Existing law, California Public Records Act, requires that public records are open to inspection, subject to various exceptions. The act excepts from public inspection the home addresses and home telephone numbers of state employees and employees of a school district or county office of education, provided that disclosure can be made in specified instances, including to an employee organization.

This bill would, with certain exceptions, extend the limitation on the disclosure of the personal information described above to all employees of a public agency and would extend the limitation to include personal cellular telephone numbers and birth dates. By increasing the duties of local officials, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

Existing law additionally excepts from public inspection specified information regarding persons paid by the state to provide in-home supportive services. Existing law requires copies of names, addresses, and telephone numbers of those persons to be made available, upon request, to an exclusive bargaining agent and to any labor organization seeking representation rights, as specified.

This bill would additionally require personal cellular telephone numbers of those persons to be made available to an exclusive bargaining agent and to any labor organization seeking representation rights.

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.

The California Constitution requires local agencies, for the purpose of ensuring public access to the meetings of public bodies and the writings of public officials and agencies, to comply with a statutory enactment that amends or enacts laws relating to public records or open meetings and contains findings demonstrating that the enactment furthers the constitutional requirements relating to this purpose.

This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.

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.

Existing law, California Public Records Act, requires that public records are open to inspection, subject to various exceptions. The act excepts from public inspection the home addresses and home telephone numbers of state employees and employees of a school district or county office of education, provided that disclosure can be made in specified instances, including to an employee organization.

This bill would, with certain exceptions, extend the limitation on the disclosure of the personal information described above to all employees of a public agency and would extend the limitation to include personal cellular telephone numbers and birth dates. By increasing the duties of local officials, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

Existing law additionally excepts from public inspection specified information regarding persons paid by the state to provide in-home supportive services. Existing law requires copies of names, addresses, and telephone numbers of those persons to be made available, upon request, to an exclusive bargaining agent and to any labor organization seeking representation rights, as specified.

This bill would additionally require personal cellular telephone numbers of those persons to be made available to an exclusive bargaining agent and to any labor organization seeking representation rights.

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.

The California Constitution requires local agencies, for the purpose of ensuring public access to the meetings of public bodies and the writings of public officials and agencies, to comply with a statutory enactment that amends or enacts laws relating to public records or open meetings and contains findings demonstrating that the enactment furthers the constitutional requirements relating to this purpose.

This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.

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.

Existing law, California Public Records Act, requires that public records are open to inspection, subject to various exceptions. The act excepts from public inspection the home addresses and home telephone numbers of state employees and employees of a school district or county office of education, provided that disclosure can be made in specified instances, including to an employee organization.

This bill would would, with certain exceptions, extend the limitation on the disclosure of the personal information described above to all employees of a public agency and would extend the limitation to include personal cellular telephone numbers and birth dates. By increasing the duties of local officials, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

Existing law additionally excepts from public inspection specified information regarding persons paid by the state to provide in-home supportive services. Existing law requires copies of names, addresses, and telephone numbers of those persons to be made available, upon request, to an exclusive bargaining agent and to any labor organization seeking representation rights, as specified.

This bill would additionally require personal cellular telephone numbers of those persons to be made available to an exclusive bargaining agent and to any labor organization seeking representation rights.

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.

The California Constitution requires local agencies, for the purpose of ensuring public access to the meetings of public bodies and the writings of public officials and agencies, to comply with a statutory enactment that amends or enacts laws relating to public records or open meetings and contains findings demonstrating that the enactment furthers the constitutional requirements relating to this purpose.

This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.

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.

Existing law, California Public Records Act, requires that public records are open to inspection, subject to various exceptions. The act excepts from public inspection the home addresses and home telephone numbers of state employees and employees of a school district or county office of education, provided that disclosure can be made in specified instances, including to an employee organization.

This bill would extend the limitation on the disclosure of the personal information described above to all employees of a public agency and would extend the limitation to include personal cellular telephone numbers, personal electronic mail addresses, numbers and birth dates. By increasing the duties of local officials, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

Existing law additionally excepts from public inspection specified information regarding persons paid by the state to provide in-home supportive services. Existing law requires copies of names, addresses, and telephone numbers of those persons to be made available, upon request, to an exclusive bargaining agent and to any labor organization seeking representation rights, as specified.

This bill would additionally require personal cellular telephone numbers, personal electronic mail addresses, and birth dates numbers of those persons to be made available to an exclusive bargaining agent and to any labor organization seeking representation rights.

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.

The California Constitution requires local agencies, for the purpose of ensuring public access to the meetings of public bodies and the writings of public officials and agencies, to comply with a statutory enactment that amends or enacts laws relating to public records or open meetings and contains findings demonstrating that the enactment furthers the constitutional requirements relating to this purpose.

This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.

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.

Existing law, California Public Records Act, requires that public records are open to inspection, subject to various exceptions. The act excepts from public inspection the home addresses and home telephone numbers of state employees and employees of a school district or county office of education, provided that disclosure can be made in specified instances, including to an employee organization.

This bill would extend the limitation on the disclosure of the personal information of state employees and described above to all employees of a school district or county office of education, described above, public agency and would extend the limitation to include personal cellular telephone numbers and numbers, personal electronic mail addresses. addresses, and birth dates. By increasing the duties of local officials, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

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.

The California Constitution requires local agencies, for the purpose of ensuring public access to the meetings of public bodies and the writings of public officials and agencies, to comply with a statutory enactment that amends or enacts laws relating to public records or open meetings and contains findings demonstrating that the enactment furthers the constitutional requirements relating to this purpose.

This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.

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.

The California Public Records Act requires state and local agencies to make their records available for public inspection, unless an exemption from disclosure applies. The act declares that access to information concerning the conduct of the peoples business is a fundamental and necessary right of every person in this state.

This bill would make a nonsubstantive change to these provisions.

CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS

CSA1 Bill Id:AB 2843

Author:(Chau)

As Amended Ver:August 18, 2016

Majority vote

Original Committee Reference: JUD.

SUMMARY: Clarifies that an existing provision of the California Public Records Act that exempts the homes addresses and home telephone numbers of certain public employees from public disclosure so that it applies to all public employees, including persons paid by the state to provide in-home support services, and extends the exemption to include the employee's personal cell phone number and personal e-mail address. Specifically, this bill:

1. Extends an existing provision of the California Public Records Act that exempts the home addresses and home telephone numbers of state employees and employees of a school district or county office of education from public disclosure so that it applies to all public employees, including persons paid by the state to provide in-home support services, and extends the exemption to include an employee's personal cellular phone numbers and personal electronic mail addresses.
2. Makes findings, as required by the California Constitution, that this bill's limitation on the public's right to access public records is necessary in order to protect the privacy and well-being of state and local employees by limiting access to their personal and emergency contact information.

The Senate amendments:

1. Extend that disclosure exemption to all public employees, including persons paid by the state to provide in-home support services.
2. Make technical and clarifying amendments.

EXISTING LAW:

1. Provides that public records are open to public inspection, unless expressly exempted by a provision of the Public Records Act or another statute.
2. Provides that the home addresses and home telephone numbers of state employees and employees of a school district or county office of education shall not be deemed to be public records and shall not be open to public inspection, unless the disclosure is made to an agent or family member of the employee; an officer or employee of another state agency, school district, or county office of education when necessary for the performance of official duties; to an employee organization, as specified; or to an agent of a health benefit plan, as specified.

FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state costs.

COMMENTS: Existing law exempts from disclosure under the California Public Records Act (CPRA) the home addresses and home phone numbers of state employees and employees of a school district or county office of education, unless the disclosure is made to a family member, an employee organization or to another agency or entity for a designated administrative purpose. This non-controversial bill simply extends this exemption to include modern forms of employee contact information: personal cell phone numbers and personal e-mail addresses. Additionally, this bill extends the exemption to all employees of a public agency, including persons paid by the state to provide in-home support services, whereas existing law only applies to state employees and employees of local educational entities.

California Case Law on a Public Employee's Personal Information: As noted by Service Employees International Union (SEIU) in its letter supporting this bill, the California courts interpreting the CPRA – like federal courts interpreting the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) – have already begun to move in the direction of keeping a public employee's personal contact information confidential. For example, in Sonoma County Employee's Retirement Association v. Superior Court (2011), a newspaper requested that the county's pension system provide the paper with records showing the name of each former employee receiving a pension from the county, the former employee's age at retirement, and the amount of the pension that the former employee received. When the pension system refused the request, the newspaper successfully obtained a writ of mandate from the superior court ordering the system to turn over the information. The California Court of Appeal, however, overturned that part of the order requiring disclosure of the age at retirement, but upheld that part of the order that required the pension system to turn over the names of retirees and amounts of their pensions. In rejecting the claims of the pension system that the retirees' privacy interests outweighed any public interest in names and pension amounts of individual employees, the court stressed that "our ruling will not result in the release of home addresses, telephone numbers, or e-mail addresses of retirees and beneficiaries." (Sonoma County Employee's Retirement Association v. Superior Court (2011) 198 Cal. App. 986, quote at 1006; emphasis added.) The Court's statement was only dicta, since the court was not asked to decide whether retirees' privacy interests in home addresses, phone numbers, and e-mail addresses sufficiently outweighed the public interest in disclosure. Nonetheless, the court's statement suggests at the very least that it saw e-mail addresses as the equivalent of the home address and home phone number. In addition, it shows that the courts are willing to protect the contact information of all public employees – not just the state employees or local school employees covered by Government Code Section 5254.3 – by citing other provisions of the CPRA, including the so-called "catch-all" balancing test that allows an agency to withhold information if the public interest in non-disclosure "clearly outweighs" the public interest in disclosure.

Analysis Prepared by: Thomas Clark / JUD. / (916) 319-2334 FN: 0004716

 THIRD READING  

Bill No: AB 2843

Author:

:

Vote:

SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: 7-0, 6/21/16

AYES: Jackson, Moorlach, Anderson, Hertzberg, Leno, Monning, Wieckowski

SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Senate Rule 28.8

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 79-0, 5/5/16 (Consent) - See last page for vote

SUBJECT:

SOURCE: Author

DIGEST: This bill extends an exemption from disclosure under the California Public Records Act (CPRA) to include personal cellular telephone numbers and birth dates, and makes other conforming changes.

Senate Floor Amendments of 8/18/16 make technical changes.

ANALYSIS:

Existing law:

1. Declares, in the California Constitution, the people’s right to transparency in government. (“The people have the right of access to information concerning the conduct of the people’s business, and therefore, the meetings of public bodies and the writings of public officials and agencies shall be open to public scrutiny....”) (Cal. Const., art. I, Sec. 3.)
2. Governs, pursuant to the CPRA, the disclosure of information collected and maintained by public agencies. (Gov. Code Sec. 6250 et seq.) Generally, all public records are accessible to the public upon request, unless the record requested is exempt from public disclosure. (Gov. Code Sec. 6254.) There are 30 general categories of documents or information that are exempt from disclosure, essentially due to the character of the information, and unless it is shown that the public’s interest in disclosure outweighs the public’s interest in non-disclosure of the information, the exempt information may be withheld by the public agency with custody of the information.
3. Provides that the home addresses and home telephone numbers of state employees and employees of a school district or county office of education shall not be deemed to be public records and shall not be open to public inspection, unless the disclosure is made to an agent or family member of the employee; an officer or employee of another state agency, school district, or county office of education when necessary for the performance of official duties; to an employee organization, as specified; or to an agent of a health benefit plan, as specified. (Gov. Code Sec. 6254.3.)
4. Protects the information regarding persons paid by the state to provide in-home supportive services, except names, address and telephone numbers as requested by an exclusive bargaining agent and to any labor organization for employee organizing, representation, and assistance activities of the labor organization. (Gov. Code Sec. 6253.2.)

This bill:

1. Adds personal cellular phone numbers and birth dates to the above exemption to the CPRA.
2. Adds personal cellular phone numbers and personal electronic mail addresses to the above provision relating to persons paid by the state to provide in-home supportive services.
3. Makes findings, as required by the California Constitution, that this bill’s limitation on the public’s right to access public records is necessary in order to protect the privacy and well-being of state and local employees by limiting access to their personal and emergency contact information.

Background

The CPRA governs the disclosure of information collected and maintained by public agencies. Generally, all public records are accessible to the public upon request, unless the record requested is exempt from public disclosure. (Gov. Code Sec. 6254 et seq.) There are 30 general categories of documents or information that are exempt from disclosure, essentially due to the character of the information, and unless it is shown that the public’s interest in disclosure outweighs the public’s interest in non-disclosure of the information, the exempt information may be withheld by the public agency with custody of the information.

Existing law exempts from disclosure under the CPRA the home addresses and home phone numbers of state employees and employees of a school district or county office of education, unless the disclosure is made to a family member, an employee organization, or to another agency or entity for a designated administrative purpose. This exemption is necessary to protect the privacy of these employees, who necessarily work with the public and may be subject to harassment.

Seeking to ensure that the privacy of employees is protected, this bill extends the existing exemption from the CPRA for home addresses and home telephone numbers of government employees to include the employee’s personal cellular phone numbers and birthdates. This bill also adds this contact information to the information exclusive bargaining agents are able to receive for the purposes of employee organizing, representation, and assistance activities of the labor organization, as specified.

FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: Fiscal Com.: Local:

SUPPORT: (Verified 8/16/16)

California Educational Technology Professionals Association

California Labor Federation

California Professional Firefighters

LIUNA Locals 777 & 792

Peace Officers Research Association of California

School Employers Association of California

Service Employees International Union California

OPPOSITION: (Verified 8/16/16)

None received

ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: LIUNA Locals 777 & 792 write in support:

AB 2843 seeks to modernize the statutes governing the California Public Records Act (CPRA)by clarifying that modern communication modes, such as […] personal cell phones are protected under the act.

There have been several court cases since the inception of the CPRA (see, City of Los Angeles v. Los Angeles City Employee Relations Commission, 56 Cal. App 4th 905, 927 (2013), Sonoma county Employees Retirement Association v. Superior Court, 198 Cal. App 4th 986, 1006 (2011), and Lorig v. Medical Board, 78 Cal. App. 4th 462, 468 (2000), all of which have focused on the tight-rope balance between privacy interests obligations under the CPRA. Unfortunately, the CPRA has not been amended to address many of the important privacy rights finding, noted by the court. Further, although the CPRA is modeled after the Freedom of Information Act, CPRA fails to adhere to privacy rights protections the court have found inherent to FOIA.

AB 2843 seeks to align the CPRA with Case law as it regards to the protection of privacy rights of public employees.

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 79-0, 5/5/16

AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Arambula, Atkins, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chang, Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Roger Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Olsen, Patterson, Quirk, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wilk, Williams, Wood, Rendon

NO VOTE RECORDED: Beth Gaines

Prepared by: Nichole Rapier / JUD. / (916) 651-4113

8/19/16 18:49:21

**** END ****

 THIRD READING 

Bill No: AB 2843

Author: Chau (D)

Amended: 6/28/16 in Senate

Vote: 21

SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: 7-0, 6/21/16

AYES: Jackson, Moorlach, Anderson, Hertzberg, Leno, Monning, Wieckowski

SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Senate Rule 28.8

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 79-0, 5/5/16 (Consent) - See last page for vote

SUBJECT: Public records: employee contact information

SOURCE: Author

DIGEST: This bill extends an exemption from disclosure under the California Public Records Act (CPRA) to include personal cellular telephone numbers and birth dates, and makes other conforming changes.

