Bill Text: CA SB483 | 2019-2020 | Regular Session | Amended

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Bill Title: Department of Motor Vehicles: records: confidentiality.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2020-07-27 - Assembly Rule 56 suspended. [SB483 Detail]

Download: California-2019-SB483-Amended.html

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Amended  IN  Assembly  July 13, 2020

Amended  IN  Senate  March 26, 2019

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2019–2020 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill

No. 483

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Introduced by Senator Pan

February 21, 2019

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An act to add Section 27 to the Government Code, relating to general government provisions. amend Section 1808.4 of the Vehicle Code, relating to motor vehicles.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

SB 483, as amended, Pan. California family owned businesses. Department of Motor Vehicles: records: confidentiality.

Existing law prohibits the disclosure of the home addresses of certain public employees and officials that appears in records of the Department of Motor Vehicles, except to a court, a law enforcement agency, an attorney in a civil or criminal action under certain circumstances, and certain other official entities.

This bill would extend that prohibition, subject to those same exceptions, to the disclosure of the home addresses of a public health officer.

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.

Existing law provides various definitions for purposes of the Government Code.

This bill would define a “California family owned business” for purposes of any provision of the Government Code that explicitly references this definition.

Digest Key

Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: NOYES   Local Program: NO  

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Bill Text

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

 Section 1808.4 of the Vehicle Code is amended to read:

1808.4.

 (a) For all of the following persons, the person’s home address that appears in a record of the department is confidential if the person requests the confidentiality of that information:

(1) Attorney General.

(2) State Public Defender.

(3) A Member of the Legislature.

(4) An active or retired judge or court commissioner.

(5) A district attorney.

(6) A public defender.

(7) An attorney employed by the Department of Justice, the office of the State Public Defender, or a county office of the district attorney or public defender.

(8) A city attorney, city prosecutor, or an attorney who submits verification from their public employer that the attorney represents the city in matters that routinely place the attorney in personal contact with persons under investigation for, charged with, or convicted of, committing criminal acts, if that attorney is employed by a city attorney or city prosecutor.

(9) A nonsworn police dispatcher.

(10) A child abuse investigator or social worker, working in child protective services within a social services department.

(11) An active or retired peace officer, as defined in Chapter 4.5 (commencing with Section 830) of Title 3 of Part 2 of the Penal Code.

(12) An employee of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Division of Juvenile Facilities, or the Prison Industry Authority specified in Sections 20403 and 20405 of the Government Code.

(13) A nonsworn employee of a city police department, a county sheriff’s office, the Department of the California Highway Patrol, a federal, state, or local detention facility, or a local juvenile hall, camp, ranch, or home, who submits agency verification that, in the normal course of the employee’s employment, the employee controls or supervises inmates or is required to have a prisoner in the employee’s care or custody.

(14) A county counsel assigned to child abuse cases.

(15) An investigator employed by the Department of Justice, a county district attorney, or a county public defender.

(16) A member of a city council.

(17) A member of a board of supervisors.

(18) A federal prosecutor, criminal investigator, or National Park Service Ranger working in this state.

(19) An active or retired city enforcement officer engaged in the enforcement of the Vehicle Code or municipal parking ordinances.

(20) An employee of a trial court.

(21) A psychiatric social worker employed by a county.

(22) A police or sheriff department employee designated by the chief of police of the department or the sheriff of the county as being in a sensitive position. A designation pursuant to this paragraph shall, for purposes of this section, remain in effect for three years subject to additional designations that, for purposes of this section, shall remain in effect for additional three-year periods.

(23) A state employee in one of the following classifications:

(A) Licensing-Registration Examiner, Department of Motor Vehicles.

(B) Motor Carrier Specialist I, Department of the California Highway Patrol.

(C) Museum Security Officer and Supervising Museum Security Officer.

(D) Licensing Program Analyst, State Department of Social Services.

(24) (A) The spouse or child of a person listed in paragraphs (1) to (23), inclusive, regardless of the spouse’s or child’s place of residence.

(B) The surviving spouse or child of a peace officer, as defined in Chapter 4.5 (commencing with Section 830) of Title 3 of Part 2 of the Penal Code, if the peace officer died in the line of duty.

(C) The surviving spouse or child of a judge or court commissioner, if the judge or court commissioner died in the performance of their duties.

(D) (i) Subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C) do not apply if the person listed in those subparagraphs was convicted of a crime and is on active parole or probation.

(ii) For requests made on or after January 1, 2011, the person requesting confidentiality for their spouse or child listed in subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) shall declare, at the time of the request for confidentiality, whether the spouse or child has been convicted of a crime and is on active parole or probation.

(iii) Neither the listed person’s employer nor the department shall be required to verify, or be responsible for verifying, that a person listed in subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) was convicted of a crime and is on active parole or probation.

(E) (i) The department shall discontinue holding a home address confidential pursuant to this subdivision for a person specified in subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) who is the child or spouse of a person described in paragraph (4), (9), (11), (13), or (22) if the child or spouse is convicted of a felony in this state or is convicted of an offense in another jurisdiction that, if committed in California, would be a felony.

(ii) The department shall comply with this subparagraph upon receiving notice of a disqualifying conviction from the agency that employs or formerly employed the parent or spouse of the convicted person, or as soon as the department otherwise becomes aware of the disqualifying conviction.

(25) A public health officer.

(b) The confidential home address of a person listed in subdivision (a) shall not be disclosed, except to any of the following:

(1) A court.

(2) A law enforcement agency.

(3) The State Board of Equalization.

(4) An attorney in a civil or criminal action that demonstrates to a court the need for the home address, if the disclosure is made pursuant to a subpoena.

