as every state office, officer, department, division, bureau, board, commission, or other state agency, but excluding the Legislature, judicial branch entities, the State Compensation Insurance Fund, except as provided, and local agencies.
This bill would require that sensitive personal
information, as defined, and records containing sensitive personal information that are collected or obtained by the state, any state agency, or any subdivision of the state, including the California State University and the California Community Colleges, as well as any 3rd parties under contract with the state, any state agency, or any subdivision of the state to administer public services or programs or maintain data for state or local agencies, from an applicant for public services or programs be collected, recorded, or used only for the purpose of assessing eligibility for and providing administering those public services and programs for which the application has been submitted.
requested or used by the applicant.
By imposing new duties on local officials with respect to collecting, maintaining, and disclosing personal information, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
(3) Existing law regulates various professions and vocations by various boards within the Department of Consumer Affairs. Existing law requires those boards, the State Bar of California, and the Department of Real Estate to require a licensee, at the time of issuance of a license, to provide specified information, including the licensee’s federal employer identification number, if the licensee is a partnership, or his or her social security number or individual taxpayer identification number. Existing law provides that the applicant’s federal employer identification number, social security number, or individual taxpayer identification number information is not a
public record and is not open to the public for inspection.
This bill would revise this provision to provide that information is not open for public inspection, is confidential, and shall not be disclosed, except as specified. The bill would require information submitted by an applicant to be collected, recorded, and used only for the purpose of determining eligibility for a license and administering the licensing program.
(4) Existing law provides for the collection of personally identifiable information by educational entities, including, but not limited to, local educational agencies, the California Community Colleges, the University of California, and the California State University, for the purposes of providing specified educational services and benefits.
This bill would establish that personal information
collected or obtained pursuant to these provisions is confidential, and provide that this information would only be collected, used, and retained to administer the public services or programs for which that information was collected or obtained. The bill would prohibit disclosure of that personal information to any other person, except as provided.
By imposing new duties on local officials with respect to collecting, maintaining, and disclosing personal information, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
(5) Existing law establishes several education programs to promote and fund the education of health professionals. Existing law prohibits these programs from denying an application based on the citizenship status or immigration status of the applicant.
This bill would provide that information about or submitted by
applicants for these programs is exempt from disclosure under the California Public Records Act and is confidential, and would require that the information be used only as required to assess eligibility for for, or to administer, these programs, as specified.
(6) Existing law requires that each application for an original or a renewal of a driver’s license contain specified information. Under existing law, any document provided by the applicant to the department for purposes of proving his or her identity, true, full name, California residency, or that the applicant’s presence in the United States is authorized under federal law, is not a public record and the department is prohibited from disclosing this information except when requested by a law
enforcement agency as part of an investigation.
This bill would instead prohibit the department from disclosing this information except in response to a subpoena for individual records in a state criminal proceeding or a court order. The bill would also expand this prohibition to apply to any photograph taken of the applicant by the department, as specified.
(7) Existing law requires the Department of Motor Vehicles to issue an original driver’s license to a person who is unable to submit satisfactory proof that the applicant’s presence in the United States is authorized under federal law if he or she meets all other qualifications for licensure and provides satisfactory proof to the department of his or her identity and California residency. Under existing law, it is a violation of specified antidiscrimination provisions for a state or local governmental authority, agent, or person acting on behalf of
a state or local governmental authority, or a program or activity that is funded directly or receives financial assistance from the state, to discriminate against an individual because he or she holds or presents a license issued pursuant to these provisions.
This bill would specify that discrimination for these purposes includes notifying another law enforcement agency of the individual’s identity or that the individual carries a license issued under these provisions if a notification is not required by law or would not have been provided if the individual held a license that required satisfactory proof that his or her presence in the United States is authorized under federal law.
Existing law specifies that information collected under this provision is not a public record and prohibits disclosure, except as required by law.
This bill would instead prohibit disclosure except in
response to a subpoena for individual records in a state criminal proceeding or a court order.
Existing law prohibits use of a driver’s license issued under these provisions to consider an individual’s citizenship or immigration status as a basis for an investigation, arrest, citation, or detention.
This bill would instead prohibit use of a driver’s license issued under these provisions as evidence of an individual’s citizenship or immigration status for any purpose.
(8) Existing law authorizes the Department of Motor Vehicles to issue an identification card to any person attesting to the true full name, correct age, and other identifying data as certified by the applicant for the identification card. Existing law requires that the identification card resemble in appearance, so far as is practicable, a driver’s license issued pursuant to the Vehicle Code and
adequately describe the applicant, bear his or her picture, and be produced in color or engraved by a process or processes that prohibit, as near as possible, the ability to alter or reproduce the identification card, or prohibit the ability to superimpose a picture or photograph on the identification card without ready detection.
This bill would provide that information or documents obtained by a city, county, or other local agency for the purpose of issuing a local identification card may be used only for the purposes of administering the identification card program or policy. The bill would provide that this information is exempt from disclosure under the California Public Records Act and prohibit disclosure of that information, except as provided. The bill would declare that this provision addresses a matter of statewide concern and would apply to charter cities and charter counties.
(9) Existing
law requires a family law court and a court hearing a probate guardianship matter, upon request from the juvenile court in any county, to provide to the court all available information the court deems necessary to make a determination regarding the best interest of the child, as specified. Existing law also requires the information to be released to a child protective services worker or a juvenile probation officer acting within the scope of his or her duties in that proceeding. Existing law provides that any information released pursuant to these provisions that is confidential pursuant to any other law shall remain confidential.
This bill would require that all confidential information be used only for the purpose of serving the best interest of the child in juvenile court.
(10) Existing law requires youth service bureaus funded by specified provisions to
maintain accurate and complete case records, reports, statistics, and other information necessary for the conduct of its programs.
This bill would require these youth service bureaus to collect, use, and retain individual client information and records only for the purpose of administering youth services. The bill would provide that client information and records are exempt from disclosure under the California Public Records Act, are confidential, and may not be disclosed except as required to administer youth services or as required by law or court order.
By imposing new duties on local officials with respect to collecting, maintaining, and disclosing personal information, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
(11) Existing law provides for the Medi-Cal program, which is administered by the State
Department of Health Care Services, under which qualified low-income individuals receive health care services. The Medi-Cal program is, in part, governed and funded by federal Medicaid program provisions. Existing law extends eligibility for full-scope Medi-Cal benefits to individuals under 19 years of age who do not have, or are unable to establish, satisfactory immigration status, commencing after the Director of Health Care Services determines that systems have been programmed for implementation of this extension.
This bill would provide that information provided by individuals pursuant to these provisions to determine eligibility is exempt from disclosure under the California Public Records Act and is confidential, and may be used only as required to assess eligibility for Medi-Cal, for, or to
administer, the public services or programs requested or used by the applicant, as specified.
(12) Federal law, the federal Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA), provides that certain persons are not eligible for defined state and local public benefits unless a state law is enacted subsequent to the effective date of the act, August 22, 1996, that affirmatively provides for that eligibility. Existing law authorizes a city, county, city and county, or hospital district to provide aid, including health care, to persons who, but for the above-referred provision of the federal PRWORA, would meet the eligibility requirements for any program of that entity.
This bill would authorize a city, county, city and county, or hospital district to collect information for these purposes only as strictly necessary
required to assess eligibility for, or to administer, the program or public services or programs requested or used by the person seeking services, and exempt that information from disclosure under the California Public Records Act.
(13) Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest.
This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.
(14) 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.
(15) 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.