Privacy Legislation Enacted in 2010

Unless otherwise noted, all laws go into effect January 1, 2011

AB 819 (Calderon) Intellectual Property Piracy
This law doubles the fines for crimes relating to the theft or piracy of intellectual property. It also restores a provision of law on intellectual property theft that would become inoperative on January 1, 2010. Penal Code §§ 350, 653h, 653s, 653u, 653w, 653z, 653aa, and 1202.4 and Chapter 5.8 (commencing with §13849)

AB 953 (Eng) DMV Records Confidentiality
This law expands an existing exception to the confidentiality of residence addresses in DMV records to include an authorized contractor acting on behalf of an insurance company pursuant to a contractual agreement. It subjects any such information to the same use, disclosure and data security limits that exist for the insurance company and makes the company responsible for any misuse by the contractor. Vehicle Code § 1808.22

AB 1813 (Lieu) Public Officials: Personal Information
This law includes information provided to cellular phone applications in the personal information that a public official may ask to be removed from the Internet. It also expands the definition of peace officer within the definition of public official. Government Code §§ 6254.21 and 6254.24

AB 1942 (Fletcher) Vehicles: Video Event Recorder
This law authorizes the placement of video event recorder in vehicles, subject to conditions of use including the following: a posted notice stating that a passenger's conversation may be recorded, a limitation of 30 seconds of stored recording before and after a triggering event, and recorded data is owned by the owner of the vehicle who may disable the recorder. Employers must provide united copies of records at the request of employees driving for hire. Vehicle Code § 26708

AB 1971 (Lowenthal) California State University and University of California: Alumni Information
This law allows the University of California and the California State University to continue to release the names and addresses of their alumni to businesses (such as banks and mortgage companies) with whom the universities have affinity-partner agreements for five more years. The law also mandates that the universities add an "opt out" form to the alumni association's homepage or on the university's online privacy policy pages. Education Code §§ 89090, 89090.5, 92630, 92630.9, 89090.3 and 92630.3

AB 2028 (Hernandez) Confidentiality of Medical Information: Disclosure
This law amends the Confidentiality of Medical Information Act to expressly authorize mandated reporters of child abuse and neglect and elder and dependent adult abuse to subsequently disclose requested information to the agency investigating the reported abuse or neglect. It also exempts information disclosed by a psychotherapist from certain provisions of existing law. Civil Code §§ 56.10 and 56.104

AB 2091 (Conway) Public Records: Information Security
This law exempts information security records from disclosure under the California Public Records Act. If disclosed, the exempted information security records would reveal vulnerabilities of an information technology system or increase the potential for cyber attacks. Government Code § 6254.19

AB 2567 (Bradford) - Parking Violations: Digital Photographs
This law allows local public agencies to use automated parking enforcement systems for street sweeping-related parking violations. The individual recognition and global positioning photographic equipment attached to street sweeping machines authorized in this law will be similar to the equipment currently used for red light violations at intersections. Vehicle Code §§ 40207, 40245 and following

SB 5 (Hollingsworth) - Deceased Child Victims' Protection and Privacy Act
This law allows the parents or guardians of a murdered child, by sealing their murdered child's autopsy report, to prevent Public Records Act inspections of that report. The law permits inspections for law enforcement, investigatory, or litigation purposes. It applies only to reports held by public agencies as defined in the Public Records Act, and does not affect access to court records. Effective 9/27/10. Code of Civil Procedure § 130; Penal Code §§ 290.05, 290.09 and 9003

SB 909 (Wright) - Investigative Consumer Reporting Agencies: Disclosures
This law requires employers that use background screening companies to provide job applicants or employees with the screening company's website address. It requires the background company to make its off-shore processing practices clear in a prominent privacy policy on its website. The law also makes the screening company liable for any harm job applicants might experience as a result of foreign sub-contractors mishandling the job applicants' personal information. Civil Code §§1786.16 and 1786.20

SB 938 (Huff) - DMV Records Confidentiality
Existing law mandates that the home addresses of peace officers and public officials have confidential status within DMV records. This law excludes spouses and children of peace officers and other enumerated public officials from confidential DMV record status if the spouses or children have been convicted of crimes and are on active parole or probation. Vehicle Code §§1808.4 and 2431

SB 1087 (Alquist) Identity Theft: Restitution
This law allows a reasonably necessary period of time for restitution to identity theft victims for costs they incur in monitoring their credit report and in repairing their credit histories. Penal Code § 1202.4

SB 1233 (Oropeza) - Confidential Address Programs
This law makes permanent the Secretary of State's Safe at Home Program, which provides confidential addresses to victims of domestic violence and similar crimes. The law also requires that the Secretary of State's Office permanently retain name change records for Safe at Home Program participants so that documentation of their past identities does not vanish. Elections Code § 2166.5, Government Code §§ 6206.5, 6211 and 6217

SB 1268 (Simitian) Electronic Toll Collection: Personal Information
This law prohibits transportation agencies, as defined, from selling or providing personal information obtained from an individual's participation in an electronic toll collection system, with certain exceptions. It prohibits such agencies from using non-subscribers' personal information collected through the system to market to the nonsubscribers. It requires such agencies to establish a privacy policy, including specified information, and sets a maximum retention period of 4-1/2 years for personal account information. Among other things, it also provides that an agency may only make personal information available to a law enforcement agency pursuant to a search warrant, with certain exceptions. Streets and Highways Code § 31490

SB 1411 (Simitian) Impersonation: Internet
This law updates impersonation law to make it a crime to impersonate another person via a website, including by establishing an e-mail or social networking site, for purposes of harming, threatening or defrauding another person. The law also allows a person who suffers damage or loss from impersonation to bring a civil action against the violator. Penal Code § 528.5

SB 1476 (Padilla) Public Utilities "Smart Meter" Privacy
This law, among other things, prohibits an electrical or gas corporation from sharing, disclosing, or otherwise making accessible to any 3rd party a customer's electrical or gas consumption data, as defined, except as specified, and would require such utilities to use reasonable security procedures and practices to protect a customer's unencrypted consumption data from unauthorized access, destruction, use, modification or disclosure. It prohibits such a corporation from selling a customer's consumption data or any other personally identifiable information for any purpose. Public Utilities Code §§ 8380-8381