(5) A governmental agency to which, under any law, information is required to be furnished from records maintained by the department.

(c) (1) A record of the department containing a confidential home address shall be open to public inspection, as provided in Section 1808, if the address is completely obliterated or otherwise removed from the record.

(2) Following termination of office or employment, a confidential home address shall be withheld from public inspection for three years, unless the termination is the result of conviction of a criminal offense. If the termination or separation is the result of the filing of a criminal complaint, a confidential home address shall be withheld from public inspection during the time in which the terminated individual may file an appeal from termination, while an appeal from termination is ongoing, and until the appeal process is exhausted, after which confidentiality shall be at the discretion of the employing agency if the termination or separation is upheld. Upon reinstatement to an office or employment, the protections of this section are available.

(3) With respect to a retired peace officer, the peace officer’s home address shall be withheld from public inspection permanently upon request of confidentiality at the time the information would otherwise be opened. The home address of the surviving spouse or child listed in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (24) of subdivision (a) shall be withheld from public inspection for three years following the death of the peace officer.

(4) The department shall inform a person who requests a confidential home address what agency the individual whose address was requested is employed by or the court at which the judge or court commissioner presides.

(5) With respect to a retired judge or court commissioner, the retired judge or court commissioner’s home address shall be withheld from public inspection permanently upon request of confidentiality at the time the information would otherwise be opened. The home address of the surviving spouse or child listed in subparagraph (C) of paragraph (24) of subdivision (a) shall be withheld from public inspection for three years following the death of the judge or court commissioner.

(d) A violation of subdivision (a) by the disclosure of the confidential home address of a peace officer, as specified in paragraph (11) of subdivision (a), a nonsworn employee of the city police department or county sheriff’s office, a judge or court commissioner, as specified in paragraph (4) of subdivision (a), or the spouses or children of these persons, including, but not limited to, the surviving spouse or child listed in subparagraph (B) or (C) of paragraph (24) of subdivision (a), that results in bodily injury to the peace officer, employee of the city police department or county sheriff’s office, judge or court commissioner, or the spouses or children of these persons is a felony.

SEC. 2.

 The Legislature finds and declares that Section 1 of this act, which amends Section 1808.4 of the Vehicle Code, imposes a limitation on the public’s right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies within the meaning of Section 3 of Article I of the California Constitution. Pursuant to that constitutional provision, the Legislature makes the following findings to demonstrate the interest protected by this limitation and the need for protecting that interest:

This act protects the personal, private information of public health officials and their families while preserving the public’s right to access information concerning the conduct of the people’s business.

SECTION 1.

The Legislature finds and declares the following:

(a)In 2007, California was home to 1.4 million family owned businesses, which employed nearly 7 million people.

(b)Both large and small family owned businesses have been recognized through numerous academic studies as having unique characteristics. Those studies verify that family owned businesses invest more in their employees in terms of training and benefits, promote more women to high-level management positions, and are less likely to lay off employees or downsize in tough economic times.

(c)California family owned businesses continually demonstrate extraordinary commitment to the communities in which they operate because they are headquartered in the state. California family owned businesses have been shown to engage in high levels of local, community-based philanthropic giving, and are strong stewards of the environment by virtue of their long-term perspective and sense of duty to past, present, and future generations within the state.

SEC. 2.

(a)It is the intent of the Legislature that this act will aid, counsel, assist, and protect the interests of California family owned businesses in order to preserve free competitive enterprise and support family owned enterprises.

(b)A business that is owned and operated by relatives creates a unique business structure that can be distinguished from other business structures. The purpose of this act is to create a definition for this business structure in order to provide a framework for the Legislature to better understand and address the role family owned businesses play within the California economy.

SEC. 3.Section 27 is added to the Government Code, to read:

27.

(a)For the purposes of this code, “California family owned business” means a business that meets all of the following requirements:

(1)Is organized as a privately held business by one individual or two or more related persons, or is a partnership of business entities owned by related persons.

(2)Maintains its principal executive office in California.

(3)Has been in business for more than 10 continuous years.

(4)One of the following applies:

(A)Is owned by a sole proprietorship.

(B)Is a business entity owned by one individual or two or more related persons domiciled in California who hold a majority of the equity interests.

(C)Is a partnership of business entities owned by related persons domiciled in California who hold a majority of the equity interests.

(5)The business is controlled by one individual or two or more related persons who exhibit strategic influence and control of the business by holding the business as a sole proprietorship or by holding at least 30 percent of the voting interest.

(6)Demonstrates an intent to continuously operate as a family owned business in the future through any of the following:

(A)Present ownership by two or more related persons.

(B)A previous transfer of ownership or equity interests between related persons.

(C)Is subject to a written agreement providing for a future transfer between related persons, provided that the agreement was executed in good faith.

(b)For the purpose of this section, “related person” includes a person who is related by a common ancestor, pursuant to state or federal law up to four generations. Any person related by greater than four generations is included if that person’s ownership or operational involvement arose from an exercise of continuity across generations as described in paragraph (6) of subdivision (a). “Related persons” also includes a parent, stepparent, brother, sister, stepbrother, stepsister, half brother, half sister, adopted person, stepchild, foster child, uncle, aunt, niece, nephew, first cousin, and any person denoted by the prefix “grand” or “great.” A spouse, domestic partner, and the spouse or domestic partner of any person that qualifies as a person related by a common ancestor, pursuant to state or federal law up to four generations, is also included within the definition of “related persons” and shall continue to be included in the event of the legal relationship being terminated by death or dissolution.

(c)The definition for “California family owned business” provided in this section shall only apply to provisions in which this section is explicitly cross-referenced.