ANALYSIS:

Existing law:

1. Declares, in the California Constitution, the people’s right to transparency in government. (“The people have the right of access to information concerning the conduct of the people’s business, and therefore, the meetings of public bodies and the writings of public officials and agencies shall be open to public scrutiny....”) (Cal. Const., art. I, Sec. 3.)
2. Governs, pursuant to the CPRA, the disclosure of information collected and maintained by public agencies. (Gov. Code Sec. 6250 et seq.) Generally, all public records are accessible to the public upon request, unless the record requested is exempt from public disclosure. (Gov. Code Sec. 6254.) There are 30 general categories of documents or information that are exempt from disclosure, essentially due to the character of the information, and unless it is shown that the public’s interest in disclosure outweighs the public’s interest in non-disclosure of the information, the exempt information may be withheld by the public agency with custody of the information.
3. Provides that the home addresses and home telephone numbers of state employees and employees of a school district or county office of education shall not be deemed to be public records and shall not be open to public inspection, unless the disclosure is made to an agent or family member of the employee; an officer or employee of another state agency, school district, or county office of education when necessary for the performance of official duties; to an employee organization, as specified; or to an agent of a health benefit plan, as specified. (Gov. Code Sec. 6254.3.)
4. Protects the information regarding persons paid by the state to provide in-home supportive services, except names, address and telephone numbers as requested by an exclusive bargaining agent and to any labor organization for employee organizing, representation, and assistance activities of the labor organization. (Gov. Code Sec. 6253.2.)

This bill:

1. Adds personal cellular phone numbers and birth dates to the above exemption to the CPRA.
2. Adds personal cellular phone numbers and personal electronic mail addresses to the above provision relating to persons paid by the state to provide in-home supportive services.
3. Makes findings, as required by the California Constitution, that this bill's limitation on the public’s right to access public records is necessary in order to protect the privacy and well-being of state and local employees by limiting access to their personal and emergency contact information.

FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: Yes

SUPPORT: (Verified 8/2/16)

California Educational Technology Professionals Association

California Labor Federation

California Professional Firefighters

LIUNA Locals 777 & 792

Peace Officers Research Association of California

School Employers Association of California

Service Employees International Union California

OPPOSITION: (Verified 8/2/16)

None received

ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: LIUNA Locals 777 & 792 write in support:

AB 2843 seeks to modernize the statutes governing the California Public Records Act (CPRA)by clarifying that modern communication modes, such as […] personal cell phones are protected under the act.

There have been several court cases since the inception of the CPRA (see, City of Los Angeles v. Los Angeles City Employee Relations Commission, 56 Cal. App 4^th 905, 927 (2013), Sonoma county Employees Retirement Association v. Superior Court, 198 Cal. App 4^th 986, 1006 (2011), and Lorig v. Medical Board, 78 Cal. App. 4^th 462, 468 (2000), all of which have focused on the tight-rope balance between privacy interests obligations under the CPRA. Unfortunately, the CPRA has not been amended to address many of the important privacy rights finding, noted by the court. Further, although the CPRA is modeled after the Freedom of Information Act, CPRA fails to adhere to privacy rights protections the court have found inherent to FOIA.

AB 2843 seeks to align the CPRA with Case law as it regards to the protection of privacy rights of public employees.

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 79-0, 5/5/16

AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Arambula, Atkins, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chang, Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Roger Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Olsen, Patterson, Quirk, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wilk, Williams, Wood, Rendon

NO VOTE RECORDED: Beth Gaines

Prepared by: Nichole Rapier / JUD. / (916) 651-4113

8/4/16 11:40:10

**** END ****

 CONSENT 

Bill No: AB 2843

Author: Chau (D)

Amended: 6/28/16 in Senate

Vote: 21

SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: 7-0, 6/21/16

AYES: Jackson, Moorlach, Anderson, Hertzberg, Leno, Monning, Wieckowski

SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Senate Rule 28.8

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 79-0, 5/5/16 (Consent) - See last page for vote

SUBJECT: Public records: employee contact information

SOURCE: Author

DIGEST: This bill extends an exemption from disclosure under the California Public Records Act (CPRA) to include personal cellular telephone numbers and birth dates, and makes other conforming changes.

ANALYSIS:

Existing law:

1. Declares, in the California Constitution, the people’s right to transparency in government. (“The people have the right of access to information concerning the conduct of the people’s business, and therefore, the meetings of public bodies and the writings of public officials and agencies shall be open to public scrutiny....”) (Cal. Const., art. I, Sec. 3.)
2. Governs, pursuant to the CPRA, the disclosure of information collected and maintained by public agencies. (Gov. Code Sec. 6250 et seq.) Generally, all public records are accessible to the public upon request, unless the record requested is exempt from public disclosure. (Gov. Code Sec. 6254.) There are 30 general categories of documents or information that are exempt from disclosure, essentially due to the character of the information, and unless it is shown that the public’s interest in disclosure outweighs the public’s interest in non-disclosure of the information, the exempt information may be withheld by the public agency with custody of the information.
3. Provides that the home addresses and home telephone numbers of state employees and employees of a school district or county office of education shall not be deemed to be public records and shall not be open to public inspection, unless the disclosure is made to an agent or family member of the employee; an officer or employee of another state agency, school district, or county office of education when necessary for the performance of official duties; to an employee organization, as specified; or to an agent of a health benefit plan, as specified. (Gov. Code Sec. 6254.3.)
4. Protects the information regarding persons paid by the state to provide in-home supportive services, except names, address and telephone numbers as requested by an exclusive bargaining agent and to any labor organization for employee organizing, representation, and assistance activities of the labor organization. (Gov. Code Sec. 6253.2.)

