Assembly Bill (AB) 2263 requires the Secretary of State to provide each participant in the non-disclosure program with a notice that they may request certain actions in relation to real property records when purchasing or selling a home; prohibits specified entities from publicly posting or displaying on the Internet the home address of a program participant who is a reproductive health care services provider, employee, volunteer, or patient who has requested address non-disclosure.
Status:
05/27/2016 In ASSEMBLY. Read third time. Passed ASSEMBLY. *****To SENATE. (70-0)
Background:
Bill Analysis - 05/26/2016
SUMMARY: Standardizes the confidentiality protections for Safe at Home (SAH) program participants, regardless of whether their participation is based on their status as victims of domestic violence, stalking, or sexual assault, or on their status as a patient, employee, or volunteer at a reproductive health care clinic; and requires the Secretary of State (SOS) to provide SAH enrollees with information about how to protect their privacy on real property records. Specifically, this bill:
1) Specifies that no person, business, or association shall publicly post or display on the Internet the address of an SAH program participant, as specified, who has made a written demand of that person, business, or association to not disclose the home address of the program participant.
2) Specifies that no person, business, or association shall knowingly post the home address of a an SAH program participant, as specified, or of the program participant's residing spouse or child, on the Internet, knowing that person is a program participant and intending to cause imminent great bodily harm or threatening to cause imminent great bodily harm to the program participant or his or her residing spouse or child. However, this provision does not apply to an interactive computer service or access software provider, as defined, unless the service or provider intends to abet or cause imminent great bodily harm that is likely to occur or threatens to cause imminent great bodily harm to a program participant.
3) Requires the SOS to post on its website and provide new SAH enrollees information about how to protect personal privacy on real property records as follows:
a) A notice that the participant may request to use his or her SOS SAH address on real property deeds, change of ownership forms, and deeds of trust when purchasing or selling a home;
b) A notice that the participant may wish to protect his or her home address from disclosure in real property transactions by creating a trust and placing his or her real property into the trust;
c) A notice that the participant may wish to legally change his or her name in order to protect his or her anonymity; and
d) A list of contacts for entities, such as county bar associations, legal aid societies, domestic violence prevention organizations, or other state or local nonprofits who can provide more information and legal services to create a trust or accomplish a name change.
EXISTING LAW:
1) Establishes the SAH address confidentiality program within the office of the SOS. This program allows state and local agencies to accept a substitute address designated by the SOS in lieu of an actual home address and requires the agency to request for public records without disclosing the address of a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, or elder or dependent adult abuse. Permits any such adult victim, or parent or guardian acting on behalf of a minor or incapacitated person, to apply through a specified program to have an address designated by the SOS as his or her substitute mailing address.
2) Similarly, allows reproductive health care providers, employees, volunteers, and patients to participate in the SAH address confidentiality program, as specified.
3) Provides that no person, business, or association shall knowingly and intentionally publicly post or publicly display on the Internet the home address, home telephone number, or image of a program participant or other individuals residing at the same home address with the intent to threaten the participant or cause the participant, or co-resident, harm, as specified.
4) Prohibits the SOS from disclosing a program participant's name change or address, other than the designated address, unless it is requested by, and disclosed to, law enforcement, or directed by a court, or if the participant's certification has been canceled.
5) Prohibits a person, business, or association from knowingly posting or displaying on the Internet the home address, home telephone number, or image of any provider, employee, volunteer, or patient of a reproductive health service facility, with the intent to incite a third person to cause imminent bodily harm to a person protected by this provision. Permits a person whose personal information is posted to bring an action for injunctive relief of damages, as specified. Provides that no person shall post or display on the Internet any personal information about a person protected by this provision if the person has requested that the information be removed, as specified.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, minor and absorbable costs for the SOS to provide the required notifications. There are currently about 3,100 SAH participants.
COMMENTS: The California Public Records Act (PRA) requires state and local agencies to make public records available for inspection and copying by members of the public, unless the records are expressly exempted from disclosure by express provisions of the PRA or some other statute. One such exemption includes participants in the Safe At Home (SAH) program, which is intended to keep the home addresses of program participants confidential. Though restricted to victims of domestic violence when first established in 1998, the program has since expanded to include victims of stalking and sexual assault, patients, employees, and volunteers of reproductive health centers, and victims of elder and dependent adult abuse. The SAH program works by allowing program participants to use a substitute, publicly disclosable address, in lieu of the actual home address, whenever an address is required by a public agency for an official purpose. Any correspondence from the agency to the participant is sent to the designated address, and the SOS forwards it to the participant's actual and confidential address. In addition, the SOS is also designated to receive legal notices and service of process on the participant's behalf. Agencies must accept the SOS address and use it when creating, or disclosing, public records.
As most recently amended, this bill does two things. First, it offers the same protections for SAH program participants, regardless of the reason for their participation. Existing law provides separate code sections for SAH participants who are victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking, on the one hand, and SAH participants who are clients, employees, or volunteers of a reproductive health center, on the other hand. This bill effectively harmonizes these two code provisions so that both groups have the same protections. Second, in order to make maximize the effectiveness of the program, this bill requires the SOS to provide to each participant, and to post on its Internet Web site, a notice that informs participants about their rights under the program and provides other information on how the participant can better protect his or her privacy on property records.
Analysis Prepared by: Thomas Clark / JUD. / (916) 319-2334 FN: 0003033
Attachment A includes the bill text. |