SB 595: Covered California: data sharing.
- Session Year: 2023-2024
- House: Senate
- Latest Version Date: 2023-10-08
Current Status:
Passed
(2023-10-08: Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 492, Statutes of 2023.)
Introduced
In Committee
First Chamber
In Committee
Second Chamber
Enacted
What does this bill do?
The bill limits how Covered California (the state health insurance Exchange) can share personal data it gets from the Employment Development Department about new applicants for unemployment, state disability, or paid family leave: it may not disclose that information to insurance agents, enrollment counselors, or other entities without the applicant’s consent and may only share it with outreach and marketing vendors under contract. It also requires the Exchange and its vendors to use the minimum data needed, keep it secure, destroy it confidentially, follow federal and state privacy rules, and give people a clear way to opt out of future outreach.
The summary is provided by generative AI which can make mistakes. For original language, please view the details in the table below.
Existing federal law, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), requires each state to establish an American Health Benefit Exchange to facilitate the purchase of qualified health benefit plans by qualified individuals and qualified small employers. Existing state law creates the California Health Benefit Exchange (Exchange), also known as Covered California, to facilitate the enrollment of qualified individuals and qualified small employers in qualified health plans as required under PPACA. Existing law requires the Exchange, beginning no later than September 1, 2023, and at least monthly thereafter, to request from the Employment Development Department (EDD) specified information of each new applicant for unemployment compensation, state disability, and paid family leave. Existing law requires the EDD to provide that information in a manner prescribed by the Exchange. Existing law requires the Exchange to market and publicize the availability of health care coverage through the Exchange, and engage in outreach activities, to the individuals whose contact information is received by the Exchange from the EDD, as specified. Existing law prohibits the Exchange from disclosing the personal information obtained from the EDD without the consent of the applicant.
This bill would prohibit the disclosure of information by the Exchange to a certified insurance agent, a certified employment counselor, or any other entity without the consent of the applicant, except as provided. The bill would authorize the Exchange to disclose information obtained from the EDD to outreach and marketing vendors under contract to the Exchange. The bill would require outreach and marketing conducted pursuant to these provisions to include, in a conspicuous and easy to access manner, the ability for individuals to decline all future outreach and marketing. The bill would require the Exchange to only request from the EDD, use, or disclose the minimum amount of information necessary to accomplish the purposes for which it was obtained. The bill would require a person or entity that receives information from the Exchange pursuant to these provisions to take all necessary measures to safeguard the confidentiality of any information obtained from the Exchange and would prohibit a person or entity from using or disclosing that information for any purpose other than to market and publicize the availability of health care coverage through the Exchange to individuals, as directed by the Exchange. The bill would require a person or entity to only request from the Exchange, use, or disclose the minimum amount of information necessary to accomplish the purposes for which it was received. The bill would require information received by the Exchange from the EDD to be destroyed in a manner that maintains confidentiality. The bill would require the Exchange to ensure that information disclosed to outreach and marketing vendors or any other entity pursuant to these provisions (1) complies with applicable privacy and information security-related requirements arising under both federal and state law and (2) be destroyed in a manner that maintains confidentiality. The bill also would make conforming changes to a related provision.
Existing federal law, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), requires each state to establish an American Health Benefit Exchange to facilitate the purchase of qualified health benefit plans by qualified individuals and qualified small employers. Existing state law creates the California Health Benefit Exchange (Exchange), also known as Covered California, to facilitate the enrollment of qualified individuals and qualified small employers in qualified health plans as required under PPACA. Existing law requires the Exchange, beginning no later than September 1, 2023, and at least monthly thereafter, to request from the Employment Development Department (EDD) specified information of each new applicant for unemployment compensation, state disability, and paid family leave. Existing law requires the EDD to provide that information in a manner prescribed by the Exchange. Existing law requires the Exchange to market and publicize the availability of health care coverage through the Exchange, and engage in outreach activities, to the individuals whose contact information is received by the Exchange from the EDD, as specified. Existing law prohibits the Exchange from disclosing the personal information obtained from the EDD without the consent of the applicant.
This bill would prohibit the disclosure of information by the Exchange to a certified insurance agent, a certified employment counselor, or any other entity without the consent of the applicant, except as provided. The bill would authorize the Exchange to disclose information obtained from the EDD to outreach and marketing vendors under contract to the Exchange. The bill would require outreach and marketing conducted pursuant to these provisions to include, in a conspicuous and easy to access manner, the ability for individuals to decline all future outreach and marketing. The bill would require the Exchange to only request from the EDD, use, or disclose the minimum amount of information necessary to accomplish the purposes for which it was obtained. The bill would require a person or entity that receives information from the Exchange pursuant to these provisions to take all necessary measures to safeguard the confidentiality of any information obtained from the Exchange and would prohibit a person or entity from using or disclosing that information for any purpose other than to market and publicize the availability of health care coverage through the Exchange to individuals, as directed by the Exchange. The bill would require a person or entity to only request from the Exchange, use, or disclose the minimum amount of information necessary to accomplish the purposes for which it was received. The bill would require information received by the Exchange from the EDD to be destroyed in a manner that maintains confidentiality. The bill would require the Exchange to ensure that information disclosed to outreach and marketing vendors or any other entity pursuant to these provisions (1) complies with applicable privacy and information security-related requirements arising under both federal and state law and (2) be destroyed in a manner that maintains confidentiality. The bill also would make conforming changes to a related provision.
Existing federal law, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), requires each state to establish an American Health Benefit Exchange to facilitate the purchase of qualified health benefit plans by qualified individuals and qualified small employers. Existing state law creates the California Health Benefit Exchange (Exchange), also known as Covered California, to facilitate the enrollment of qualified individuals and qualified small employers in qualified health plans as required under PPACA. Existing law requires the Exchange, beginning no later than September 1, 2023, and at least monthly thereafter, to request from the Employment Development Department (EDD) specified information of each new applicant for unemployment compensation, state disability, and paid family leave. Existing law requires the EDD to provide that information in a manner prescribed by the Exchange. Existing law requires the Exchange to market and publicize the availability of health care coverage through the Exchange, and engage in outreach activities, to the individuals whose contact information is received by the Exchange from the EDD, as specified. Existing law prohibits the Exchange from disclosing the personal information obtained from the EDD without the consent of the applicant.
This bill would specifically apply that prohibition to prohibit the disclosure of personal information by the Exchange to a certified insurance agent or agent, a certified employment counselor. counselor, or any other entity without the consent of the applicant, except as provided. The bill would authorize the Exchange to disclose information obtained from the EDD to outreach and marketing vendors under contract to the Exchange. The bill would require outreach and marketing conducted pursuant to these provisions to include, in a conspicuous and easy to access manner, the ability for individuals to decline all future outreach and marketing. The bill would require the Exchange to only request from the Employment Development Department, use, or disclose the minimum amount of information necessary to accomplish the purposes for which it was obtained. The bill would require a person or entity that receives personal information from the Exchange pursuant to these provisions to at all times take reasonable take all necessary measures to safeguard the confidentiality of any personal information obtained from the Exchange and would prohibit a person or entity from using or disclosing that information for any purpose other than to market and publicize the availability of health care coverage through the Exchange to individuals, as directed by the Exchange. The bill would require a person or entity to only request from the Exchange, use, or disclose the minimum amount of information necessary to accomplish the purposes for which it was received. The bill would require information received by the Exchange from the EDD to be destroyed in a manner that maintains confidentiality. The bill would require the Exchange to ensure that information disclosed to outreach and marketing vendors or any other entity pursuant to these provisions (1) complies with applicable privacy and information security-related requirements arising under both federal and state law and (2) be destroyed in a manner that maintains confidentiality. The bill also would make a technical change conforming changes to a related provision.
Existing federal law, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), requires each state to establish an American Health Benefit Exchange to facilitate the purchase of qualified health benefit plans by qualified individuals and qualified small employers. Existing state law creates the California Health Benefit Exchange (Exchange), also known as Covered California, to facilitate the enrollment of qualified individuals and qualified small employers in qualified health plans as required under PPACA. Existing law requires the Exchange, beginning no later than September 1, 2023, and at least monthly thereafter, to request from the Employment Development Department (EDD) specified information of each new applicant for unemployment compensation, state disability, and paid family leave. Existing law requires the EDD to provide that information in a manner prescribed by the Exchange. Existing law requires the Exchange to market and publicize the availability of health care coverage through the Exchange, and engage in outreach activities, to the individuals whose contact information is received by the Exchange from the EDD, as specified. Existing law prohibits the Exchange from disclosing the personal information obtained from the EDD without the consent of the applicant.
This bill would specifically apply that prohibition to the disclosure of personal information by the Exchange to a certified insurance agent or a certified employment counselor. The bill would require a person or entity that receives personal information from the Exchange pursuant to these provisions to at all times take reasonable measures to safeguard the confidentiality of any personal information obtained from the Exchange and would prohibit a person or entity from using or disclosing that information for any purpose other than to market and publicize the availability of health care coverage through the Exchange to individuals, as directed by the Exchange. The bill also would make a technical change to a related provision.
Existing federal law, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), requires each state to establish an American Health Benefit Exchange to facilitate the purchase of qualified health benefit plans by qualified individuals and qualified small employers. Existing state law creates the California Health Benefit Exchange (Exchange), also known as Covered California, to facilitate the enrollment of qualified individuals and qualified small employers in qualified health plans as required under PPACA. Existing law requires the Exchange, beginning no later than September 1, 2023, and at least monthly thereafter, to request from the Employment Development Department (EDD) specified information of each new applicant for unemployment compensation, state disability, and paid family leave. Existing law requires the EDD to provide that information in a manner prescribed by the Exchange. Existing law requires the Exchange to market and publicize the availability of health care coverage through the Exchange, and engage in outreach activities, to the individuals whose contact information is received by the Exchange from the EDD, as specified. Existing law prohibits the Exchange from disclosing the personal information obtained from the EDD without the consent of the applicant.
This bill would specifically apply that prohibition to the disclosure of personal information by the Exchange to a certified insurance agent or a certified employment counselor. The bill also would make a technical change to a related provision.
(a)(1)Beginning no later than September 1, 2023, and at least monthly thereafter, subject to the restrictions in paragraph (5) of subdivision (b), the Exchange shall request from the Employment Development Department the following information of each new applicant for unemployment compensation, state disability, and paid family leave:
(A)Last name.
(B)First name.
(C)Middle initial.
(D)Social security number.
(E)Date of birth.
(F)Race or ethnicity, to the extent available.
(G)Preferred language.
(H)Gender.
(I)All mailing addresses, including city, state, and ZIP Code.
(J)All telephone numbers, including home, work, and cellular.
(K)Email address, to the extent available.
(L)Date of most recent job loss, to the extent available.
(M)Wages or prior wages.
(N)The Employment Development Department program for which the applicant filed.
(O)Date the claim was filed.
(P)Claimant eligibility status.
(Q)Date initial payment was approved by the Employment Development Department.
(R)The weekly benefit amount.
(S)The benefit period start date.
(T)The benefit period end date.
(2)The Employment Development Department shall provide the information pursuant to paragraph (1) in a manner prescribed by the Exchange.
(3)The Employment Development Department may provide the information pursuant to paragraph (1) more frequently than monthly during periods of high unemployment.
(b)(1)Consistent with subdivision (k) of Section 100503, the Exchange shall market and publicize the availability of health care coverage through the Exchange, and shall engage in outreach activities, to the individuals whose information the Exchange receives pursuant to subdivision (a).
(2)The Exchange may use any contact method that is intended to reach the person at their residence or other personal contact channel to communicate with and inform an individual whose information the Exchange receives pursuant to subdivision (a) of available health care coverage options through the exchange and to assist those individuals in obtaining health care coverage.
(3)(A)The Exchange may disclose information obtained from the Employment Development Department to outreach and marketing vendors under contract to the Exchange.
(B)The Exchange shall not disclose information obtained from the Employment Development Department to a certified insurance agent, a certified enrollment counselor, or any other entity without the consent of the applicant, except as provided in subparagraph (A).
(4)Any outreach and marketing conducted pursuant to this section shall include, in a conspicuous and easy to access manner, the ability for individuals to decline all future outreach and marketing.
(5)The Exchange shall take all necessary measures to safeguard the confidentiality of any information obtained from the Employment Development Department and shall at no time use or disclose that information for any purpose other than to market and publicize the availability of health care coverage through the Exchange to individuals whose information the Exchange receives pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (a). The Exchange shall at all times only request from the Employment Development Department, use, or disclose the minimum amount of information necessary to accomplish the purposes for which it was obtained.
(6)A person or entity that receives information from the Exchange pursuant to this section shall take all necessary measures to safeguard the confidentiality of any information obtained from the Exchange and shall at no time use or disclose that information for any purpose other than to market and publicize the availability of health care coverage through the Exchange to individuals, as directed by the Exchange. A person or entity shall at all times only request from the Exchange, use, or disclose the minimum amount of information necessary to accomplish the purposes for which it was received.
(7)Information received by the Exchange from the Employment Development Department shall both:
(A)At all times be subject to applicable privacy and information security-related requirements arising under both federal and state law.
(B)Be destroyed in a manner that maintains confidentiality.
(8)The Exchange shall ensure that information disclosed to outreach and marketing vendors or any other entity pursuant to this section shall comply with paragraph (7).
SEC. 2.Section 1095 of the Unemployment Insurance Code is amended to read:1095.The director shall permit the use of any information in the directors possession to the extent necessary for any of the following purposes, and may require reimbursement for all direct costs incurred in providing any and all information specified in this section, except information specified in subdivisions (a) to (e), inclusive:
(a)To enable the director or the directors representative to carry out their responsibilities under this code.
(b)To properly present a claim for benefits.
(c)To acquaint a worker or their authorized agent with the workers existing or prospective right to benefits.
(d)To furnish an employer or their authorized agent with information to enable the employer to fully discharge their obligations or safeguard their rights under this division or Division 3 (commencing with Section 9000).
(e)To enable an employer to receive a reduction in contribution rate.
(f)To enable federal, state, or local governmental departments or agencies, subject to federal law, to verify or determine the eligibility or entitlement of an applicant for, or a recipient of, public social services provided pursuant to Division 9 (commencing with Section 10000) of the Welfare and Institutions Code, or Part A of Subchapter IV of the federal Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 601 et seq.), and state or federal subsidies offered through the California Health Benefit Exchange provided pursuant to Title 22 (commencing with Section 100500) of the Government Code, when the verification or determination is directly connected with, and limited to, the administration of public social services.
(g)To enable county administrators of general relief or assistance, or their representatives, to determine entitlement to locally provided general relief or assistance, when the determination is directly connected with, and limited to, the administration of general relief or assistance.
(h)To enable state or local governmental departments or agencies to seek criminal, civil, or administrative remedies in connection with the unlawful application for, or receipt of, relief provided under Division 9 (commencing with Section 10000) of the Welfare and Institutions Code or to enable the collection of expenditures for medical assistance services pursuant to Part 5 (commencing with Section 17000) of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
(i)To provide any law enforcement agency with the name, address, telephone number, birth date, social security number, physical description, and names and addresses of present and past employers, of any victim, suspect, missing person, potential witness, or person for whom a felony arrest warrant has been issued, when a request for this information is made by any investigator or peace officer as defined by Sections 830.1 and 830.2 of the Penal Code, or by any federal law enforcement officer to whom the Attorney General has delegated authority to enforce federal search warrants, as defined under Sections 60.2 and 60.3 of Title 28 of the Code of Federal Regulations, as amended, and when the requesting officer has been designated by the head of the law enforcement agency and requests this information in the course of and as a part of an investigation into the commission of a crime when there is a reasonable suspicion that the crime is a felony and that the information would lead to relevant evidence. The information provided pursuant to this subdivision shall be provided to the extent permitted by federal law and regulations, and to the extent the information is available and accessible within the constraints and configurations of existing department records. Any person who receives any information under this subdivision shall make a written report of the information to the law enforcement agency that employs the person, for filing under the normal procedures of that agency.