This bill:

1. Adds personal cellular phone numbers and birth dates to the above exemption to the CPRA.
2. Adds personal cellular phone numbers and personal electronic mail addresses to the above provision relating to persons paid by the state to provide in-home supportive services.
3. Makes findings, as required by the California Constitution, that this bill's limitation on the public’s right to access public records is necessary in order to protect the privacy and well-being of state and local employees by limiting access to their personal and emergency contact information.

FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: Yes

SUPPORT: (Verified 8/2/16)

California Educational Technology Professionals Association

California Labor Federation

California Professional Firefighters

LIUNA Locals 777 & 792

Peace Officers Research Association of California

School Employers Association of California

Service Employees International Union California

OPPOSITION: (Verified 8/2/16)

None received

ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: LIUNA Locals 777 & 792 write in support:

AB 2843 seeks to modernize the statutes governing the California Public Records Act (CPRA)by clarifying that modern communication modes, such as […] personal cell phones are protected under the act.

There have been several court cases since the inception of the CPRA (see, City of Los Angeles v. Los Angeles City Employee Relations Commission, 56 Cal. App 4^th 905, 927 (2013), Sonoma county Employees Retirement Association v. Superior Court, 198 Cal. App 4^th 986, 1006 (2011), and Lorig v. Medical Board, 78 Cal. App. 4^th 462, 468 (2000), all of which have focused on the tight-rope balance between privacy interests obligations under the CPRA. Unfortunately, the CPRA has not been amended to address many of the important privacy rights finding, noted by the court. Further, although the CPRA is modeled after the Freedom of Information Act, CPRA fails to adhere to privacy rights protections the court have found inherent to FOIA.

AB 2843 seeks to align the CPRA with Case law as it regards to the protection of privacy rights of public employees.

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 79-0, 5/5/16

AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Arambula, Atkins, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chang, Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Roger Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Olsen, Patterson, Quirk, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wilk, Williams, Wood, Rendon

NO VOTE RECORDED: Beth Gaines

Prepared by: Nichole Rapier / JUD. / (916) 651-4113

8/3/16 19:11:06

**** END ****

SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE

Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson, Chair

2015-2016 Regular Session

Bill No: AB 2843 (Author:Chau)

Version: June 13, 2016

Hearing Date: June 21, 2016

Fiscal: Yes

Urgency: No

Consultant: NR

SUBJECT

Public records: employee contact information

DESCRIPTION

Existing law exempts from disclosure under the California Public Records Act (CPRA) the home addresses and home telephone numbers of state employees and employees of a school district or county office of education, unless the disclosure is made to a family member, an employee organization, or to another agency or entity for a designated administrative purpose. This bill would extend this exemption to include personal cellular telephone numbers, personal electronic mail addresses, and birth dates.

Existing law additionally exempts from public inspection specified information regarding persons paid by the state to provide in-home supportive services, but requires copies of names, addresses, and telephone numbers of those persons to be made available to an exclusive bargaining agent and to any labor organization seeking representation rights. This bill would amend this disclosure to include personal cellular telephone numbers, personal electronic mail addresses, and birth dates.

BACKGROUND

The California Public Records Act (CPRA) governs the disclosure of information collected and maintained by public agencies. Generally, all public records are accessible to the public upon request, unless the record requested is exempt from public disclosure. (Gov. Code Sec. 6254 et seq.) There are 30 general categories of documents or information that are exempt from disclosure, essentially due to the character of the information, and unless it is shown that the public’s interest in disclosure outweighs the public’s interest in non-disclosure of the information, the exempt information may be withheld by the public agency with custody of the information.

Existing law exempts from disclosure under the CPRA the home addresses and home phone numbers of state employees and employees of a school district or county office of education, unless the disclosure is made to a family member, an employee organization, or to another agency or entity for a designated administrative purpose. This exemption is necessary to protect the privacy of these employees, who necessarily work with the public and may be subject to harassment.

Seeking to ensure that the privacy of employees is protected, this bill would extend the existing exemption from the CPRA for home addresses and home telephone numbers of government employees to include the employee’s personal cellular phone numbers, personal electronic mail addresses, and birthdates. This bill would also add this contact information to the information exclusive bargaining agents are able to receive for the purposes of employee organizing, representation, and assistance activities of the labor organization, as specified.

CHANGES TO EXISTING LAW

1. Existing law, the California Constitution, declares the people’s right to transparency in government. (“The people have the right of access to information concerning the conduct of the people’s business, and therefore, the meetings of public bodies and the writings of public officials and agencies shall be open to public scrutiny....”) (Cal. Const., art. I, Sec. 3.)

Existing law, the California Public Records Act (CPRA), governs the disclosure of information collected and maintained by public agencies. (Gov. Code Sec. 6250 et seq.) Generally, all public records are accessible to the public upon request, unless the record requested is exempt from public disclosure. (Gov. Code Sec. 6254.) There are 30 general categories of documents or information that are exempt from disclosure, essentially due to the character of the information, and unless it is shown that the public’s interest in disclosure outweighs the public’s interest in non-disclosure of the information, the exempt information may be withheld by the public agency with custody of the information.

