California Assembly Bill AB2753 Introduced / Bill

 BILL NUMBER: AB 2753INTRODUCED BILL TEXT INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Furutani FEBRUARY 19, 2010 An act to amend Section 102475 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to birth certificates. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 2753, as introduced, Furutani. Birth certificates: confidentiality. Existing law requires a certificate of live birth to contain specified information, including specified confidential information. Under existing law, a person who releases a copy of the confidential portion of a certificate of live birth, except as allowed by statute, is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of $500 or 6 months in jail. This bill would increase the fine to $1,000. By increasing the penalty for an existing crime, the bill would create a state-mandated local program. 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. Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: yes. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Section 102475 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read: 102475. (a)  Any   A  person who releases a copy of the confidential portion of the certificate of live birth, except as specifically provided by this part, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of  five hundred dollars ($500)   one thousand dollars ($1,000)  or six months in jail. The criminal penalty shall not preclude suit for civil or punitive damages by  any individuals   an individual  harmed by the unauthorized release. (b) Any   A  person who is the subject of, or the source of information for, a birth certificate, who has reason to believe there has been linkage of confidential information with his or her identity and disclosure of the confidential information to a person not specified in subdivision (a) of Section 102430, shall have a civil right of action against the person releasing the information and may seek punitive damages. SEC. 2. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution.