BILL NUMBER: AB 923AMENDED BILL TEXT AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 13, 2009 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Swanson FEBRUARY 26, 2009 An act to amend Section 1808.4 of the Vehicle Code, relating to the Department of Motor Vehicles. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 923, as amended, Swanson. Department of Motor Vehicles: public records: addresses. (1) Existing law makes confidential the home address of a list of local, state, and federal officers or employees, and the spouses or children of those officers or employees, that appears in a record of the Department of Motor Vehicles, if the included person requests it to be kept confidential, with certain exemptions for information available to specified governmental agencies and certain attorneys. A violation of the confidentiality requirement is a crime. This bill would add to that list a veterinarian employed by a zoo, a public animal control agency shelter, or a society for the prevention of cruelty to animals shelter or a humane society shelter contracting with a local public agency for animal care or protection services. The bill also would add constitutional officers of the State Board of Equalization and specified local government code enforcement officers to that list. The bill, by adding persons to be covered by those confidentiality requirements, would expand the scope of a crime, thereby imposing a state-mandated local program. (2) 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 1808.4 of the Vehicle Code is amended to read: 1808.4. (a) For all of the following persons, his or her 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) A judge or court commissioner. (5) A district attorney. (6) A public defender. (7) A constitutional officer of the State Board of Equalization. (8) 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. (9) A city attorney and an attorney who submits verification from his or her 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. (10) A nonsworn police dispatcher. (11) A child abuse investigator or social worker, working in child protective services within a social services department. (12) 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. (13) 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. (14) 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 his or her employment, he or she controls or supervises inmates or is required to have a prisoner in his or her care or custody. (15) A county counsel assigned to child abuse cases. (16) An investigator employed by the Department of Justice, a county district attorney, or a county public defender. (17) A member of a city council. (18) A member of a board of supervisors. (19) A federal prosecutor, criminal investigator, or National Park Service Ranger working in this state. (20) An active or retired city enforcement officer engaged in the enforcement of the Vehicle Code or municipal parking ordinances. (21) An employee of a trial court. (22) A psychiatric social worker employed by a county. (23) 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. (24) A state employee in one of the following classifications: (A) Licensing Registration Examiner, Department of Motor Vehicles. (B) Motor Carrier Specialist 1, California Highway Patrol. (C) Museum Security Officer and Supervising Museum Security Officer. (25) (A) A veterinarian employed by a zoo, a public animal control agency shelter, or a society for the prevention of cruelty to animals shelter or a humane society shelter contracting with a local public agency for animal care or protection services. (B) For purposes of this paragraph, "veterinarian" means a person licensed as a veterinarian pursuant to the Veterinary Medicine Practice Act (Chapter 11 (commencing with Section 4800) of Division 2 of the Business and Professions Code). (C) For purposes of this paragraph, "zoo" has the same meaning as defined in Section 2150 of the Fish and Game Code. (26) (A) A code enforcement officer employed by a local government agency. (B) For purposes of this paragraph, "code enforcement officer" means a local official responsible for enforcing housing codes and maintaining public safety in buildings , and a public health officer with the authority to arrest pursuant to Section 836.5 of the Penal Code . (27) (A) The spouse or child of a person listed in paragraphs (1) to (26), 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. (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 provision of 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, his or her 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 (27) 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. (d) A violation of subdivision (a) by the disclosure of the confidential home address of a peace officer, as specified in paragraph (12) of subdivision (a), a nonsworn employee of a city police department or county sheriff's office, or the spouses or children of these persons, including, but not limited to, the surviving spouse or child listed in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (27) of subdivision (a), that results in bodily injury to the peace officer, employee of the city police department or county sheriff's office, or the spouses or children of these persons is a felony. 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.