Existing law provides that the home addresses and home telephone numbers of state employees and employees of a school district or county office of education shall not be deemed to be public records and shall not be open to public inspection, unless the disclosure is made to an agent or family member of the employee; an officer or employee of another state agency, school district, or county office of education when necessary for the performance of official duties; to an employee organization, as specified; or to an agent of a health benefit plan, as specified. (Gov. Code Sec. 6254.3.)

This bill would add personal cellular phone numbers, personal electronic mail addresses, and birthdates to the above provision.

1. Existing law protects the information regarding persons paid by the state to provide in-home supportive services, except names, address and telephone numbers as requested by an exclusive bargaining agent and to any labor organization for employee organizing, representation, and assistance activities of the labor organization. (Gov. Code Sec. 6253.2.)

This bill would add personal cellular phone numbers, personal electronic mail addresses, and birthdates to the above provision.

1. This bill would make findings, as required by the California Constitution, that this bill's limitation on the public’s right to access public records is necessary in order to protect the privacy and well-being of state and local employees by limiting access to their personal and emergency contact information.

COMMENT

1. Stated need for the bill

According to the author:

The current statute governing the California Public Records Act (CPRA) is inconsistent and outdated with regard to protecting public employee privacy. While the current statute explicitly protects state and school district employee home addresses and home telephone numbers from disclosure, as it would constitute an “unwarranted invasion of personal privacy,” it does not included other current means of communication, such as personal emails and cellular phones.

AB 2843 simply modernizes the CPRA to reflect modern modes of contact and communications, such as personal emails and personal cellular phones.

1. Controversy over government employee use of personal electronic mail account for official business

This bill would exempt from disclosure under the California Public Records Act (CPRA) the electronic mail addresses of state employees, and school district or county office of education employees.

In the past, this Committee has raised concerns about bills which interfere with pending litigation. The general concern is that any such interference could result in a direct financial windfall to a private party, prevent a court from deciding an action based upon the laws in place at the time the cause of action accrued, or create a situation where the Legislative branch is used to circumvent the discretion and independence of the Judicial branch.

The particular issue of government employees using personal electronic mail addresses for government business is currently before the California Supreme Court (See City of San Jose v. Superior Court of California, 2014 CA S. Ct. Briefs Lexis 3005 Cal. Nov. 21, 2014, determining “whether written communications about the public’s business, sent or received by public officials and employees using personal equipment, such as personal electronic devices or personal email and texting accounts, are “public records” within the meaning of the California Public Records Act”) In response to the Committee’s concerns about the proposed interference with pending litigation, the author has agreed to the following amendment which would remove the protections for personal electronic mail addresses from the bill.

Author’s amendments:

1. Strike “personal electronic mail address” from the bill.
2. On page 5, in line 22, after the second comma insert “and personal”
3. Updating privacy protections to reflect modern technology

As noted by SEIU in its letter of support, the California courts interpreting the CPRA have begun to acknowledge that public employees have a right to keep their personal contact information confidential. For example, in Sonoma County Employee’s Retirement Association v. Superior Court (2011), a newspaper requested that the county’s pension system provide the paper with records showing the name of each former employee receiving a pension from the county, the former employee’s age at retirement, and the amount of the pension that the former employee received. When the pension system refused the request, the newspaper successfully obtained a writ of mandate from the superior court ordering the system to turn over the information. The California Court of Appeal, however, overturned the part of the order requiring disclosure of the age at retirement, but upheld that part of the order that required the pension system to turn over the names of retirees and amounts of their pensions. In rejecting the claims of the pension system that the retirees’ privacy interests outweighed any public interest in names and pension amounts of individual employees, the court stressed that “our ruling will not result in the release of home addresses, telephone numbers, or e-mail addresses of retirees and beneficiaries.” (Sonoma County Employee’s Retirement Association v. Superior Court (2011) 198 Cal. App. 4th 986, quote at 1006; emphasis added.) While only dicta, the court’s statement nonetheless suggests at the very least that it saw electronic mail addresses as the equivalent of the home address and home phone number.

This bill would extend codify these protections in statute, thereby protecting government employees personal cellular phone information and birthdates, which could be used as an identifier.

1. Adds personal contact information that an exclusive bargaining agent may request

Existing law authorizes an exclusive bargaining agent to request the names, telephone numbers, and addresses of paid by the state to provide in-home supportive services for the purpose of employee organizing, representation, and assistance activities of the labor organization. This bill would additionally allow an exclusive bargaining agent to request the cellular telephone number, personal electronic mail address, and birthdate of persons hired by the state to provide in-home supportive services.

The author writes “AB 2843 also makes a corresponding change to the portion of CPRA concerning provision of contact information for In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) workers to exclusive bargaining agents and labor organizations seeking representation rights.  Adding these modern forms of communication furthers the public policy of encouraging communication between IHSS workers and their representatives.”