(1)This subdivision shall not be construed to authorize the release to any law enforcement agency of a general list identifying individuals applying for or receiving benefits.
(2)The department shall maintain records pursuant to this subdivision only for periods required under regulations or statutes enacted for the administration of its programs.
(3)This subdivision shall not be construed as limiting the information provided to law enforcement agencies to that pertaining only to applicants for, or recipients of, benefits.
(4)The department shall notify all applicants for benefits that release of confidential information from their records will not be protected should there be a felony arrest warrant issued against the applicant or in the event of an investigation by a law enforcement agency into the commission of a felony.
(j)To provide public employee retirement systems in California with information relating to the earnings of any person who has applied for or is receiving a disability income, disability allowance, or disability retirement allowance, from a public employee retirement system. The earnings information shall be released only upon written request from the governing board specifying that the person has applied for or is receiving a disability allowance or disability retirement allowance from its retirement system. The request may be made by the chief executive officer of the system or by an employee of the system so authorized and identified by name and title by the chief executive officer in writing.
(k)To enable the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement in the Department of Industrial Relations to seek criminal, civil, or administrative remedies in connection with the failure to pay, or the unlawful payment of, wages pursuant to Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 200) of Part 1 of Division 2 of, and Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 1720) of Part 7 of Division 2 of, the Labor Code.
(l)To enable federal, state, or local governmental departments or agencies to administer child support enforcement programs under Part D of Title IV of the federal Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 651 et seq.).
(m)To provide federal, state, or local governmental departments or agencies with wage and claim information in its possession that will assist those departments and agencies in the administration of the Victims of Crime Program or in the location of victims of crime who, by state mandate or court order, are entitled to restitution that has been or can be recovered.
(n)To provide federal, state, or local governmental departments or agencies with information concerning any individuals who are or have been:
(1)Directed by state mandate or court order to pay restitution, fines, penalties, assessments, or fees as a result of a violation of law.
(2)Delinquent or in default on guaranteed student loans or who owe repayment of funds received through other financial assistance programs administered by those agencies. The information released by the director for the purposes of this paragraph shall not include unemployment insurance benefit information.
(o)To provide an authorized governmental agency with any and all relevant information that relates to any specific workers compensation insurance fraud investigation. The information shall be provided to the extent permitted by federal law and regulations. For purposes of this subdivision, authorized governmental agency means the district attorney of any county, the office of the Attorney General, the Contractors State License Board, the Department of Industrial Relations, and the Department of Insurance. An authorized governmental agency may disclose this information to the State Bar of California, the Medical Board of California, or any other licensing board or department whose licensee is the subject of a workers compensation insurance fraud investigation. This subdivision shall not prevent any authorized governmental agency from reporting to any board or department the suspected misconduct of any licensee of that body.
(p)To enable the Director of Consumer Affairs, or the directors representative, to access unemployment insurance quarterly wage data on a case-by-case basis to verify information on school administrators, school staff, and students provided by those schools who are being investigated for possible violations of Chapter 8 (commencing with Section 94800) of Part 59 of Division 10 of Title 3 of the Education Code.
(q)To provide employment tax information to the tax officials of Mexico, if a reciprocal agreement exists. For purposes of this subdivision, reciprocal agreement means a formal agreement to exchange information between national taxing officials of Mexico and taxing authorities of the State Board of Equalization, the Franchise Tax Board, and the Employment Development Department. Furthermore, the reciprocal agreement shall be limited to the exchange of information that is essential for tax administration purposes only. Taxing authorities of the State of California shall be granted tax information only on California residents. Taxing authorities of Mexico shall be granted tax information only on Mexican nationals.
(r)To enable city and county planning agencies to develop economic forecasts for planning purposes. The information shall be limited to businesses within the jurisdiction of the city or county whose planning agency is requesting the information, and shall not include information regarding individual employees.
(s)To provide the State Department of Developmental Services with wage and employer information that will assist in the collection of moneys owed by the recipient, parent, or any other legally liable individual for services and supports provided pursuant to Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 4775) of Division 4.5 of, and Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 7200) and Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 7500) of Division 7 of, the Welfare and Institutions Code.
(t)To provide the State Board of Equalization with employment tax information that will assist in the administration of tax programs. The information shall be limited to the exchange of employment tax information essential for tax administration purposes to the extent permitted by federal law and regulations.
(u)This section shall not be construed to authorize or permit the use of information obtained in the administration of this code by any private collection agency.
(v)The disclosure of the name and address of an individual or business entity that was issued an assessment that included penalties under Section 1128 or 1128.1 shall not be in violation of Section 1094 if the assessment is final. The disclosure may also include any of the following:
(1)The total amount of the assessment.
(2)The amount of the penalty imposed under Section 1128 or 1128.1 that is included in the assessment.
(3)The facts that resulted in the charging of the penalty under Section 1128 or 1128.1.
(w)To enable the Contractors State License Board to verify the employment history of an individual applying for licensure pursuant to Section 7068 of the Business and Professions Code.
(x)To provide any peace officer with the Division of Investigation in the Department of Consumer Affairs information pursuant to subdivision (i) when the requesting peace officer has been designated by the Chief of the Division of Investigation and requests this information in the course of and as part of an investigation into the commission of a crime or other unlawful act when there is reasonable suspicion to believe that the crime or act may be connected to the information requested and would lead to relevant information regarding the crime or unlawful act.
(y)To enable the Labor Commissioner of the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement in the Department of Industrial Relations to identify, pursuant to Section 90.3 of the Labor Code, unlawfully uninsured employers. The information shall be provided to the extent permitted by federal law and regulations.
(z)To enable the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, in accordance with the requirements of Section 84754.5 of the Education Code, to obtain quarterly wage data, commencing January 1, 1993, on students who have attended one or more community colleges, to assess the impact of education on the employment and earnings of students, to conduct the annual evaluation of district-level and individual college performance in achieving priority educational outcomes, and to submit the required reports to the Legislature and the Governor. The information shall be provided to the extent permitted by federal statutes and regulations.
(aa)To enable the Public Employees Retirement System to seek criminal, civil, or administrative remedies in connection with the unlawful application for, or receipt of, benefits provided under Part 3 (commencing with Section 20000) of Division 5 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
(ab)To enable the State Department of Education, the University of California, the California State University, and the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, pursuant to the requirements prescribed by the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5), to obtain quarterly wage data, commencing July 1, 2010, on students who have attended their respective systems to assess the impact of education on the employment and earnings of those students, to conduct the annual analysis of district-level and individual district or postsecondary education system performance in achieving priority educational outcomes, and to submit the required reports to the Legislature and the Governor. The information shall be provided to the extent permitted by federal statutes and regulations.
(ac)To provide the Agricultural Labor Relations Board with employee, wage, and employer information, for use in the investigation or enforcement of the Alatorre-Zenovich-Dunlap-Berman Agricultural Labor Relations Act of 1975 (Part 3.5 (commencing with Section 1140) of Division 2 of the Labor Code). The information shall be provided to the extent permitted by federal statutes and regulations.
(ad)(1)To enable the State Department of Health Care Services, the California Health Benefit Exchange, the Managed Risk Medical Insurance Board, and county departments and agencies to obtain information regarding employee wages, California employer names and account numbers, employer reports of wages and number of employees, and disability insurance and unemployment insurance claim information, for the purpose of:
(A)Verifying or determining the eligibility of an applicant for, or a recipient of, state health subsidy programs, limited to the Medi-Cal program provided pursuant to Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 14000) of Part 3 of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, and the Medi-Cal Access Program provided pursuant to Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 15810) of Part 3.3 of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, when the verification or determination is directly connected with, and limited to, the administration of the state health subsidy programs referenced in this subparagraph.
(B)Verifying or determining the eligibility of an applicant for, or a recipient of, state or federal subsidies offered through the California Health Benefit Exchange, provided pursuant to Title 22 (commencing with Section 100500) of the Government Code, including federal tax credits and cost-sharing assistance pursuant to the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Public Law 111-148), as amended by the federal Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (Public Law 111-152), when the verification or determination is directly connected with, and limited to, the administration of the California Health Benefit Exchange.
(C)Verifying or determining the eligibility of employees and employers for health coverage through the Small Business Health Options Program, provided pursuant to Section 100502 of the Government Code, when the verification or determination is directly connected with, and limited to, the administration of the Small Business Health Options Program.
(2)The information provided under this subdivision shall be subject to the requirements of, and provided to the extent permitted by, federal law and regulations, including Part 603 of Title 20 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
(ae)To provide any peace officer with the Investigations Division of the Department of Motor Vehicles with information pursuant to subdivision (i), when the requesting peace officer has been designated by the Chief of the Investigations Division and requests this information in the course of, and as part of, an investigation into identity theft, counterfeiting, document fraud, or consumer fraud, and there is reasonable suspicion that the crime is a felony and that the information would lead to relevant evidence regarding the identity theft, counterfeiting, document fraud, or consumer fraud. The information provided pursuant to this subdivision shall be provided to the extent permitted by federal law and regulations, and to the extent the information is available and accessible within the constraints and configurations of existing department records. Any person who receives any information under this subdivision shall make a written report of the information to the Investigations Division of the Department of Motor Vehicles, for filing under the normal procedures of that division.
(af)Until January 1, 2020, to enable the Department of Finance to prepare and submit the report required by Section 13084 of the Government Code that identifies all employers in California that employ 100 or more employees who receive benefits from the Medi-Cal program (Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 14000) of Part 3 of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code). The information used for this purpose shall be limited to information obtained pursuant to Section 11026.5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code and from the administration of personal income tax wage withholding pursuant to Division 6 (commencing with Section 13000) and the disability insurance program and may be disclosed to the Department of Finance only for the purpose of preparing and submitting the report and only to the extent not prohibited by federal law.
(ag)To provide, to the extent permitted by federal law and regulations, the Student Aid Commission with wage information in order to verify the employment status of an individual applying for a Cal Grant C award pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 69439 of the Education Code.
(ah)To enable the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to obtain quarterly wage data of former inmates who have been incarcerated within the prison system in order to assess the impact of rehabilitation services or the lack of these services on the employment and earnings of these former inmates. Quarterly data for a former inmates employment status and wage history shall be provided for a period of one year, three years, and five years following release. The data shall only be used for the purpose of tracking outcomes for former inmates in order to assess the effectiveness of rehabilitation strategies on the wages and employment histories of those formerly incarcerated. The information shall be provided to the department to the extent not prohibited by federal law.
(ai)To enable federal, state, or local government departments or agencies, or their contracted agencies, subject to federal law, including the confidentiality, disclosure, and other requirements set forth in Part 603 of Title 20 of the Code of Federal Regulations, to evaluate, research, or forecast the effectiveness of public social services programs administered pursuant to Division 9 (commencing with Section 10000) of the Welfare and Institutions Code, or Part A of Subchapter IV of Chapter 7 of the federal Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 601 et seq.), when the evaluation, research, or forecast is directly connected with, and limited to, the administration of the public social services programs.
(aj)(1)To enable the California Workforce Development Board, the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, the Superintendent of Public Instruction, the Department of Rehabilitation, the State Department of Social Services, the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education, the Department of Industrial Relations, the Division of Apprenticeship Standards, the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the Prison Industry Authority, the Employment Training Panel, and a chief elected official, as that term is defined in Section 3102(9) of Title 29 of the United States Code, to access any relevant quarterly wage data necessary for the evaluation and reporting of their respective program performance outcomes as required and permitted by various local, state, and federal laws pertaining to performance measurement and program evaluation, including responsibilities arising under Sections 14013, 14033, and 14042 of this code and Sections 2032 and 2038 of the Streets and Highways Code; the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (Public Law 113-128); the workforce metrics dashboard pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (i) of Section 14013; the Adult Education Block Grant Program consortia performance metrics pursuant to Section 84920 of the Education Code; the economic and workforce development program performance measures pursuant to Section 88650 of the Education Code; and the California Community Colleges Economic and Workforce Development Program performance measures established in Part 52.5 (commencing with Section 88600) of Division 7 of Title 3 of the Education Code. Disclosures under this subdivision shall comply with federal and state privacy laws that require the informed consent from program participants of city and county departments or agencies that administer public workforce development programs for the evaluation, research, or forecast of their programs regardless of local, state, or federal funding source.
(2)The department shall do all of the following:
(A)Consistent with this subdivision, develop the minimum requirements for granting a request for disclosure of information authorized by this subdivision regardless of local, state, or federal funding source.
(B)Develop a standard application for submitting a request for disclosure of information authorized by this subdivision.
(C)Approve or deny a request for disclosure of information authorized by this subdivision, or request additional information, within 20 business days of receiving the standard application. The entity submitting the application shall respond to any request by the department for additional information within 20 business days of receipt of the departments request. Within 30 calendar days of receiving any additional information, the department shall provide a final approval or denial of the request for disclosure of information authorized by this subdivision. Any approval, denial, or request for additional information shall be in writing. Denials shall identify the reason or category of reasons for the denial.
(D)Make publicly available on the departments internet website all of the following:
(i)The minimum requirements for granting a request for disclosure of information authorized by this subdivision, as developed pursuant to subparagraph (A).
(ii)The standard application developed pursuant to subparagraph (B).
(iii)The timeframe for information request determinations by the department, as specified in subparagraph (C).
(iv)Contact information for assistance with requests for disclosures of information authorized by this subdivision.
(v)Any denials for requests of disclosure of information authorized by this subdivision, including the reason or category of reasons for the denial.
(ak)(1)To provide any peace officer with the Enforcement Branch of the Department of Insurance with both of the following:
(A)Information provided pursuant to subdivision (i) that relates to a specific insurance fraud investigation involving automobile insurance fraud, life insurance and annuity fraud, property and casualty insurance fraud, and organized automobile insurance fraud. That information shall be provided when the requesting peace officer has been designated by the Chief of the Fraud Division of the Department of Insurance and requests the information in the course of, and as part of, an investigation into the commission of a crime or other unlawful act when there is reasonable suspicion to believe that the crime or act may be connected to the information requested and would lead to relevant information regarding the crime or unlawful act.
(B)Employee, wage, employer, and state disability insurance claim information that relates to a specific insurance fraud investigation involving health or disability insurance fraud when the requesting peace officer has been designated by the Chief of the Fraud Division of the Department of Insurance and requests the information in the course of, and as part of, an investigation into the commission of a crime or other unlawful act when there is reasonable suspicion to believe that the crime or act may be connected to the information requested and would lead to relevant information regarding the crime or unlawful act.
(2)To enable the State Department of Developmental Services to obtain quarterly wage data and unemployment insurance claim data of consumers served by that department for the purposes of monitoring, program operation and evaluation, and evaluating employment outcomes, of the Employment First Policy, established pursuant to Section 4869 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
(3)The information provided pursuant to this subdivision shall be provided to the extent permitted by federal statutes and regulations.
(al)To provide the CalSavers Retirement Savings Board with employer tax information for use in the administration of, and to facilitate compliance with, the CalSavers Retirement Savings Trust Act (Title 21 (commencing with Section 100000) of the Government Code). The information should be limited to the tax information the director deems appropriate, and shall be provided to the extent permitted by federal laws and regulations.
(am)(1)To enable the Joint Enforcement Strike Force as established by Section 329, and the Labor Enforcement Task Force, as established pursuant to Assembly Bill 1464 of the 201112 Regular Session (Chapter 21 of the Statutes of 2012), to carry out their duties.
(2)To provide an agency listed in subdivision (a) of Section 329 intelligence, data, including confidential tax and fee information, documents, information, complaints, or lead referrals pursuant to Section 15925 of the Government Code.
(an)To enable the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education to access and use any relevant quarterly wage data necessary to perform the labor market outcome reporting data match pursuant to Section 94892.6 of the Education Code. The information provided pursuant to this subdivision shall be provided to the extent permitted by state and federal laws and regulations.
(ao)To enable the Civil Rights Department to carry out its duties, including ensuring compliance with Section 12999 of the Government Code. Conduct related to information provided pursuant to this subdivision shall not be subject to the criminal sanctions set forth in subdivision (f) of Section 1094.
(ap)To enable the Cradle-to-Career Data System, as established by Article 2 (commencing with Section 10860) of Chapter 8.5 of Part 7 of Division 1 of Title 1 of the Education Code, to receive employment and earnings data and, as required by the director pursuant to Section 10871 of the Education Code, to provide information to the data system, to the extent permissible by federal laws and regulations.
(aq)(1)To enable the State Air Resources Board to receive unpaid final tax assessment information issued to a port drayage motor carrier or short-haul trucking service for misclassification of a commercial driver, for use in the administration of, and to facilitate compliance with, Chapter 3.6 (commencing with Section 39680) of Part 2 of Division 26 of the Health and Safety Code. The information shall be limited to the tax information the director deems appropriate for disclosure and shall be provided only to the extent permitted by federal laws and regulations.
(2)For purposes of this subdivision, the following definitions apply:
(A)Commercial driver has the same meaning as defined in Section 2810.4 of the Labor Code.
(B)Port drayage motor carrier has the same meaning as defined in Section 2810.4 of the Labor Code.
(C)Short-haul trucking service has the same meaning as defined in Section 39682 of the Health and Safety Code.
(ar)To enable the California Health Benefit Exchange to do all of the following:
(1)Notify an employer that an employee has been determined eligible for advance payments of the premium tax credit and cost-sharing reductions and has enrolled in a qualified health plan through the California Health Benefit Exchange, as required pursuant to Section 155.310(h) of Title 45 of the Code of Federal Regulations. The information shall include available employer contact information, including addresses, email addresses, and telephone numbers.
(2)Assist the California Health Benefit Exchange or the State Department of Health Care Services in determining eligibility for the insurance affordability programs administered by those state agencies. The determination of eligibility or entitlement shall include efforts by either the California Health Benefit Exchange or the State Department of Health Care Services to assist those individuals in obtaining that coverage, including informing those individuals potentially eligible for health coverage of the availability of that coverage.
(3)Verify if a consumer has been offered affordable comprehensive employer-sponsored health care coverage pursuant to Title 22 (commencing with Section 100500) of the Government Code and the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Public Law 111-148). The information shall include available employer contact information, including addresses, email addresses, and telephone numbers.
(4)Upon the request of either the California Health Benefit Exchange or the State Department of Health Care Services, the department shall also provide to the relevant state agency information on new applicants for unemployment insurance, state disability insurance, and paid family leave. The California Health Benefit Exchange and the State Department of Health Care Services shall at all times request from the department the minimum amount of information necessary from the information listed in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 100503.9 of the Government Code, to accomplish the purposes of Section 100503.9 of the Government Code. The information shall be sent in a manner that is encrypted or otherwise complies with government data security best practices, as specified by the California Health Benefit Exchange. This information shall only be used for the purposes of outreach and marketing.
(5)This subdivision shall become operative no later than September 1, 2023.
(a)(1)Beginning no later than September 1, 2023, and at least monthly thereafter, subject to the restrictions in paragraph (5) of subdivision (b), the Exchange shall request from the Employment Development Department the following information of each new applicant for unemployment compensation, state disability, and paid family leave:
(A)Last name.
(B)First name.
(C)Middle initial.
(D)Social security number.
(E)Date of birth.
(F)Race or ethnicity, to the extent available.
(G)Preferred language.
(H)Gender.
(I)All mailing addresses, including city, state, and ZIP Code.
(J)All telephone numbers, including home, work, and cellular.
(K)Email address, to the extent available.
(L)Date of most recent job loss, to the extent available.
(M)Wages or prior wages.
(N)The Employment Development Department program for which the applicant filed.
(O)Date the claim was filed.
(P)Claimant eligibility status.
(Q)Date initial payment was approved by the Employment Development Department.
(R)The weekly benefit amount.
(S)The benefit period start date.
(T)The benefit period end date.
(2)The Employment Development Department shall provide the information pursuant to paragraph (1) in a manner prescribed by the Exchange.
(3)The Employment Development Department may provide the information pursuant to paragraph (1) more frequently than monthly during periods of high unemployment.
(b)(1)Consistent with subdivision (k) of Section 100503, the Exchange shall market and publicize the availability of health care coverage through the Exchange, and shall engage in outreach activities, to the individuals whose information the Exchange receives pursuant to subdivision (a).
(2)The Exchange may use any contact method that is intended to reach the person at their residence or other personal contact channel to communicate with and inform an individual whose information the Exchange receives pursuant to subdivision (a) of available health care coverage options through the exchange and to assist those individuals in obtaining health care coverage.
(3)(A)The Exchange may disclose information obtained from the Employment Development Department to outreach and marketing vendors under contract to the Exchange.
(B)The Exchange shall not disclose information obtained from the Employment Development Department to a certified insurance agent, a certified enrollment counselor, or any other entity without the consent of the applicant, except as provided in subparagraph (A).
(4)Any outreach and marketing conducted pursuant to this section shall include, in a conspicuous and easy to access manner, the ability for individuals to decline all future outreach and marketing.
(5)The Exchange shall take all necessary measures to safeguard the confidentiality of any information obtained from the Employment Development Department and shall at no time use or disclose that information for any purpose other than to market and publicize the availability of health care coverage through the Exchange to individuals whose information the Exchange receives pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (a). The Exchange shall at all times only request from the Employment Development Department, use, or disclose the minimum amount of information necessary to accomplish the purposes for which it was obtained.
(6)A person or entity that receives information from the Exchange pursuant to this section shall take all necessary measures to safeguard the confidentiality of any information obtained from the Exchange and shall at no time use or disclose that information for any purpose other than to market and publicize the availability of health care coverage through the Exchange to individuals, as directed by the Exchange. A person or entity shall at all times only request from the Exchange, use, or disclose the minimum amount of information necessary to accomplish the purposes for which it was received.
(7)Information received by the Exchange from the Employment Development Department shall both:
(A)At all times be subject to applicable privacy and information security-related requirements arising under both federal and state law.
(B)Be destroyed in a manner that maintains confidentiality.
(8)The Exchange shall ensure that information disclosed to outreach and marketing vendors or any other entity pursuant to this section shall comply with paragraph (7).
SEC. 2.Section 1095 of the Unemployment Insurance Code is amended to read:1095.The director shall permit the use of any information in the directors possession to the extent necessary for any of the following purposes, and may require reimbursement for all direct costs incurred in providing any and all information specified in this section, except information specified in subdivisions (a) to (e), inclusive:
(a)To enable the director or the directors representative to carry out their responsibilities under this code.
(b)To properly present a claim for benefits.
(c)To acquaint a worker or their authorized agent with the workers existing or prospective right to benefits.
(d)To furnish an employer or their authorized agent with information to enable the employer to fully discharge their obligations or safeguard their rights under this division or Division 3 (commencing with Section 9000).
(e)To enable an employer to receive a reduction in contribution rate.
(f)To enable federal, state, or local governmental departments or agencies, subject to federal law, to verify or determine the eligibility or entitlement of an applicant for, or a recipient of, public social services provided pursuant to Division 9 (commencing with Section 10000) of the Welfare and Institutions Code, or Part A of Subchapter IV of the federal Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 601 et seq.), and state or federal subsidies offered through the California Health Benefit Exchange provided pursuant to Title 22 (commencing with Section 100500) of the Government Code, when the verification or determination is directly connected with, and limited to, the administration of public social services.
(g)To enable county administrators of general relief or assistance, or their representatives, to determine entitlement to locally provided general relief or assistance, when the determination is directly connected with, and limited to, the administration of general relief or assistance.
(h)To enable state or local governmental departments or agencies to seek criminal, civil, or administrative remedies in connection with the unlawful application for, or receipt of, relief provided under Division 9 (commencing with Section 10000) of the Welfare and Institutions Code or to enable the collection of expenditures for medical assistance services pursuant to Part 5 (commencing with Section 17000) of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
(i)To provide any law enforcement agency with the name, address, telephone number, birth date, social security number, physical description, and names and addresses of present and past employers, of any victim, suspect, missing person, potential witness, or person for whom a felony arrest warrant has been issued, when a request for this information is made by any investigator or peace officer as defined by Sections 830.1 and 830.2 of the Penal Code, or by any federal law enforcement officer to whom the Attorney General has delegated authority to enforce federal search warrants, as defined under Sections 60.2 and 60.3 of Title 28 of the Code of Federal Regulations, as amended, and when the requesting officer has been designated by the head of the law enforcement agency and requests this information in the course of and as a part of an investigation into the commission of a crime when there is a reasonable suspicion that the crime is a felony and that the information would lead to relevant evidence. The information provided pursuant to this subdivision shall be provided to the extent permitted by federal law and regulations, and to the extent the information is available and accessible within the constraints and configurations of existing department records. Any person who receives any information under this subdivision shall make a written report of the information to the law enforcement agency that employs the person, for filing under the normal procedures of that agency.
(1)This subdivision shall not be construed to authorize the release to any law enforcement agency of a general list identifying individuals applying for or receiving benefits.
(2)The department shall maintain records pursuant to this subdivision only for periods required under regulations or statutes enacted for the administration of its programs.
(3)This subdivision shall not be construed as limiting the information provided to law enforcement agencies to that pertaining only to applicants for, or recipients of, benefits.
(4)The department shall notify all applicants for benefits that release of confidential information from their records will not be protected should there be a felony arrest warrant issued against the applicant or in the event of an investigation by a law enforcement agency into the commission of a felony.
(j)To provide public employee retirement systems in California with information relating to the earnings of any person who has applied for or is receiving a disability income, disability allowance, or disability retirement allowance, from a public employee retirement system. The earnings information shall be released only upon written request from the governing board specifying that the person has applied for or is receiving a disability allowance or disability retirement allowance from its retirement system. The request may be made by the chief executive officer of the system or by an employee of the system so authorized and identified by name and title by the chief executive officer in writing.
(k)To enable the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement in the Department of Industrial Relations to seek criminal, civil, or administrative remedies in connection with the failure to pay, or the unlawful payment of, wages pursuant to Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 200) of Part 1 of Division 2 of, and Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 1720) of Part 7 of Division 2 of, the Labor Code.
(l)To enable federal, state, or local governmental departments or agencies to administer child support enforcement programs under Part D of Title IV of the federal Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 651 et seq.).
(m)To provide federal, state, or local governmental departments or agencies with wage and claim information in its possession that will assist those departments and agencies in the administration of the Victims of Crime Program or in the location of victims of crime who, by state mandate or court order, are entitled to restitution that has been or can be recovered.
(n)To provide federal, state, or local governmental departments or agencies with information concerning any individuals who are or have been:
(1)Directed by state mandate or court order to pay restitution, fines, penalties, assessments, or fees as a result of a violation of law.
(2)Delinquent or in default on guaranteed student loans or who owe repayment of funds received through other financial assistance programs administered by those agencies. The information released by the director for the purposes of this paragraph shall not include unemployment insurance benefit information.
(o)To provide an authorized governmental agency with any and all relevant information that relates to any specific workers compensation insurance fraud investigation. The information shall be provided to the extent permitted by federal law and regulations. For purposes of this subdivision, authorized governmental agency means the district attorney of any county, the office of the Attorney General, the Contractors State License Board, the Department of Industrial Relations, and the Department of Insurance. An authorized governmental agency may disclose this information to the State Bar of California, the Medical Board of California, or any other licensing board or department whose licensee is the subject of a workers compensation insurance fraud investigation. This subdivision shall not prevent any authorized governmental agency from reporting to any board or department the suspected misconduct of any licensee of that body.
(p)To enable the Director of Consumer Affairs, or the directors representative, to access unemployment insurance quarterly wage data on a case-by-case basis to verify information on school administrators, school staff, and students provided by those schools who are being investigated for possible violations of Chapter 8 (commencing with Section 94800) of Part 59 of Division 10 of Title 3 of the Education Code.
(q)To provide employment tax information to the tax officials of Mexico, if a reciprocal agreement exists. For purposes of this subdivision, reciprocal agreement means a formal agreement to exchange information between national taxing officials of Mexico and taxing authorities of the State Board of Equalization, the Franchise Tax Board, and the Employment Development Department. Furthermore, the reciprocal agreement shall be limited to the exchange of information that is essential for tax administration purposes only. Taxing authorities of the State of California shall be granted tax information only on California residents. Taxing authorities of Mexico shall be granted tax information only on Mexican nationals.
(r)To enable city and county planning agencies to develop economic forecasts for planning purposes. The information shall be limited to businesses within the jurisdiction of the city or county whose planning agency is requesting the information, and shall not include information regarding individual employees.
(s)To provide the State Department of Developmental Services with wage and employer information that will assist in the collection of moneys owed by the recipient, parent, or any other legally liable individual for services and supports provided pursuant to Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 4775) of Division 4.5 of, and Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 7200) and Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 7500) of Division 7 of, the Welfare and Institutions Code.
(t)To provide the State Board of Equalization with employment tax information that will assist in the administration of tax programs. The information shall be limited to the exchange of employment tax information essential for tax administration purposes to the extent permitted by federal law and regulations.
(u)This section shall not be construed to authorize or permit the use of information obtained in the administration of this code by any private collection agency.
(v)The disclosure of the name and address of an individual or business entity that was issued an assessment that included penalties under Section 1128 or 1128.1 shall not be in violation of Section 1094 if the assessment is final. The disclosure may also include any of the following:
(1)The total amount of the assessment.
(2)The amount of the penalty imposed under Section 1128 or 1128.1 that is included in the assessment.
(3)The facts that resulted in the charging of the penalty under Section 1128 or 1128.1.
(w)To enable the Contractors State License Board to verify the employment history of an individual applying for licensure pursuant to Section 7068 of the Business and Professions Code.
(x)To provide any peace officer with the Division of Investigation in the Department of Consumer Affairs information pursuant to subdivision (i) when the requesting peace officer has been designated by the Chief of the Division of Investigation and requests this information in the course of and as part of an investigation into the commission of a crime or other unlawful act when there is reasonable suspicion to believe that the crime or act may be connected to the information requested and would lead to relevant information regarding the crime or unlawful act.
(y)To enable the Labor Commissioner of the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement in the Department of Industrial Relations to identify, pursuant to Section 90.3 of the Labor Code, unlawfully uninsured employers. The information shall be provided to the extent permitted by federal law and regulations.
(z)To enable the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, in accordance with the requirements of Section 84754.5 of the Education Code, to obtain quarterly wage data, commencing January 1, 1993, on students who have attended one or more community colleges, to assess the impact of education on the employment and earnings of students, to conduct the annual evaluation of district-level and individual college performance in achieving priority educational outcomes, and to submit the required reports to the Legislature and the Governor. The information shall be provided to the extent permitted by federal statutes and regulations.
(aa)To enable the Public Employees Retirement System to seek criminal, civil, or administrative remedies in connection with the unlawful application for, or receipt of, benefits provided under Part 3 (commencing with Section 20000) of Division 5 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
(ab)To enable the State Department of Education, the University of California, the California State University, and the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, pursuant to the requirements prescribed by the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5), to obtain quarterly wage data, commencing July 1, 2010, on students who have attended their respective systems to assess the impact of education on the employment and earnings of those students, to conduct the annual analysis of district-level and individual district or postsecondary education system performance in achieving priority educational outcomes, and to submit the required reports to the Legislature and the Governor. The information shall be provided to the extent permitted by federal statutes and regulations.
(ac)To provide the Agricultural Labor Relations Board with employee, wage, and employer information, for use in the investigation or enforcement of the Alatorre-Zenovich-Dunlap-Berman Agricultural Labor Relations Act of 1975 (Part 3.5 (commencing with Section 1140) of Division 2 of the Labor Code). The information shall be provided to the extent permitted by federal statutes and regulations.
(ad)(1)To enable the State Department of Health Care Services, the California Health Benefit Exchange, the Managed Risk Medical Insurance Board, and county departments and agencies to obtain information regarding employee wages, California employer names and account numbers, employer reports of wages and number of employees, and disability insurance and unemployment insurance claim information, for the purpose of:
(A)Verifying or determining the eligibility of an applicant for, or a recipient of, state health subsidy programs, limited to the Medi-Cal program provided pursuant to Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 14000) of Part 3 of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, and the Medi-Cal Access Program provided pursuant to Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 15810) of Part 3.3 of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, when the verification or determination is directly connected with, and limited to, the administration of the state health subsidy programs referenced in this subparagraph.
(B)Verifying or determining the eligibility of an applicant for, or a recipient of, state or federal subsidies offered through the California Health Benefit Exchange, provided pursuant to Title 22 (commencing with Section 100500) of the Government Code, including federal tax credits and cost-sharing assistance pursuant to the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Public Law 111-148), as amended by the federal Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (Public Law 111-152), when the verification or determination is directly connected with, and limited to, the administration of the California Health Benefit Exchange.
(C)Verifying or determining the eligibility of employees and employers for health coverage through the Small Business Health Options Program, provided pursuant to Section 100502 of the Government Code, when the verification or determination is directly connected with, and limited to, the administration of the Small Business Health Options Program.
(2)The information provided under this subdivision shall be subject to the requirements of, and provided to the extent permitted by, federal law and regulations, including Part 603 of Title 20 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
(ae)To provide any peace officer with the Investigations Division of the Department of Motor Vehicles with information pursuant to subdivision (i), when the requesting peace officer has been designated by the Chief of the Investigations Division and requests this information in the course of, and as part of, an investigation into identity theft, counterfeiting, document fraud, or consumer fraud, and there is reasonable suspicion that the crime is a felony and that the information would lead to relevant evidence regarding the identity theft, counterfeiting, document fraud, or consumer fraud. The information provided pursuant to this subdivision shall be provided to the extent permitted by federal law and regulations, and to the extent the information is available and accessible within the constraints and configurations of existing department records. Any person who receives any information under this subdivision shall make a written report of the information to the Investigations Division of the Department of Motor Vehicles, for filing under the normal procedures of that division.
(af)Until January 1, 2020, to enable the Department of Finance to prepare and submit the report required by Section 13084 of the Government Code that identifies all employers in California that employ 100 or more employees who receive benefits from the Medi-Cal program (Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 14000) of Part 3 of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code). The information used for this purpose shall be limited to information obtained pursuant to Section 11026.5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code and from the administration of personal income tax wage withholding pursuant to Division 6 (commencing with Section 13000) and the disability insurance program and may be disclosed to the Department of Finance only for the purpose of preparing and submitting the report and only to the extent not prohibited by federal law.
(ag)To provide, to the extent permitted by federal law and regulations, the Student Aid Commission with wage information in order to verify the employment status of an individual applying for a Cal Grant C award pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 69439 of the Education Code.
(ah)To enable the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to obtain quarterly wage data of former inmates who have been incarcerated within the prison system in order to assess the impact of rehabilitation services or the lack of these services on the employment and earnings of these former inmates. Quarterly data for a former inmates employment status and wage history shall be provided for a period of one year, three years, and five years following release. The data shall only be used for the purpose of tracking outcomes for former inmates in order to assess the effectiveness of rehabilitation strategies on the wages and employment histories of those formerly incarcerated. The information shall be provided to the department to the extent not prohibited by federal law.
(ai)To enable federal, state, or local government departments or agencies, or their contracted agencies, subject to federal law, including the confidentiality, disclosure, and other requirements set forth in Part 603 of Title 20 of the Code of Federal Regulations, to evaluate, research, or forecast the effectiveness of public social services programs administered pursuant to Division 9 (commencing with Section 10000) of the Welfare and Institutions Code, or Part A of Subchapter IV of Chapter 7 of the federal Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 601 et seq.), when the evaluation, research, or forecast is directly connected with, and limited to, the administration of the public social services programs.
(aj)(1)To enable the California Workforce Development Board, the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, the Superintendent of Public Instruction, the Department of Rehabilitation, the State Department of Social Services, the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education, the Department of Industrial Relations, the Division of Apprenticeship Standards, the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the Prison Industry Authority, the Employment Training Panel, and a chief elected official, as that term is defined in Section 3102(9) of Title 29 of the United States Code, to access any relevant quarterly wage data necessary for the evaluation and reporting of their respective program performance outcomes as required and permitted by various local, state, and federal laws pertaining to performance measurement and program evaluation, including responsibilities arising under Sections 14013, 14033, and 14042 of this code and Sections 2032 and 2038 of the Streets and Highways Code; the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (Public Law 113-128); the workforce metrics dashboard pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (i) of Section 14013; the Adult Education Block Grant Program consortia performance metrics pursuant to Section 84920 of the Education Code; the economic and workforce development program performance measures pursuant to Section 88650 of the Education Code; and the California Community Colleges Economic and Workforce Development Program performance measures established in Part 52.5 (commencing with Section 88600) of Division 7 of Title 3 of the Education Code. Disclosures under this subdivision shall comply with federal and state privacy laws that require the informed consent from program participants of city and county departments or agencies that administer public workforce development programs for the evaluation, research, or forecast of their programs regardless of local, state, or federal funding source.
(2)The department shall do all of the following:
(A)Consistent with this subdivision, develop the minimum requirements for granting a request for disclosure of information authorized by this subdivision regardless of local, state, or federal funding source.
(B)Develop a standard application for submitting a request for disclosure of information authorized by this subdivision.
(C)Approve or deny a request for disclosure of information authorized by this subdivision, or request additional information, within 20 business days of receiving the standard application. The entity submitting the application shall respond to any request by the department for additional information within 20 business days of receipt of the departments request. Within 30 calendar days of receiving any additional information, the department shall provide a final approval or denial of the request for disclosure of information authorized by this subdivision. Any approval, denial, or request for additional information shall be in writing. Denials shall identify the reason or category of reasons for the denial.
(D)Make publicly available on the departments internet website all of the following:
(i)The minimum requirements for granting a request for disclosure of information authorized by this subdivision, as developed pursuant to subparagraph (A).
(ii)The standard application developed pursuant to subparagraph (B).
(iii)The timeframe for information request determinations by the department, as specified in subparagraph (C).
(iv)Contact information for assistance with requests for disclosures of information authorized by this subdivision.
(v)Any denials for requests of disclosure of information authorized by this subdivision, including the reason or category of reasons for the denial.
(ak)(1)To provide any peace officer with the Enforcement Branch of the Department of Insurance with both of the following:
(A)Information provided pursuant to subdivision (i) that relates to a specific insurance fraud investigation involving automobile insurance fraud, life insurance and annuity fraud, property and casualty insurance fraud, and organized automobile insurance fraud. That information shall be provided when the requesting peace officer has been designated by the Chief of the Fraud Division of the Department of Insurance and requests the information in the course of, and as part of, an investigation into the commission of a crime or other unlawful act when there is reasonable suspicion to believe that the crime or act may be connected to the information requested and would lead to relevant information regarding the crime or unlawful act.
(B)Employee, wage, employer, and state disability insurance claim information that relates to a specific insurance fraud investigation involving health or disability insurance fraud when the requesting peace officer has been designated by the Chief of the Fraud Division of the Department of Insurance and requests the information in the course of, and as part of, an investigation into the commission of a crime or other unlawful act when there is reasonable suspicion to believe that the crime or act may be connected to the information requested and would lead to relevant information regarding the crime or unlawful act.
(2)To enable the State Department of Developmental Services to obtain quarterly wage data and unemployment insurance claim data of consumers served by that department for the purposes of monitoring, program operation and evaluation, and evaluating employment outcomes, of the Employment First Policy, established pursuant to Section 4869 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
(3)The information provided pursuant to this subdivision shall be provided to the extent permitted by federal statutes and regulations.
(al)To provide the CalSavers Retirement Savings Board with employer tax information for use in the administration of, and to facilitate compliance with, the CalSavers Retirement Savings Trust Act (Title 21 (commencing with Section 100000) of the Government Code). The information should be limited to the tax information the director deems appropriate, and shall be provided to the extent permitted by federal laws and regulations.
(am)(1)To enable the Joint Enforcement Strike Force as established by Section 329, and the Labor Enforcement Task Force, as established pursuant to Assembly Bill 1464 of the 201112 Regular Session (Chapter 21 of the Statutes of 2012), to carry out their duties.
(2)To provide an agency listed in subdivision (a) of Section 329 intelligence, data, including confidential tax and fee information, documents, information, complaints, or lead referrals pursuant to Section 15925 of the Government Code.
(an)To enable the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education to access and use any relevant quarterly wage data necessary to perform the labor market outcome reporting data match pursuant to Section 94892.6 of the Education Code. The information provided pursuant to this subdivision shall be provided to the extent permitted by state and federal laws and regulations.
(ao)To enable the Civil Rights Department to carry out its duties, including ensuring compliance with Section 12999 of the Government Code. Conduct related to information provided pursuant to this subdivision shall not be subject to the criminal sanctions set forth in subdivision (f) of Section 1094.
(ap)To enable the Cradle-to-Career Data System, as established by Article 2 (commencing with Section 10860) of Chapter 8.5 of Part 7 of Division 1 of Title 1 of the Education Code, to receive employment and earnings data and, as required by the director pursuant to Section 10871 of the Education Code, to provide information to the data system, to the extent permissible by federal laws and regulations.
(aq)(1)To enable the State Air Resources Board to receive unpaid final tax assessment information issued to a port drayage motor carrier or short-haul trucking service for misclassification of a commercial driver, for use in the administration of, and to facilitate compliance with, Chapter 3.6 (commencing with Section 39680) of Part 2 of Division 26 of the Health and Safety Code. The information shall be limited to the tax information the director deems appropriate for disclosure and shall be provided only to the extent permitted by federal laws and regulations.
(2)For purposes of this subdivision, the following definitions apply:
(A)Commercial driver has the same meaning as defined in Section 2810.4 of the Labor Code.
(B)Port drayage motor carrier has the same meaning as defined in Section 2810.4 of the Labor Code.
(C)Short-haul trucking service has the same meaning as defined in Section 39682 of the Health and Safety Code.
(ar)To enable the California Health Benefit Exchange to do all of the following:
(1)Notify an employer that an employee has been determined eligible for advance payments of the premium tax credit and cost-sharing reductions and has enrolled in a qualified health plan through the California Health Benefit Exchange, as required pursuant to Section 155.310(h) of Title 45 of the Code of Federal Regulations. The information shall include available employer contact information, including addresses, email addresses, and telephone numbers.
(2)Assist the California Health Benefit Exchange or the State Department of Health Care Services in determining eligibility for the insurance affordability programs administered by those state agencies. The determination of eligibility or entitlement shall include efforts by either the California Health Benefit Exchange or the State Department of Health Care Services to assist those individuals in obtaining that coverage, including informing those individuals potentially eligible for health coverage of the availability of that coverage.
(3)Verify if a consumer has been offered affordable comprehensive employer-sponsored health care coverage pursuant to Title 22 (commencing with Section 100500) of the Government Code and the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Public Law 111-148). The information shall include available employer contact information, including addresses, email addresses, and telephone numbers.
(4)Upon the request of either the California Health Benefit Exchange or the State Department of Health Care Services, the department shall also provide to the relevant state agency information on new applicants for unemployment insurance, state disability insurance, and paid family leave. The California Health Benefit Exchange and the State Department of Health Care Services shall at all times request from the department the minimum amount of information necessary from the information listed in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 100503.9 of the Government Code, to accomplish the purposes of Section 100503.9 of the Government Code. The information shall be sent in a manner that is encrypted or otherwise complies with government data security best practices, as specified by the California Health Benefit Exchange. This information shall only be used for the purposes of outreach and marketing.
(5)This subdivision shall become operative no later than September 1, 2023.
(a)(1)Beginning no later than September 1, 2023, and at least monthly thereafter, subject to the restrictions in paragraph (5) of subdivision (b), the Exchange shall request from the Employment Development Department the following information of each new applicant for unemployment compensation, state disability, and paid family leave:
(A)Last name.
(B)First name.
(C)Middle initial.
(D)Social security number.
(E)Date of birth.
(F)Race or ethnicity, to the extent available.
(G)Preferred language.
(H)Gender.
(I)All mailing addresses, including city, state, and ZIP Code.
(J)All telephone numbers, including home, work, and cellular.
(K)Email address, to the extent available.
(L)Date of most recent job loss, to the extent available.
(M)Wages or prior wages.
(N)The Employment Development Department program for which the applicant filed.
(O)Date the claim was filed.
(P)Claimant eligibility status.
(Q)Date initial payment was approved by the Employment Development Department.
(R)The weekly benefit amount.
(S)The benefit period start date.
(T)The benefit period end date.
(2)The Employment Development Department shall provide the information pursuant to paragraph (1) in a manner prescribed by the Exchange.
(3)The Employment Development Department may provide the information pursuant to paragraph (1) more frequently than monthly during periods of high unemployment.
(b)(1)Consistent with subdivision (k) of Section 100503, the Exchange shall market and publicize the availability of health care coverage through the Exchange, and shall engage in outreach activities, to the individuals whose contact information the Exchange receives pursuant to subdivision (a).
(2)The Exchange may use any contact method that is intended to reach the person at their residence or other personal contact channel to communicate with and inform an individual whose contact information the Exchange receives pursuant to subdivision (a) of available health care coverage options through the exchange and to assist those individuals in obtaining health care coverage.
(3)(A)The Exchange may disclose information obtained from the Employment Development Department to outreach and marketing vendors under contract to the Exchange.
(3)(B)The Exchange shall not disclose personal information obtained from the Employment Development Department to a certified insurance agent or agent, a certified enrollment counselor counselor, or any other entity without the consent of the applicant. applicant, except as provided in subparagraph (A).
(4)Any outreach and marketing conducted pursuant to this section shall include, in a conspicuous and easy to access manner, the ability for individuals to decline all future outreach and marketing.
(4)(5)The Exchange shall at all times take reasonable take all necessary measures to safeguard the confidentiality of any personal information obtained by from the Employment Development Department and shall at no time use or disclose that information for any purpose other than to market and publicize the availability of health care coverage through the Exchange to individuals whose contact information the Exchange receives pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (a). The Exchange shall at all times only request from the Employment Development Department, use, or disclose the minimum amount of information necessary to accomplish the purposes for which it was obtained.
(5)(6)A person or entity that receives personal information from the Exchange pursuant to this section shall at all times take reasonable take all necessary measures to safeguard the confidentiality of any personal information obtained from the Exchange and shall at no time use or disclose that information for any purpose other than to market and publicize the availability of health care coverage through the Exchange to individuals, as directed by the Exchange. A person or entity shall at all times only request from the Exchange, use, or disclose the minimum amount of information necessary to accomplish the purposes for which it was received.
(6)Personal information(7)Information received by the Exchange from the Employment Development Department shall at both:
(A)At all times be subject to applicable privacy and information security-related requirements arising under both federal and state law.
(B)Be destroyed in a manner that maintains confidentiality.
(8)The Exchange shall ensure that information disclosed to outreach and marketing vendors or any other entity pursuant to this section shall comply with paragraph (7).
SEC. 2.Section 1095 of the Unemployment Insurance Code is amended to read:1095.The director shall permit the use of any information in the directors possession to the extent necessary for any of the following purposes, and may require reimbursement for all direct costs incurred in providing any and all information specified in this section, except information specified in subdivisions (a) to (e), inclusive:
(a)To enable the director or the directors representative to carry out their responsibilities under this code.
(b)To properly present a claim for benefits.
(c)To acquaint a worker or their authorized agent with the workers existing or prospective right to benefits.
(d)To furnish an employer or their authorized agent with information to enable the employer to fully discharge their obligations or safeguard their rights under this division or Division 3 (commencing with Section 9000).
(e)To enable an employer to receive a reduction in contribution rate.
(f)To enable federal, state, or local governmental departments or agencies, subject to federal law, to verify or determine the eligibility or entitlement of an applicant for, or a recipient of, public social services provided pursuant to Division 9 (commencing with Section 10000) of the Welfare and Institutions Code, or Part A of Subchapter IV of the federal Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 601 et seq.), and state or federal subsidies offered through the California Health Benefit Exchange provided pursuant to Title 22 (commencing with Section 100500) of the Government Code, when the verification or determination is directly connected with, and limited to, the administration of public social services.
(g)To enable county administrators of general relief or assistance, or their representatives, to determine entitlement to locally provided general relief or assistance, when the determination is directly connected with, and limited to, the administration of general relief or assistance.
(h)To enable state or local governmental departments or agencies to seek criminal, civil, or administrative remedies in connection with the unlawful application for, or receipt of, relief provided under Division 9 (commencing with Section 10000) of the Welfare and Institutions Code or to enable the collection of expenditures for medical assistance services pursuant to Part 5 (commencing with Section 17000) of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
(i)To provide any law enforcement agency with the name, address, telephone number, birth date, social security number, physical description, and names and addresses of present and past employers, of any victim, suspect, missing person, potential witness, or person for whom a felony arrest warrant has been issued, when a request for this information is made by any investigator or peace officer as defined by Sections 830.1 and 830.2 of the Penal Code, or by any federal law enforcement officer to whom the Attorney General has delegated authority to enforce federal search warrants, as defined under Sections 60.2 and 60.3 of Title 28 of the Code of Federal Regulations, as amended, and when the requesting officer has been designated by the head of the law enforcement agency and requests this information in the course of and as a part of an investigation into the commission of a crime when there is a reasonable suspicion that the crime is a felony and that the information would lead to relevant evidence. The information provided pursuant to this subdivision shall be provided to the extent permitted by federal law and regulations, and to the extent the information is available and accessible within the constraints and configurations of existing department records. Any person who receives any information under this subdivision shall make a written report of the information to the law enforcement agency that employs the person, for filing under the normal procedures of that agency.
(1)This subdivision shall not be construed to authorize the release to any law enforcement agency of a general list identifying individuals applying for or receiving benefits.
(2)The department shall maintain records pursuant to this subdivision only for periods required under regulations or statutes enacted for the administration of its programs.
(3)This subdivision shall not be construed as limiting the information provided to law enforcement agencies to that pertaining only to applicants for, or recipients of, benefits.
(4)The department shall notify all applicants for benefits that release of confidential information from their records will not be protected should there be a felony arrest warrant issued against the applicant or in the event of an investigation by a law enforcement agency into the commission of a felony.
(j)To provide public employee retirement systems in California with information relating to the earnings of any person who has applied for or is receiving a disability income, disability allowance, or disability retirement allowance, from a public employee retirement system. The earnings information shall be released only upon written request from the governing board specifying that the person has applied for or is receiving a disability allowance or disability retirement allowance from its retirement system. The request may be made by the chief executive officer of the system or by an employee of the system so authorized and identified by name and title by the chief executive officer in writing.
(k)To enable the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement in the Department of Industrial Relations to seek criminal, civil, or administrative remedies in connection with the failure to pay, or the unlawful payment of, wages pursuant to Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 200) of Part 1 of Division 2 of, and Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 1720) of Part 7 of Division 2 of, the Labor Code.
(l)To enable federal, state, or local governmental departments or agencies to administer child support enforcement programs under Part D of Title IV of the federal Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 651 et seq.).
(m)To provide federal, state, or local governmental departments or agencies with wage and claim information in its possession that will assist those departments and agencies in the administration of the Victims of Crime Program or in the location of victims of crime who, by state mandate or court order, are entitled to restitution that has been or can be recovered.
(n)To provide federal, state, or local governmental departments or agencies with information concerning any individuals who are or have been:
(1)Directed by state mandate or court order to pay restitution, fines, penalties, assessments, or fees as a result of a violation of law.
(2)Delinquent or in default on guaranteed student loans or who owe repayment of funds received through other financial assistance programs administered by those agencies. The information released by the director for the purposes of this paragraph shall not include unemployment insurance benefit information.
(o)To provide an authorized governmental agency with any and all relevant information that relates to any specific workers compensation insurance fraud investigation. The information shall be provided to the extent permitted by federal law and regulations. For purposes of this subdivision, authorized governmental agency means the district attorney of any county, the office of the Attorney General, the Contractors State License Board, the Department of Industrial Relations, and the Department of Insurance. An authorized governmental agency may disclose this information to the State Bar of California, the Medical Board of California, or any other licensing board or department whose licensee is the subject of a workers compensation insurance fraud investigation. This subdivision shall not prevent any authorized governmental agency from reporting to any board or department the suspected misconduct of any licensee of that body.
(p)To enable the Director of Consumer Affairs, or the directors representative, to access unemployment insurance quarterly wage data on a case-by-case basis to verify information on school administrators, school staff, and students provided by those schools who are being investigated for possible violations of Chapter 8 (commencing with Section 94800) of Part 59 of Division 10 of Title 3 of the Education Code.
(q)To provide employment tax information to the tax officials of Mexico, if a reciprocal agreement exists. For purposes of this subdivision, reciprocal agreement means a formal agreement to exchange information between national taxing officials of Mexico and taxing authorities of the State Board of Equalization, the Franchise Tax Board, and the Employment Development Department. Furthermore, the reciprocal agreement shall be limited to the exchange of information that is essential for tax administration purposes only. Taxing authorities of the State of California shall be granted tax information only on California residents. Taxing authorities of Mexico shall be granted tax information only on Mexican nationals.
(r)To enable city and county planning agencies to develop economic forecasts for planning purposes. The information shall be limited to businesses within the jurisdiction of the city or county whose planning agency is requesting the information, and shall not include information regarding individual employees.
(s)To provide the State Department of Developmental Services with wage and employer information that will assist in the collection of moneys owed by the recipient, parent, or any other legally liable individual for services and supports provided pursuant to Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 4775) of Division 4.5 of, and Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 7200) and Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 7500) of Division 7 of, the Welfare and Institutions Code.
(t)To provide the State Board of Equalization with employment tax information that will assist in the administration of tax programs. The information shall be limited to the exchange of employment tax information essential for tax administration purposes to the extent permitted by federal law and regulations.
(u)This section shall not be construed to authorize or permit the use of information obtained in the administration of this code by any private collection agency.
(v)The disclosure of the name and address of an individual or business entity that was issued an assessment that included penalties under Section 1128 or 1128.1 shall not be in violation of Section 1094 if the assessment is final. The disclosure may also include any of the following:
(1)The total amount of the assessment.
(2)The amount of the penalty imposed under Section 1128 or 1128.1 that is included in the assessment.
(3)The facts that resulted in the charging of the penalty under Section 1128 or 1128.1.
(w)To enable the Contractors State License Board to verify the employment history of an individual applying for licensure pursuant to Section 7068 of the Business and Professions Code.
(x)To provide any peace officer with the Division of Investigation in the Department of Consumer Affairs information pursuant to subdivision (i) when the requesting peace officer has been designated by the chief Chief of the Division of Investigation and requests this information in the course of and as part of an investigation into the commission of a crime or other unlawful act when there is reasonable suspicion to believe that the crime or act may be connected to the information requested and would lead to relevant information regarding the crime or unlawful act.
(y)To enable the Labor Commissioner of the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement in the Department of Industrial Relations to identify, pursuant to Section 90.3 of the Labor Code, unlawfully uninsured employers. The information shall be provided to the extent permitted by federal law and regulations.
(z)To enable the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, in accordance with the requirements of Section 84754.5 of the Education Code, to obtain quarterly wage data, commencing January 1, 1993, on students who have attended one or more community colleges, to assess the impact of education on the employment and earnings of students, to conduct the annual evaluation of district-level and individual college performance in achieving priority educational outcomes, and to submit the required reports to the Legislature and the Governor. The information shall be provided to the extent permitted by federal statutes and regulations.
(aa)To enable the Public Employees Retirement System to seek criminal, civil, or administrative remedies in connection with the unlawful application for, or receipt of, benefits provided under Part 3 (commencing with Section 20000) of Division 5 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
(ab)To enable the State Department of Education, the University of California, the California State University, and the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, pursuant to the requirements prescribed by the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5), to obtain quarterly wage data, commencing July 1, 2010, on students who have attended their respective systems to assess the impact of education on the employment and earnings of those students, to conduct the annual analysis of district-level and individual district or postsecondary education system performance in achieving priority educational outcomes, and to submit the required reports to the Legislature and the Governor. The information shall be provided to the extent permitted by federal statutes and regulations.
(ac)To provide the Agricultural Labor Relations Board with employee, wage, and employer information, for use in the investigation or enforcement of the Alatorre-Zenovich-Dunlap-Berman Agricultural Labor Relations Act of 1975 (Part 3.5 (commencing with Section 1140) of Division 2 of the Labor Code). The information shall be provided to the extent permitted by federal statutes and regulations.
(ad)(1)To enable the State Department of Health Care Services, the California Health Benefit Exchange, the Managed Risk Medical Insurance Board, and county departments and agencies to obtain information regarding employee wages, California employer names and account numbers, employer reports of wages and number of employees, and disability insurance and unemployment insurance claim information, for the purpose of:
(A)Verifying or determining the eligibility of an applicant for, or a recipient of, state health subsidy programs, limited to the Medi-Cal program provided pursuant to Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 14000) of Part 3 of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, and the Medi-Cal Access Program provided pursuant to Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 15810) of Part 3.3 of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, when the verification or determination is directly connected with, and limited to, the administration of the state health subsidy programs referenced in this subparagraph.
(B)Verifying or determining the eligibility of an applicant for, or a recipient of, state or federal subsidies offered through the California Health Benefit Exchange, provided pursuant to Title 22 (commencing with Section 100500) of the Government Code, including federal tax credits and cost-sharing assistance pursuant to the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Public Law 111-148), as amended by the federal Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (Public Law 111-152), when the verification or determination is directly connected with, and limited to, the administration of the California Health Benefit Exchange.
(C)Verifying or determining the eligibility of employees and employers for health coverage through the Small Business Health Options Program, provided pursuant to Section 100502 of the Government Code, when the verification or determination is directly connected with, and limited to, the administration of the Small Business Health Options Program.
(2)The information provided under this subdivision shall be subject to the requirements of, and provided to the extent permitted by, federal law and regulations, including Part 603 of Title 20 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
(ae)To provide any peace officer with the Investigations Division of the Department of Motor Vehicles with information pursuant to subdivision (i), when the requesting peace officer has been designated by the Chief of the Investigations Division and requests this information in the course of, and as part of, an investigation into identity theft, counterfeiting, document fraud, or consumer fraud, and there is reasonable suspicion that the crime is a felony and that the information would lead to relevant evidence regarding the identity theft, counterfeiting, document fraud, or consumer fraud. The information provided pursuant to this subdivision shall be provided to the extent permitted by federal law and regulations, and to the extent the information is available and accessible within the constraints and configurations of existing department records. Any person who receives any information under this subdivision shall make a written report of the information to the Investigations Division of the Department of Motor Vehicles, for filing under the normal procedures of that division.
(af)Until January 1, 2020, to enable the Department of Finance to prepare and submit the report required by Section 13084 of the Government Code that identifies all employers in California that employ 100 or more employees who receive benefits from the Medi-Cal program (Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 14000) of Part 3 of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code). The information used for this purpose shall be limited to information obtained pursuant to Section 11026.5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code and from the administration of personal income tax wage withholding pursuant to Division 6 (commencing with Section 13000) and the disability insurance program and may be disclosed to the Department of Finance only for the purpose of preparing and submitting the report and only to the extent not prohibited by federal law.
(ag)To provide, to the extent permitted by federal law and regulations, the Student Aid Commission with wage information in order to verify the employment status of an individual applying for a Cal Grant C award pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 69439 of the Education Code.
(ah)To enable the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to obtain quarterly wage data of former inmates who have been incarcerated within the prison system in order to assess the impact of rehabilitation services or the lack of these services on the employment and earnings of these former inmates. Quarterly data for a former inmates employment status and wage history shall be provided for a period of one year, three years, and five years following release. The data shall only be used for the purpose of tracking outcomes for former inmates in order to assess the effectiveness of rehabilitation strategies on the wages and employment histories of those formerly incarcerated. The information shall be provided to the department to the extent not prohibited by federal law.
(ai)To enable federal, state, or local government departments or agencies, or their contracted agencies, subject to federal law, including the confidentiality, disclosure, and other requirements set forth in Part 603 of Title 20 of the Code of Federal Regulations, to evaluate, research, or forecast the effectiveness of public social services programs administered pursuant to Division 9 (commencing with Section 10000) of the Welfare and Institutions Code, or Part A of Subchapter IV of Chapter 7 of the federal Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 601 et seq.), when the evaluation, research, or forecast is directly connected with, and limited to, the administration of the public social services programs.
(aj)(1)To enable the California Workforce Development Board, the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, the Superintendent of Public Instruction, the Department of Rehabilitation, the State Department of Social Services, the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education, the Department of Industrial Relations, the Division of Apprenticeship Standards, the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the Prison Industry Authority, the Employment Training Panel, and a chief elected official, as that term is defined in Section 3102(9) of Title 29 of the United States Code, to access any relevant quarterly wage data necessary for the evaluation and reporting of their respective program performance outcomes as required and permitted by various local, state, and federal laws pertaining to performance measurement and program evaluation, including responsibilities arising under Sections 14013, 14033, and 14042 of this code and Sections 2032 and 2038 of the Streets and Highways Code; the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (Public Law 113-128); the workforce metrics dashboard pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (i) of Section 14013; the Adult Education Block Grant Program consortia performance metrics pursuant to Section 84920 of the Education Code; the economic and workforce development program performance measures pursuant to Section 88650 of the Education Code; and the California Community Colleges Economic and Workforce Development Program performance measures established in Part 52.5 (commencing with Section 88600) of Division 7 of Title 3 of the Education Code. Disclosures under this subdivision shall comply with federal and state privacy laws that require the informed consent from program participants of city and county departments or agencies that administer public workforce development programs for the evaluation, research, or forecast of their programs regardless of local, state, or federal funding source.
(2)The department shall do all of the following:
(A)Consistent with this subdivision, develop the minimum requirements for granting a request for disclosure of information authorized by this subdivision regardless of local, state, or federal funding source.
(B)Develop a standard application for submitting a request for disclosure of information authorized by this subdivision.
(C)Approve or deny a request for disclosure of information authorized by this subdivision, or request additional information, within 20 business days of receiving the standard application. The entity submitting the application shall respond to any request by the department for additional information within 20 business days of receipt of the departments request. Within 30 calendar days of receiving any additional information, the department shall provide a final approval or denial of the request for disclosure of information authorized by this subdivision. Any approval, denial, or request for additional information shall be in writing. Denials shall identify the reason or category of reasons for the denial.
(D)Make publicly available on the departments internet website all of the following:
(i)The minimum requirements for granting a request for disclosure of information authorized by this subdivision, as developed pursuant to subparagraph (A).
(ii)The standard application developed pursuant to subparagraph (B).
(iii)The timeframe for information request determinations by the department, as specified in subparagraph (C).
(iv)Contact information for assistance with requests for disclosures of information authorized by this subdivision.
(v)Any denials for requests of disclosure of information authorized by this subdivision, including the reason or category of reasons for the denial.
(ak)(1)To provide any peace officer with the Enforcement Branch of the Department of Insurance with both of the following:
(A)Information provided pursuant to subdivision (i) that relates to a specific insurance fraud investigation involving automobile insurance fraud, life insurance and annuity fraud, property and casualty insurance fraud, and organized automobile insurance fraud. That information shall be provided when the requesting peace officer has been designated by the Chief of the Fraud Division of the Department of Insurance and requests the information in the course of, and as part of, an investigation into the commission of a crime or other unlawful act when there is reasonable suspicion to believe that the crime or act may be connected to the information requested and would lead to relevant information regarding the crime or unlawful act.
(B)Employee, wage, employer, and state disability insurance claim information that relates to a specific insurance fraud investigation involving health or disability insurance fraud when the requesting peace officer has been designated by the Chief of the Fraud Division of the Department of Insurance and requests the information in the course of, and as part of, an investigation into the commission of a crime or other unlawful act when there is reasonable suspicion to believe that the crime or act may be connected to the information requested and would lead to relevant information regarding the crime or unlawful act.
(2)To enable the State Department of Developmental Services to obtain quarterly wage data and unemployment insurance claim data of consumers served by that department for the purposes of monitoring, program operation and evaluation, and evaluating employment outcomes, of the Employment First Policy, established pursuant to Section 4869 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
(3)The information provided pursuant to this subdivision shall be provided to the extent permitted by federal statutes and regulations.
(al)To provide the CalSavers Retirement Savings Board with employer tax information for use in the administration of, and to facilitate compliance with, the CalSavers Retirement Savings Trust Act (Title 21 (commencing with Section 100000) of the Government Code). The information should be limited to the tax information the director deems appropriate, and shall be provided to the extent permitted by federal laws and regulations.
(am)(1)To enable the Joint Enforcement Strike Force as established by Section 329, and the Labor Enforcement Task Force, as established pursuant to Assembly Bill 1464 of the 201112 Regular Session (Chapter 21 of the Statutes of 2012), to carry out their duties.
(2)To provide an agency listed in subdivision (a) of Section 329 intelligence, data, including confidential tax and fee information, documents, information, complaints, or lead referrals pursuant to Section 15925 of the Government Code.
(an)To enable the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education to access and use any relevant quarterly wage data necessary to perform the labor market outcome reporting data match pursuant to Section 94892.6 of the Education Code. The information provided pursuant to this subdivision shall be provided to the extent permitted by state and federal laws and regulations.
(ao)To enable the Civil Rights Department to carry out its duties, including ensuring compliance with Section 12999 of the Government Code. Conduct related to information provided pursuant to this subdivision shall not be subject to the criminal sanctions set forth in subdivision (f) of Section 1094.
(ap)To enable the Cradle-to-Career Data System, as established by Article 2 (commencing with Section 10860) of Chapter 8.5 of Part 7 of Division 1 of Title 1 of the Education Code, to receive employment and earnings data and, as required of by the director pursuant to Section 10871 of the Education Code, to provide information to the data system, to the extent permissible by federal laws and regulations.
(aq)(1)To enable the State Air Resources Board to receive unpaid final tax assessment information issued to a port drayage motor carrier or short-haul trucking service for misclassification of a commercial driver, for use in the administration of, and to facilitate compliance with, Chapter 3.6 (commencing with Section 39680) of Part 2 of Division 26 of the Health and Safety Code. The information shall be limited to the tax information the director deems appropriate for disclosure and shall be provided only to the extent permitted by federal laws and regulations.
(2)For purposes of this subdivision, the following definitions apply:
(A)Commercial driver has the same meaning as defined in Section 2810.4 of the Labor Code.
(B)Port drayage motor carrier has the same meaning as defined in Section 2810.4 of the Labor Code.
(C)Short-haul trucking service has the same meaning as defined in Section 39682 of the Health and Safety Code.
(ar)To enable the California Health Benefit Exchange to do all of the following:
(1)Notify an employer that an employee has been determined eligible for advance payments of the premium tax credit and cost-sharing reductions and has enrolled in a qualified health plan through the California Health Benefit Exchange, as required pursuant to Section 155.310(h) of Title 45 of the Code of Federal Regulations. The information shall include available employer contact information, including addresses, email addresses, and telephone numbers.
(2)Assist the California Health Benefit Exchange or the State Department of Health Care Services in determining eligibility for the insurance affordability programs administered by those state agencies. Upon the request of either the California Health Benefit Exchange or the State Department of Health Care Services, the department shall also provide to the relevant state agency information on new applicants for unemployment insurance, state disability insurance, and paid family leave. This information shall include the data points listed in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 100503.9 of the Government Code, and shall be sent in a manner that is encrypted or otherwise complies with government data security best practices, as specified by the California Health Benefit Exchange. The determination of eligibility or entitlement shall include efforts by either the California Health Benefit Exchange or the State Department of Health Care Services to assist those individuals in obtaining that coverage, including informing those individuals potentially eligible for health coverage of the availability of that coverage.
(3)Verify if a consumer has been offered affordable comprehensive employer-sponsored health care coverage pursuant to Title 22 (commencing with Section 100500) of the Government Code and the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Public Law 111-148). The information shall include available employer contact information, including addresses, email addresses, and telephone numbers.
(4)Upon the request of either the California Health Benefit Exchange or the State Department of Health Care Services, the department shall also provide to the relevant state agency information on new applicants for unemployment insurance, state disability insurance, and paid family leave. The California Health Benefit Exchange and the State Department of Health Care Services shall at all times request from the department the minimum amount of information necessary from the information listed in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 100503.9 of the Government Code, to accomplish the purposes of Section 100503.9 of the Government Code. The information shall be sent in a manner that is encrypted or otherwise complies with government data security best practices, as specified by the California Health Benefit Exchange. This information shall only be used for the purposes of outreach and marketing.
(4)(5)This subdivision shall become operative no later than September 1, 2023.
(a)(1)Beginning no later than September 1, 2023, and at least monthly thereafter, the Exchange shall request from the Employment Development Department the following information of each new applicant for unemployment compensation, state disability, and paid family leave:
(A)Last name.
(B)First name.
(C)Middle initial.
(D)Social security number.
(E)Date of birth.
(F)Race or ethnicity, to the extent available.
(G)Preferred language.
(H)Gender.
(I)All mailing addresses, including city, state, and ZIP Code.
(J)All telephone numbers, including home, work, and cellular.
(K)Email address, to the extent available.
(L)Date of most recent job loss, to the extent available.
(M)Wages or prior wages.
(N)The Employment Development Department program for which the applicant filed.
(O)Date the claim was filed.
(P)Claimant eligibility status.
(Q)Date initial payment was approved by the Employment Development Department.
(R)The weekly benefit amount.
(S)The benefit period start date.
(T)The benefit period end date.
(2)The Employment Development Department shall provide the information pursuant to paragraph (1) in a manner prescribed by the Exchange.
(3)The Employment Development Department may provide the information pursuant to paragraph (1) more frequently than monthly during periods of high unemployment.
(b)(1)Consistent with subdivision (k) of Section 100503, the Exchange shall market and publicize the availability of health care coverage through the Exchange, and shall engage in outreach activities, to the individuals whose contact information the Exchange receives pursuant to subdivision (a).
(2)The Exchange may use any contact method to communicate with and inform an individual whose contact information the Exchange receives pursuant to subdivision (a) of available health care coverage options through the exchange and to assist those individuals in obtaining health care coverage.
(3)The Exchange shall not disclose personal information obtained from the Employment Development Department to a certified insurance agent or a certified enrollment counselor without the consent of the applicant.
(4)The Exchange shall at all times take reasonable measures to safeguard the confidentiality of any personal information obtained by the Employment Development Department and shall at no time use or disclose that information for any purpose other than to market and publicize the availability of health care coverage through the Exchange to individuals whose contact information the Exchange receives pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (a).
(5)A person or entity that receives personal information from the Exchange pursuant to this section shall at all times take reasonable measures to safeguard the confidentiality of any personal information obtained from the Exchange and shall at no time use or disclose that information for any purpose other than to market and publicize the availability of health care coverage through the Exchange to individuals, as directed by the Exchange.
(5)(6)Personal information received by the Exchange from the Employment Development Department shall at all times be subject to applicable privacy and information security-related requirements arising under both federal and state law.
SEC. 2.Section 1095 of the Unemployment Insurance Code is amended to read:1095.The director shall permit the use of any information in the directors possession to the extent necessary for any of the following purposes, and may require reimbursement for all direct costs incurred in providing any and all information specified in this section, except information specified in subdivisions (a) to (e), inclusive:
(a)To enable the director or the directors representative to carry out their responsibilities under this code.
(b)To properly present a claim for benefits.
(c)To acquaint a worker or their authorized agent with the workers existing or prospective right to benefits.
(d)To furnish an employer or their authorized agent with information to enable the employer to fully discharge their obligations or safeguard their rights under this division or Division 3 (commencing with Section 9000).
(e)To enable an employer to receive a reduction in contribution rate.
(f)To enable federal, state, or local governmental departments or agencies, subject to federal law, to verify or determine the eligibility or entitlement of an applicant for, or a recipient of, public social services provided pursuant to Division 9 (commencing with Section 10000) of the Welfare and Institutions Code, or Part A of Subchapter IV of the federal Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 601 et seq.), and state or federal subsidies offered through the California Health Benefit Exchange provided pursuant to Title 22 (commencing with Section 100500) of the Government Code, when the verification or determination is directly connected with, and limited to, the administration of public social services.
(g)To enable county administrators of general relief or assistance, or their representatives, to determine entitlement to locally provided general relief or assistance, when the determination is directly connected with, and limited to, the administration of general relief or assistance.
(h)To enable state or local governmental departments or agencies to seek criminal, civil, or administrative remedies in connection with the unlawful application for, or receipt of, relief provided under Division 9 (commencing with Section 10000) of the Welfare and Institutions Code or to enable the collection of expenditures for medical assistance services pursuant to Part 5 (commencing with Section 17000) of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
(i)To provide any law enforcement agency with the name, address, telephone number, birth date, social security number, physical description, and names and addresses of present and past employers, of any victim, suspect, missing person, potential witness, or person for whom a felony arrest warrant has been issued, when a request for this information is made by any investigator or peace officer as defined by Sections 830.1 and 830.2 of the Penal Code, or by any federal law enforcement officer to whom the Attorney General has delegated authority to enforce federal search warrants, as defined under Sections 60.2 and 60.3 of Title 28 of the Code of Federal Regulations, as amended, and when the requesting officer has been designated by the head of the law enforcement agency and requests this information in the course of and as a part of an investigation into the commission of a crime when there is a reasonable suspicion that the crime is a felony and that the information would lead to relevant evidence. The information provided pursuant to this subdivision shall be provided to the extent permitted by federal law and regulations, and to the extent the information is available and accessible within the constraints and configurations of existing department records. Any person who receives any information under this subdivision shall make a written report of the information to the law enforcement agency that employs the person, for filing under the normal procedures of that agency.
(1)This subdivision shall not be construed to authorize the release to any law enforcement agency of a general list identifying individuals applying for or receiving benefits.
(2)The department shall maintain records pursuant to this subdivision only for periods required under regulations or statutes enacted for the administration of its programs.
(3)This subdivision shall not be construed as limiting the information provided to law enforcement agencies to that pertaining only to applicants for, or recipients of, benefits.
(4)The department shall notify all applicants for benefits that release of confidential information from their records will not be protected should there be a felony arrest warrant issued against the applicant or in the event of an investigation by a law enforcement agency into the commission of a felony.
(j)To provide public employee retirement systems in California with information relating to the earnings of any person who has applied for or is receiving a disability income, disability allowance, or disability retirement allowance, from a public employee retirement system. The earnings information shall be released only upon written request from the governing board specifying that the person has applied for or is receiving a disability allowance or disability retirement allowance from its retirement system. The request may be made by the chief executive officer of the system or by an employee of the system so authorized and identified by name and title by the chief executive officer in writing.
(k)To enable the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement in the Department of Industrial Relations to seek criminal, civil, or administrative remedies in connection with the failure to pay, or the unlawful payment of, wages pursuant to Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 200) of Part 1 of Division 2 of, and Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 1720) of Part 7 of Division 2 of, the Labor Code.
(l)To enable federal, state, or local governmental departments or agencies to administer child support enforcement programs under Part D of Title IV of the federal Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 651 et seq.).
(m)To provide federal, state, or local governmental departments or agencies with wage and claim information in its possession that will assist those departments and agencies in the administration of the Victims of Crime Program or in the location of victims of crime who, by state mandate or court order, are entitled to restitution that has been or can be recovered.
(n)To provide federal, state, or local governmental departments or agencies with information concerning any individuals who are or have been:
(1)Directed by state mandate or court order to pay restitution, fines, penalties, assessments, or fees as a result of a violation of law.
(2)Delinquent or in default on guaranteed student loans or who owe repayment of funds received through other financial assistance programs administered by those agencies. The information released by the director for the purposes of this paragraph shall not include unemployment insurance benefit information.
(o)To provide an authorized governmental agency with any and all relevant information that relates to any specific workers compensation insurance fraud investigation. The information shall be provided to the extent permitted by federal law and regulations. For purposes of this subdivision, authorized governmental agency means the district attorney of any county, the office of the Attorney General, the Contractors State License Board, the Department of Industrial Relations, and the Department of Insurance. An authorized governmental agency may disclose this information to the State Bar of California, the Medical Board of California, or any other licensing board or department whose licensee is the subject of a workers compensation insurance fraud investigation. This subdivision shall not prevent any authorized governmental agency from reporting to any board or department the suspected misconduct of any licensee of that body.
(p)To enable the Director of Consumer Affairs, or the directors representative, to access unemployment insurance quarterly wage data on a case-by-case basis to verify information on school administrators, school staff, and students provided by those schools who are being investigated for possible violations of Chapter 8 (commencing with Section 94800) of Part 59 of Division 10 of Title 3 of the Education Code.
(q)To provide employment tax information to the tax officials of Mexico, if a reciprocal agreement exists. For purposes of this subdivision, reciprocal agreement means a formal agreement to exchange information between national taxing officials of Mexico and taxing authorities of the State Board of Equalization, the Franchise Tax Board, and the Employment Development Department. Furthermore, the reciprocal agreement shall be limited to the exchange of information that is essential for tax administration purposes only. Taxing authorities of the State of California shall be granted tax information only on California residents. Taxing authorities of Mexico shall be granted tax information only on Mexican nationals.
(r)To enable city and county planning agencies to develop economic forecasts for planning purposes. The information shall be limited to businesses within the jurisdiction of the city or county whose planning agency is requesting the information, and shall not include information regarding individual employees.
(s)To provide the State Department of Developmental Services with wage and employer information that will assist in the collection of moneys owed by the recipient, parent, or any other legally liable individual for services and supports provided pursuant to Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 4775) of Division 4.5 of, and Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 7200) and Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 7500) of Division 7 of, the Welfare and Institutions Code.
(t)To provide the State Board of Equalization with employment tax information that will assist in the administration of tax programs. The information shall be limited to the exchange of employment tax information essential for tax administration purposes to the extent permitted by federal law and regulations.
(u)This section shall not be construed to authorize or permit the use of information obtained in the administration of this code by any private collection agency.
(v)The disclosure of the name and address of an individual or business entity that was issued an assessment that included penalties under Section 1128 or 1128.1 shall not be in violation of Section 1094 if the assessment is final. The disclosure may also include any of the following:
(1)The total amount of the assessment.
(2)The amount of the penalty imposed under Section 1128 or 1128.1 that is included in the assessment.
(3)The facts that resulted in the charging of the penalty under Section 1128 or 1128.1.
(w)To enable the Contractors State License Board to verify the employment history of an individual applying for licensure pursuant to Section 7068 of the Business and Professions Code.
(x)To provide any peace officer with the Division of Investigation in the Department of Consumer Affairs information pursuant to subdivision (i) when the requesting peace officer has been designated by the chief of the Division of Investigation and requests this information in the course of and as part of an investigation into the commission of a crime or other unlawful act when there is reasonable suspicion to believe that the crime or act may be connected to the information requested and would lead to relevant information regarding the crime or unlawful act.
(y)To enable the Labor Commissioner of the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement in the Department of Industrial Relations to identify, pursuant to Section 90.3 of the Labor Code, unlawfully uninsured employers. The information shall be provided to the extent permitted by federal law and regulations.
(z)To enable the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, in accordance with the requirements of Section 84754.5 of the Education Code, to obtain quarterly wage data, commencing January 1, 1993, on students who have attended one or more community colleges, to assess the impact of education on the employment and earnings of students, to conduct the annual evaluation of district-level and individual college performance in achieving priority educational outcomes, and to submit the required reports to the Legislature and the Governor. The information shall be provided to the extent permitted by federal statutes and regulations.
(aa)To enable the Public Employees Retirement System to seek criminal, civil, or administrative remedies in connection with the unlawful application for, or receipt of, benefits provided under Part 3 (commencing with Section 20000) of Division 5 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
(ab)To enable the State Department of Education, the University of California, the California State University, and the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, pursuant to the requirements prescribed by the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5), to obtain quarterly wage data, commencing July 1, 2010, on students who have attended their respective systems to assess the impact of education on the employment and earnings of those students, to conduct the annual analysis of district-level and individual district or postsecondary education system performance in achieving priority educational outcomes, and to submit the required reports to the Legislature and the Governor. The information shall be provided to the extent permitted by federal statutes and regulations.
(ac)To provide the Agricultural Labor Relations Board with employee, wage, and employer information, for use in the investigation or enforcement of the Alatorre-Zenovich-Dunlap-Berman Agricultural Labor Relations Act of 1975 (Part 3.5 (commencing with Section 1140) of Division 2 of the Labor Code). The information shall be provided to the extent permitted by federal statutes and regulations.
(ad)(1)To enable the State Department of Health Care Services, the California Health Benefit Exchange, the Managed Risk Medical Insurance Board, and county departments and agencies to obtain information regarding employee wages, California employer names and account numbers, employer reports of wages and number of employees, and disability insurance and unemployment insurance claim information, for the purpose of:
(A)Verifying or determining the eligibility of an applicant for, or a recipient of, state health subsidy programs, limited to the Medi-Cal program provided pursuant to Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 14000) of Part 3 of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, and the Medi-Cal Access Program provided pursuant to Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 15810) of Part 3.3 of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, when the verification or determination is directly connected with, and limited to, the administration of the state health subsidy programs referenced in this subparagraph.
(B)Verifying or determining the eligibility of an applicant for, or a recipient of, state or federal subsidies offered through the California Health Benefit Exchange, provided pursuant to Title 22 (commencing with Section 100500) of the Government Code, including federal tax credits and cost-sharing assistance pursuant to the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Public Law 111-148), as amended by the federal Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (Public Law 111-152), when the verification or determination is directly connected with, and limited to, the administration of the California Health Benefit Exchange.
(C)Verifying or determining the eligibility of employees and employers for health coverage through the Small Business Health Options Program, provided pursuant to Section 100502 of the Government Code, when the verification or determination is directly connected with, and limited to, the administration of the Small Business Health Options Program.
(2)The information provided under this subdivision shall be subject to the requirements of, and provided to the extent permitted by, federal law and regulations, including Part 603 of Title 20 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
(ae)To provide any peace officer with the Investigations Division of the Department of Motor Vehicles with information pursuant to subdivision (i), when the requesting peace officer has been designated by the Chief of the Investigations Division and requests this information in the course of, and as part of, an investigation into identity theft, counterfeiting, document fraud, or consumer fraud, and there is reasonable suspicion that the crime is a felony and that the information would lead to relevant evidence regarding the identity theft, counterfeiting, document fraud, or consumer fraud. The information provided pursuant to this subdivision shall be provided to the extent permitted by federal law and regulations, and to the extent the information is available and accessible within the constraints and configurations of existing department records. Any person who receives any information under this subdivision shall make a written report of the information to the Investigations Division of the Department of Motor Vehicles, for filing under the normal procedures of that division.
(af)Until January 1, 2020, to enable the Department of Finance to prepare and submit the report required by Section 13084 of the Government Code that identifies all employers in California that employ 100 or more employees who receive benefits from the Medi-Cal program (Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 14000) of Part 3 of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code). The information used for this purpose shall be limited to information obtained pursuant to Section 11026.5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code and from the administration of personal income tax wage withholding pursuant to Division 6 (commencing with Section 13000) and the disability insurance program and may be disclosed to the Department of Finance only for the purpose of preparing and submitting the report and only to the extent not prohibited by federal law.
(ag)To provide, to the extent permitted by federal law and regulations, the Student Aid Commission with wage information in order to verify the employment status of an individual applying for a Cal Grant C award pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 69439 of the Education Code.
(ah)To enable the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to obtain quarterly wage data of former inmates who have been incarcerated within the prison system in order to assess the impact of rehabilitation services or the lack of these services on the employment and earnings of these former inmates. Quarterly data for a former inmates employment status and wage history shall be provided for a period of one year, three years, and five years following release. The data shall only be used for the purpose of tracking outcomes for former inmates in order to assess the effectiveness of rehabilitation strategies on the wages and employment histories of those formerly incarcerated. The information shall be provided to the department to the extent not prohibited by federal law.
(ai)To enable federal, state, or local government departments or agencies, or their contracted agencies, subject to federal law, including the confidentiality, disclosure, and other requirements set forth in Part 603 of Title 20 of the Code of Federal Regulations, to evaluate, research, or forecast the effectiveness of public social services programs administered pursuant to Division 9 (commencing with Section 10000) of the Welfare and Institutions Code, or Part A of Subchapter IV of Chapter 7 of the federal Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 601 et seq.), when the evaluation, research, or forecast is directly connected with, and limited to, the administration of the public social services programs.
(aj)(1)To enable the California Workforce Development Board, the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, the Superintendent of Public Instruction, the Department of Rehabilitation, the State Department of Social Services, the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education, the Department of Industrial Relations, the Division of Apprenticeship Standards, the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the Prison Industry Authority, the Employment Training Panel, and a chief elected official, as that term is defined in Section 3102(9) of Title 29 of the United States Code, to access any relevant quarterly wage data necessary for the evaluation and reporting of their respective program performance outcomes as required and permitted by various local, state, and federal laws pertaining to performance measurement and program evaluation, including responsibilities arising under Sections 14013, 14033, and 14042 of this code and Sections 2032 and 2038 of the Streets and Highways Code; the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (Public Law 113-128); the workforce metrics dashboard pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (i) of Section 14013; the Adult Education Block Grant Program consortia performance metrics pursuant to Section 84920 of the Education Code; the economic and workforce development program performance measures pursuant to Section 88650 of the Education Code; and the California Community Colleges Economic and Workforce Development Program performance measures established in Part 52.5 (commencing with Section 88600) of Division 7 of Title 3 of the Education Code. Disclosures under this subdivision shall comply with federal and state privacy laws that require the informed consent from program participants of city and county departments or agencies that administer public workforce development programs for the evaluation, research, or forecast of their programs regardless of local, state, or federal funding source.
(2)The department shall do all of the following:
(A)Consistent with this subdivision, develop the minimum requirements for granting a request for disclosure of information authorized by this subdivision regardless of local, state, or federal funding source.
(B)Develop a standard application for submitting a request for disclosure of information authorized by this subdivision.
(C)Approve or deny a request for disclosure of information authorized by this subdivision, or request additional information, within 20 business days of receiving the standard application. The entity submitting the application shall respond to any request by the department for additional information within 20 business days of receipt of the departments request. Within 30 calendar days of receiving any additional information, the department shall provide a final approval or denial of the request for disclosure of information authorized by this subdivision. Any approval, denial, or request for additional information shall be in writing. Denials shall identify the reason or category of reasons for the denial.
(D)Make publicly available on the departments internet website all of the following:
(i)The minimum requirements for granting a request for disclosure of information authorized by this subdivision, as developed pursuant to subparagraph (A).
(ii)The standard application developed pursuant to subparagraph (B).
(iii)The timeframe for information request determinations by the department, as specified in subparagraph (C).
(iv)Contact information for assistance with requests for disclosures of information authorized by this subdivision.
(v)Any denials for requests of disclosure of information authorized by this subdivision, including the reason or category of reasons for the denial.
(ak)(1)To provide any peace officer with the Enforcement Branch of the Department of Insurance with both of the following:
(A)Information provided pursuant to subdivision (i) that relates to a specific insurance fraud investigation involving automobile insurance fraud, life insurance and annuity fraud, property and casualty insurance fraud, and organized automobile insurance fraud. That information shall be provided when the requesting peace officer has been designated by the Chief of the Fraud Division of the Department of Insurance and requests the information in the course of, and as part of, an investigation into the commission of a crime or other unlawful act when there is reasonable suspicion to believe that the crime or act may be connected to the information requested and would lead to relevant information regarding the crime or unlawful act.
(B)Employee, wage, employer, and state disability insurance claim information that relates to a specific insurance fraud investigation involving health or disability insurance fraud when the requesting peace officer has been designated by the Chief of the Fraud Division of the Department of Insurance and requests the information in the course of, and as part of, an investigation into the commission of a crime or other unlawful act when there is reasonable suspicion to believe that the crime or act may be connected to the information requested and would lead to relevant information regarding the crime or unlawful act.
(2)To enable the State Department of Developmental Services to obtain quarterly wage data and unemployment insurance claim data of consumers served by that department for the purposes of monitoring, program operation and evaluation, and evaluating employment outcomes, of the Employment First Policy, established pursuant to Section 4869 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
(3)The information provided pursuant to this subdivision shall be provided to the extent permitted by federal statutes and regulations.
(al)To provide the CalSavers Retirement Savings Board with employer tax information for use in the administration of, and to facilitate compliance with, the CalSavers Retirement Savings Trust Act (Title 21 (commencing with Section 100000) of the Government Code). The information should be limited to the tax information the director deems appropriate, and shall be provided to the extent permitted by federal laws and regulations.
(am)(1)To enable the Joint Enforcement Strike Force as established by Section 329, and the Labor Enforcement Task Force, as established pursuant to Assembly Bill 1464 of the 201112 Regular Session (Chapter 21 of the Statutes of 2012), to carry out their duties.
(2)To provide an agency listed in subdivision (a) of Section 329 intelligence, data, including confidential tax and fee information, documents, information, complaints, or lead referrals pursuant to Section 15925 of the Government Code.
(an)To enable the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education to access and use any relevant quarterly wage data necessary to perform the labor market outcome reporting data match pursuant to Section 94892.6 of the Education Code. The information provided pursuant to this subdivision shall be provided to the extent permitted by state and federal laws and regulations.
(ao)To enable the Civil Rights Department to carry out its duties, including ensuring compliance with Section 12999 of the Government Code. Conduct related to information provided pursuant to this subdivision shall not be subject to the criminal sanctions set forth in subdivision (f) of Section 1094.
(ap)To enable the Cradle-to-Career Data System, as established by Article 2 (commencing with Section 10860) of Chapter 8.5 of Part 7 of Division 1 of Title 1 of the Education Code, to receive employment and earnings data and, as required of the director pursuant to Section 10871 of the Education Code, to provide information to the data system, to the extent permissible by federal laws and regulations.
(aq)(1)To enable the State Air Resources Board to receive unpaid final tax assessment information issued to a port drayage motor carrier or short-haul trucking service for misclassification of a commercial driver, for use in the administration of, and to facilitate compliance with, Chapter 3.6 (commencing with Section 39680) of Part 2 of Division 26 of the Health and Safety Code. The information shall be limited to the tax information the director deems appropriate for disclosure and shall be provided only to the extent permitted by federal laws and regulations.
(2)For purposes of this subdivision, the following definitions apply:
(A)Commercial driver has the same meaning as defined in Section 2810.4 of the Labor Code.
(B)Port drayage motor carrier has the same meaning as defined in Section 2810.4 of the Labor Code.
(C)Short-haul trucking service has the same meaning as defined in Section 39682 of the Health and Safety Code.
(ar)To enable the California Health Benefit Exchange to do all of the following:
(1)Notify an employer that an employee has been determined eligible for advance payments of the premium tax credit and cost-sharing reductions and has enrolled in a qualified health plan through the California Health Benefit Exchange, as required pursuant to Section 155.310(h) of Title 45 of the Code of Federal Regulations. The information shall include available employer contact information, including addresses, email addresses, and telephone numbers.
(2)Assist the California Health Benefit Exchange or the State Department of Health Care Services in determining eligibility for the insurance affordability programs administered by those state agencies. Upon the request of either the California Health Benefit Exchange or the State Department of Health Care Services, the department shall also provide to the relevant state agency information on new applicants for unemployment insurance, state disability insurance, and paid family leave. This information shall include the data points listed in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 100503.9 of the Government Code, and shall be sent in a manner that is encrypted or otherwise complies with government data security best practices, as specified by the California Health Benefit Exchange. The determination of eligibility or entitlement shall include efforts by either the California Health Benefit Exchange or the State Department of Health Care Services to assist those individuals in obtaining that coverage, including informing those individuals potentially eligible for health coverage of the availability of that coverage.
(3)Verify if a consumer has been offered affordable comprehensive employer-sponsored health care coverage pursuant to Title 22 (commencing with Section 100500) of the Government Code and the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Public Law 111-148). The information shall include available employer contact information, including addresses, email addresses, and telephone numbers.
(4)This subdivision shall become operative no later than September 1, 2023.
(a)(1)Beginning no later than September 1, 2023, and at least monthly thereafter, the Exchange shall request from the Employment Development Department the following information of each new applicant for unemployment compensation, state disability, and paid family leave:
(A)Last name.
(B)First name.
(C)Middle initial.
(D)Social security number.
(E)Date of birth.
(F)Race or ethnicity, to the extent available.
(G)Preferred language.
(H)Gender.
(I)All mailing addresses, including city, state, and ZIP Code.
(J)All telephone numbers, including home, work, and cellular.
(K)Email address, to the extent available.
(L)Date of most recent job loss, to the extent available.
(M)Wages or prior wages.
(N)The Employment Development Department program for which the applicant filed.
(O)Date the claim was filed.
(P)Claimant eligibility status.
(Q)Date initial payment was approved by the Employment Development Department.
(R)The weekly benefit amount.
(S)The benefit period start date.
(T)The benefit period end date.
(2)The Employment Development Department shall provide the information pursuant to paragraph (1) in a manner prescribed by the Exchange.
(3)The Employment Development Department may provide the information pursuant to paragraph (1) more frequently than monthly during periods of high unemployment.
(b)(1)Consistent with subdivision (k) of Section 100503, the Exchange shall market and publicize the availability of health care coverage through the Exchange, and shall engage in outreach activities, to the individuals whose contact information the Exchange receives pursuant to subdivision (a).
(2)The Exchange may use any contact method to communicate with and inform an individual whose contact information the Exchange receives pursuant to subdivision (a) of available health care coverage options through the exchange and to assist those individuals in obtaining health care coverage.
(3)The Exchange shall not disclose personal information obtained from the Employment Development Department to a certified insurance agent or a certified enrollment counselor without the consent of the applicant.
(4)The Exchange shall at all times take reasonable measures to safeguard the confidentiality of any personal information obtained by the Employment Development Department and shall at no time use or disclose that information for any purpose other than to market and publicize the availability of health care coverage through the Exchange to individuals whose contact information the Exchange receives pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (a).
(5)Personal information received by the Exchange from the Employment Development Department shall at all times be subject to applicable privacy and information security-related requirements arising under both federal and state law.