Author’s technical amendments:

1. On page 3, in line 4, after the first comma insert “and”
2. On page 3, in lines 4 and 5, strike out “, personal electronic mail addresses, and birth dates”
3. On page 4, in line 4, after the first comma insert “and”
4. On page 4, in lines 4 and 5, strike out “, personal electronic mail addresses, and birth dates”

Support: California Labor Federation; PORAC; SEIU California

Opposition: None Known

HISTORY

Source: Author

Related Pending Legislation:

AB 2498 (Bonta) This bill would exempt the names, addresses, and images of victims of human trafficking and their immediate family, as specified, from disclosure pursuant to the California Public Records Act (CPRA), and make similar changes in the Penal Code.

AB 2853 (Gatto) would authorize a public agency to post public records on its Internet Web site and to direct a person requesting such a record to that Web site, as specified.

AB 2611 (Low), would exempt from disclosure pursuant to the CPRA, audio and video recordings that depict death or serious bodily injury in a morbid, sensational, and offensive manner, or that show a peace officer being killed in the line of duty when those recordings are within law enforcement investigative files.

AB 1520 (Stone) would amend a provision of the CPRA that exempts from disclosure certain personal information about customers of local utility agencies to specify that this exemption only applies to the personal information of residential utility customers, and by implication not to commercial, industrial, or public agency customers.

Prior Legislation: None Known

Prior Vote:

Assembly Floor (Ayes 79, Noes 0)

Assembly Appropriations Committee (Ayes 19, Noes 0)

Assembly Judiciary Committee (Ayes 10, Noes 0)

**************

Date of Hearing: April 27, 2016

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS

Lorena Gonzalez, Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:AB 2843

Author:(Chau) – As Amended Ver:March 18, 2016

Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: Yes Reimbursable: No

SUMMARY:

This bill extends an existing provision of the California Public Records Act (PRA) exempting the home addresses and home telephone numbers of state employees and employees of a school district or county office of education from public disclosure to also exempt from the disclosure an employee's personal cellular phone numbers and personal electronic mail addresses.

FISCAL EFFECT:

Negligible fiscal impact.

COMMENTS:

Purpose. Existing law exempts from disclosure under the California Public Records Act (CPRA) the home addresses and home phone numbers of state employees and employees of a school district or county office of education, unless the disclosure is made to a family member, an employee organization or to another agency or entity for a designated administrative purpose. This non-controversial bill simply extends this exemption to include modern forms of employee contact information: personal cell phone numbers and personal e-mail addresses. The bill would not apply to work-issued cell phones or e-mail accounts.

The bill is supported by the California Federation of Labor, SEIU California, and the Peace Officers Research Association of California (PORAC), who see it as an attempt to "modernize" the existing exemption, because an employee's personal contact information is no longer restricted to a home address or its corresponding "landline" phone number.

Analysis Prepared by: Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081

Date of Hearing: April 12, 2016

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY

Mark Stone, Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:AB 2843

Author:(Chau) – As Amended Ver:March 18, 2016

PROPOSED CONSENT

SUBJECT: Public records: employee contact information

KEY ISSUE: should an existing public record request exemption for the home addresses and telephone numbers for certain public employees be extended to exempt personal cell phone numbers and personal e-mail addresses, as well?

SYNOPSIS

This non-controversial bill seeks to update an existing exemption to the California Public Records Act (CPRA). Existing law exempts from disclosure under the CPRA the home addresses and home phone numbers of state employees and employees of a school district or county office of education, unless the disclosure is made to a family member, an employee organization, or to another agency or entity for a designated administrative purpose. The apparent rationale for this exemption is that because public employees necessarily work in the public eye, they sometimes become the focus of the public ire, or the overly zealous citizen-inquisitor. California courts, for example, have found that public employees have a substantial privacy interest in keeping their personal contact information, including e-mail addresses, confidential. This bill would extend the existing exemption for home addresses and home phone numbers to include the employee's personal cell phone number and personal e-mail address. Work-issued cell phone numbers and e-mail addresses would not be exempt, nor would the content of personal cell phone or e-mail messages necessarily be exempt from disclosure if the employee used a personal cell phone or personal e-mail for a work-related purpose. Rather, the purpose of the existing exemption, and for the extension proposed by this bill, is to keep the employee's personal contact information confidential. The author and supporters of the bill see this bill as an attempt to "modernize" the existing exemption, because an employee's personal contact information is no longer restricted to a home address or its corresponding "landline" phone number. The bill is supported by the California Federation of Labor, SEIU California, and the Peace Officers Research Association of California (PORAC). There is no known opposition to this bill.

SUMMARY: Clarifies that an existing provision of the California Public Records Act that exempts the homes addresses and home telephone numbers of certain public employees from public disclosure also applies to the employee's personal cell phone number and personal e-mail address. Specifically, this bill:

1. Extends an existing provision of the California Public Records Act that exempts the home addresses and home telephone numbers of state employees and employees of a school district or county office of education from public disclosure to also exempt from the disclosure an employee's personal cellular phone numbers and personal electronic mail addresses.
2. Makes findings, as required by the California Constitution, that this bill's limitation on the public's right to access public records is necessary in order to protect the privacy and well-being of state and local employees by limiting access to their personal and emergency contact information.

EXISTING LAW:

1. Provides that public records are open to public inspection, unless expressly exempted by a provision of the Public Records Act or another statute. (Government Code Section 6250 et seq.)
2. Provides that the home addresses and home telephone numbers of state employees and employees of a school district or county office of education shall not be deemed to be public records and shall not be open to public inspection, unless the disclosure is made to an agent or family member of the employee; an officer or employee of another state agency, school district, or county office of education when necessary for the performance of official duties; to an employee organization, as specified; or to an agent of a health benefit plan, as specified. (Government Code Section 6254.3.)

FISCAL EFFECT: As currently in print this bill is keyed fiscal.

COMMENTS: Existing law exempts from disclosure under the California Public Records Act (CPRA) the home addresses and home phone numbers of state employees and employees of a school district or county office of education, unless the disclosure is made to a family member, an employee organization or to another agency or entity for a designated administrative purpose. This non-controversial bill simply extends this exemption to include modern forms of employee contact information: personal cell phone numbers and personal e-mail addresses. The bill would not apply to work-issued cell phones or e-mail accounts.

California Case Law on a Public Employee's Personal Information: As noted by SEIU in its letter supporting this bill, the California courts interpreting the CPRA – like federal courts interpreting the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) – have already begun to move in the direction of keeping a public employee's personal contact information confidential. For example, in Sonoma County Employee's Retirement Association v. Superior Court (2011), a newspaper requested that the county's pension system provide the paper with records showing the name of each former employee receiving a pension from the county, the former employee's age at retirement, and the amount of the pension that the former employee received. When the pension system refused the request, the newspaper successfully obtained a writ of mandate from the superior court ordering the system to turn over the information. The California Court of Appeal, however, overturned that part of the order requiring disclosure of the age at retirement, but upheld that part of the order that required the pension system to turn over the names of retirees and amounts of their pensions. In rejecting the claims of the pension system that the retirees' privacy interests outweighed any public interest in names and pension amounts of individual employees, the court stressed that "our ruling will not result in the release of home addresses, telephone numbers, or e-mail addresses of retirees and beneficiaries." (Sonoma County Employee's Retirement Association v. Superior Court (2011) 198 Cal. App. 986, quote at 1006; emphasis added.) The Court's statement was only dicta, since the court was not asked to decide whether retirees' privacy interests in home addresses, phone numbers, and e-mail addresses sufficiently outweighed the public interest in disclosure. Nonetheless, the court's statement suggests at the very least that it saw e-mail addresses as the equivalent of the home address and home phone number. In addition, it shows that the courts are willing to protect the contact information of all public employees – not just the state employees or local school employees covered by Government Code Section 5254.3 – by citing other provisions of the CPRA, including the so-called "catch-all" balancing test that allows an agency to withhold information if the public interest in non-disclosure "clearly outweighs" the public interest in disclosure.

ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to SEIU California, AB 2843 will "modernize the statutes governing the [CPRA] by making explicit that modern modes of communication are protected, such as personal electronic mail addresses and personal cellular phones." SEIU cites a number of California appellate court decisions allegedly showing that the courts have already interpreted existing law in the manner proposed by this bill even though "those interpretations are not necessarily reflected in the statute." For example, one court used the CPRA's "catchall exemption" (where the public interest in non-disclosure clearly outweighs the public interest in disclosure) to conclude that disclosure of the "home addresses, telephone numbers, or email addresses" of public employee retirees is not required. [Citing Sonoma County Employee's Retirement Association v. Superior Court (2011), discussed above, and other cases finding that an employee has a "substantial privacy interest" in his or her personal contact information.] Finally, SEIU notes that the CPRA is modeled after the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and in interpreting the CPRA California courts sometimes look to federal courts rulings on FOIA for guidance. The federal courts have also found a "powerful privacy interest" in personal contact information, including personal e-mail addresses. SEIU believes, therefore, that "AB 2843 is a simple bill that will align the CPRA to case law with regard to protecting public employee personal contact information."

The California Federation of Labor supports this bill for many of the same reasons set forth by SEIU, above, adding that "privacy is a fundamental right in California and a fundamental interest recognized by the CPRA . . . This bill will ensure that all modern forms of public employee personal contact information remain private and protected."

Pending Related Legislation: AB 2853 (Gatto) authorizes a public agency to post public records on its Internet website and to direct a person requesting such a record to that website. However, if the person making the request lacks the ability to access or reproduce records on the website, the agency must provide copies of any record for an appropriate fee. AB 2853 will be heard by this Committee today.

AB 2498 (Bonta) would exempt from disclosure under the CPRA the name, home address, and images of a victim of human trafficking, and of the victim's immediate family, as specified. As amended in this Committee specifies that the exemption would not apply to any family members who were perpetrators of human trafficking. Passed out of this Committee on April 5, 2016, on a 10-0 vote and was sent to the Assembly Committee on Privacy and Consumer Protection.

AB 2611 (Low), as proposed to be amended, exempts from disclosure, in response to a PRA request, audio and video recordings that depict death or serious bodily injury in a morbid, sensational, and offensive manner, or that show a peace officer being killed in the line of duty when those recordings are within law enforcement investigative files. AB 2611 will be heard by this Committee today.

AB 1520 (Stone) amends a provision of the CPRA that exempts from disclosure certain personal information about customers of local utility agencies to specify that this exemption only applies to the personal information of residential utility customers, and by implication not to commercial, industrial, or public agency customers. This is a two-year bill awaiting hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee.

REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:

Support

California Labor Federation

PORAC

SEIU California

Opposition

None on file

Analysis Prepared by: Thomas Clark / JUD. / (916) 319-2334