SEC. 2.Section 1095 of the Unemployment Insurance Code is amended to read:1095.The director shall permit the use of any information in the directors possession to the extent necessary for any of the following purposes, and may require reimbursement for all direct costs incurred in providing any and all information specified in this section, except information specified in subdivisions (a) to (e), inclusive:
(a)To enable the director or the directors representative to carry out their responsibilities under this code.
(b)To properly present a claim for benefits.
(c)To acquaint a worker or their authorized agent with the workers existing or prospective right to benefits.
(d)To furnish an employer or their authorized agent with information to enable the employer to fully discharge their obligations or safeguard their rights under this division or Division 3 (commencing with Section 9000).
(e)To enable an employer to receive a reduction in contribution rate.
(f)To enable federal, state, or local governmental departments or agencies, subject to federal law, to verify or determine the eligibility or entitlement of an applicant for, or a recipient of, public social services provided pursuant to Division 9 (commencing with Section 10000) of the Welfare and Institutions Code, or Part A of Subchapter IV of the federal Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 601 et seq.), and state or federal subsidies offered through the California Health Benefit Exchange provided pursuant to Title 22 (commencing with Section 100500) of the Government Code, when the verification or determination is directly connected with, and limited to, the administration of public social services.
(g)To enable county administrators of general relief or assistance, or their representatives, to determine entitlement to locally provided general relief or assistance, when the determination is directly connected with, and limited to, the administration of general relief or assistance.
(h)To enable state or local governmental departments or agencies to seek criminal, civil, or administrative remedies in connection with the unlawful application for, or receipt of, relief provided under Division 9 (commencing with Section 10000) of the Welfare and Institutions Code or to enable the collection of expenditures for medical assistance services pursuant to Part 5 (commencing with Section 17000) of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
(i)To provide any law enforcement agency with the name, address, telephone number, birth date, social security number, physical description, and names and addresses of present and past employers, of any victim, suspect, missing person, potential witness, or person for whom a felony arrest warrant has been issued, when a request for this information is made by any investigator or peace officer as defined by Sections 830.1 and 830.2 of the Penal Code, or by any federal law enforcement officer to whom the Attorney General has delegated authority to enforce federal search warrants, as defined under Sections 60.2 and 60.3 of Title 28 of the Code of Federal Regulations, as amended, and when the requesting officer has been designated by the head of the law enforcement agency and requests this information in the course of and as a part of an investigation into the commission of a crime when there is a reasonable suspicion that the crime is a felony and that the information would lead to relevant evidence. The information provided pursuant to this subdivision shall be provided to the extent permitted by federal law and regulations, and to the extent the information is available and accessible within the constraints and configurations of existing department records. Any person who receives any information under this subdivision shall make a written report of the information to the law enforcement agency that employs the person, for filing under the normal procedures of that agency.
(1)This subdivision shall not be construed to authorize the release to any law enforcement agency of a general list identifying individuals applying for or receiving benefits.
(2)The department shall maintain records pursuant to this subdivision only for periods required under regulations or statutes enacted for the administration of its programs.
(3)This subdivision shall not be construed as limiting the information provided to law enforcement agencies to that pertaining only to applicants for, or recipients of, benefits.
(4)The department shall notify all applicants for benefits that release of confidential information from their records will not be protected should there be a felony arrest warrant issued against the applicant or in the event of an investigation by a law enforcement agency into the commission of a felony.
(j)To provide public employee retirement systems in California with information relating to the earnings of any person who has applied for or is receiving a disability income, disability allowance, or disability retirement allowance, from a public employee retirement system. The earnings information shall be released only upon written request from the governing board specifying that the person has applied for or is receiving a disability allowance or disability retirement allowance from its retirement system. The request may be made by the chief executive officer of the system or by an employee of the system so authorized and identified by name and title by the chief executive officer in writing.
(k)To enable the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement in the Department of Industrial Relations to seek criminal, civil, or administrative remedies in connection with the failure to pay, or the unlawful payment of, wages pursuant to Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 200) of Part 1 of Division 2 of, and Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 1720) of Part 7 of Division 2 of, the Labor Code.
(l)To enable federal, state, or local governmental departments or agencies to administer child support enforcement programs under Part D of Title IV of the federal Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 651 et seq.).
(m)To provide federal, state, or local governmental departments or agencies with wage and claim information in its possession that will assist those departments and agencies in the administration of the Victims of Crime Program or in the location of victims of crime who, by state mandate or court order, are entitled to restitution that has been or can be recovered.
(n)To provide federal, state, or local governmental departments or agencies with information concerning any individuals who are or have been:
(1)Directed by state mandate or court order to pay restitution, fines, penalties, assessments, or fees as a result of a violation of law.
(2)Delinquent or in default on guaranteed student loans or who owe repayment of funds received through other financial assistance programs administered by those agencies. The information released by the director for the purposes of this paragraph shall not include unemployment insurance benefit information.
(o)To provide an authorized governmental agency with any and all relevant information that relates to any specific workers compensation insurance fraud investigation. The information shall be provided to the extent permitted by federal law and regulations. For purposes of this subdivision, authorized governmental agency means the district attorney of any county, the office of the Attorney General, the Contractors State License Board, the Department of Industrial Relations, and the Department of Insurance. An authorized governmental agency may disclose this information to the State Bar of California, the Medical Board of California, or any other licensing board or department whose licensee is the subject of a workers compensation insurance fraud investigation. This subdivision shall not prevent any authorized governmental agency from reporting to any board or department the suspected misconduct of any licensee of that body.
(p)To enable the Director of Consumer Affairs, or the directors representative, to access unemployment insurance quarterly wage data on a case-by-case basis to verify information on school administrators, school staff, and students provided by those schools who are being investigated for possible violations of Chapter 8 (commencing with Section 94800) of Part 59 of Division 10 of Title 3 of the Education Code.
(q)To provide employment tax information to the tax officials of Mexico, if a reciprocal agreement exists. For purposes of this subdivision, reciprocal agreement means a formal agreement to exchange information between national taxing officials of Mexico and taxing authorities of the State Board of Equalization, the Franchise Tax Board, and the Employment Development Department. Furthermore, the reciprocal agreement shall be limited to the exchange of information that is essential for tax administration purposes only. Taxing authorities of the State of California shall be granted tax information only on California residents. Taxing authorities of Mexico shall be granted tax information only on Mexican nationals.
(r)To enable city and county planning agencies to develop economic forecasts for planning purposes. The information shall be limited to businesses within the jurisdiction of the city or county whose planning agency is requesting the information, and shall not include information regarding individual employees.
(s)To provide the State Department of Developmental Services with wage and employer information that will assist in the collection of moneys owed by the recipient, parent, or any other legally liable individual for services and supports provided pursuant to Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 4775) of Division 4.5 of, and Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 7200) and Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 7500) of Division 7 of, the Welfare and Institutions Code.
(t)To provide the State Board of Equalization with employment tax information that will assist in the administration of tax programs. The information shall be limited to the exchange of employment tax information essential for tax administration purposes to the extent permitted by federal law and regulations.
(u)This section shall not be construed to authorize or permit the use of information obtained in the administration of this code by any private collection agency.
(v)The disclosure of the name and address of an individual or business entity that was issued an assessment that included penalties under Section 1128 or 1128.1 shall not be in violation of Section 1094 if the assessment is final. The disclosure may also include any of the following:
(1)The total amount of the assessment.
(2)The amount of the penalty imposed under Section 1128 or 1128.1 that is included in the assessment.
(3)The facts that resulted in the charging of the penalty under Section 1128 or 1128.1.
(w)To enable the Contractors State License Board to verify the employment history of an individual applying for licensure pursuant to Section 7068 of the Business and Professions Code.
(x)To provide any peace officer with the Division of Investigation in the Department of Consumer Affairs information pursuant to subdivision (i) when the requesting peace officer has been designated by the chief of the Division of Investigation and requests this information in the course of and as part of an investigation into the commission of a crime or other unlawful act when there is reasonable suspicion to believe that the crime or act may be connected to the information requested and would lead to relevant information regarding the crime or unlawful act.
(y)To enable the Labor Commissioner of the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement in the Department of Industrial Relations to identify, pursuant to Section 90.3 of the Labor Code, unlawfully uninsured employers. The information shall be provided to the extent permitted by federal law and regulations.
(z)To enable the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, in accordance with the requirements of Section 84754.5 of the Education Code, to obtain quarterly wage data, commencing January 1, 1993, on students who have attended one or more community colleges, to assess the impact of education on the employment and earnings of students, to conduct the annual evaluation of district-level and individual college performance in achieving priority educational outcomes, and to submit the required reports to the Legislature and the Governor. The information shall be provided to the extent permitted by federal statutes and regulations.
(aa)To enable the Public Employees Retirement System to seek criminal, civil, or administrative remedies in connection with the unlawful application for, or receipt of, benefits provided under Part 3 (commencing with Section 20000) of Division 5 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
(ab)To enable the State Department of Education, the University of California, the California State University, and the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, pursuant to the requirements prescribed by the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5), to obtain quarterly wage data, commencing July 1, 2010, on students who have attended their respective systems to assess the impact of education on the employment and earnings of those students, to conduct the annual analysis of district-level and individual district or postsecondary education system performance in achieving priority educational outcomes, and to submit the required reports to the Legislature and the Governor. The information shall be provided to the extent permitted by federal statutes and regulations.
(ac)To provide the Agricultural Labor Relations Board with employee, wage, and employer information, for use in the investigation or enforcement of the Alatorre-Zenovich-Dunlap-Berman Agricultural Labor Relations Act of 1975 (Part 3.5 (commencing with Section 1140) of Division 2 of the Labor Code). The information shall be provided to the extent permitted by federal statutes and regulations.
(ad)(1)To enable the State Department of Health Care Services, the California Health Benefit Exchange, the Managed Risk Medical Insurance Board, and county departments and agencies to obtain information regarding employee wages, California employer names and account numbers, employer reports of wages and number of employees, and disability insurance and unemployment insurance claim information, for the purpose of:
(A)Verifying or determining the eligibility of an applicant for, or a recipient of, state health subsidy programs, limited to the Medi-Cal program provided pursuant to Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 14000) of Part 3 of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, and the Medi-Cal Access Program provided pursuant to Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 15810) of Part 3.3 of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, when the verification or determination is directly connected with, and limited to, the administration of the state health subsidy programs referenced in this subparagraph.
(B)Verifying or determining the eligibility of an applicant for, or a recipient of, state or federal subsidies offered through the California Health Benefit Exchange, provided pursuant to Title 22 (commencing with Section 100500) of the Government Code, including federal tax credits and cost-sharing assistance pursuant to the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Public Law 111-148), as amended by the federal Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (Public Law 111-152), when the verification or determination is directly connected with, and limited to, the administration of the California Health Benefit Exchange.
(C)Verifying or determining the eligibility of employees and employers for health coverage through the Small Business Health Options Program, provided pursuant to Section 100502 of the Government Code, when the verification or determination is directly connected with, and limited to, the administration of the Small Business Health Options Program.
(2)The information provided under this subdivision shall be subject to the requirements of, and provided to the extent permitted by, federal law and regulations, including Part 603 of Title 20 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
(ae)To provide any peace officer with the Investigations Division of the Department of Motor Vehicles with information pursuant to subdivision (i), when the requesting peace officer has been designated by the Chief of the Investigations Division and requests this information in the course of, and as part of, an investigation into identity theft, counterfeiting, document fraud, or consumer fraud, and there is reasonable suspicion that the crime is a felony and that the information would lead to relevant evidence regarding the identity theft, counterfeiting, document fraud, or consumer fraud. The information provided pursuant to this subdivision shall be provided to the extent permitted by federal law and regulations, and to the extent the information is available and accessible within the constraints and configurations of existing department records. Any person who receives any information under this subdivision shall make a written report of the information to the Investigations Division of the Department of Motor Vehicles, for filing under the normal procedures of that division.
(af)Until January 1, 2020, to enable the Department of Finance to prepare and submit the report required by Section 13084 of the Government Code that identifies all employers in California that employ 100 or more employees who receive benefits from the Medi-Cal program (Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 14000) of Part 3 of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code). The information used for this purpose shall be limited to information obtained pursuant to Section 11026.5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code and from the administration of personal income tax wage withholding pursuant to Division 6 (commencing with Section 13000) and the disability insurance program and may be disclosed to the Department of Finance only for the purpose of preparing and submitting the report and only to the extent not prohibited by federal law.
(ag)To provide, to the extent permitted by federal law and regulations, the Student Aid Commission with wage information in order to verify the employment status of an individual applying for a Cal Grant C award pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 69439 of the Education Code.
(ah)To enable the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to obtain quarterly wage data of former inmates who have been incarcerated within the prison system in order to assess the impact of rehabilitation services or the lack of these services on the employment and earnings of these former inmates. Quarterly data for a former inmates employment status and wage history shall be provided for a period of one year, three years, and five years following release. The data shall only be used for the purpose of tracking outcomes for former inmates in order to assess the effectiveness of rehabilitation strategies on the wages and employment histories of those formerly incarcerated. The information shall be provided to the department to the extent not prohibited by federal law.
(ai)To enable federal, state, or local government departments or agencies, or their contracted agencies, subject to federal law, including the confidentiality, disclosure, and other requirements set forth in Part 603 of Title 20 of the Code of Federal Regulations, to evaluate, research, or forecast the effectiveness of public social services programs administered pursuant to Division 9 (commencing with Section 10000) of the Welfare and Institutions Code, or Part A of Subchapter IV of Chapter 7 of the federal Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 601 et seq.), when the evaluation, research, or forecast is directly connected with, and limited to, the administration of the public social services programs.
(aj)(1)To enable the California Workforce Development Board, the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, the Superintendent of Public Instruction, the Department of Rehabilitation, the State Department of Social Services, the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education, the Department of Industrial Relations, the Division of Apprenticeship Standards, the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the Prison Industry Authority, the Employment Training Panel, and a chief elected official, as that term is defined in Section 3102(9) of Title 29 of the United States Code, to access any relevant quarterly wage data necessary for the evaluation and reporting of their respective program performance outcomes as required and permitted by various local, state, and federal laws pertaining to performance measurement and program evaluation, including responsibilities arising under Sections 14013, 14033, and 14042 of this code and Sections 2032 and 2038 of the Streets and Highways Code; the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (Public Law 113-128); the workforce metrics dashboard pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (i) of Section 14013; the Adult Education Block Grant Program consortia performance metrics pursuant to Section 84920 of the Education Code; the economic and workforce development program performance measures pursuant to Section 88650 of the Education Code; and the California Community Colleges Economic and Workforce Development Program performance measures established in Part 52.5 (commencing with Section 88600) of Division 7 of Title 3 of the Education Code. Disclosures under this subdivision shall comply with federal and state privacy laws that require the informed consent from program participants of city and county departments or agencies that administer public workforce development programs for the evaluation, research, or forecast of their programs regardless of local, state, or federal funding source.
(2)The department shall do all of the following:
(A)Consistent with this subdivision, develop the minimum requirements for granting a request for disclosure of information authorized by this subdivision regardless of local, state, or federal funding source.
(B)Develop a standard application for submitting a request for disclosure of information authorized by this subdivision.
(C)Approve or deny a request for disclosure of information authorized by this subdivision, or request additional information, within 20 business days of receiving the standard application. The entity submitting the application shall respond to any request by the department for additional information within 20 business days of receipt of the departments request. Within 30 calendar days of receiving any additional information, the department shall provide a final approval or denial of the request for disclosure of information authorized by this subdivision. Any approval, denial, or request for additional information shall be in writing. Denials shall identify the reason or category of reasons for the denial.
(D)Make publicly available on the departments internet website all of the following:
(i)The minimum requirements for granting a request for disclosure of information authorized by this subdivision, as developed pursuant to subparagraph (A).
(ii)The standard application developed pursuant to subparagraph (B).
(iii)The timeframe for information request determinations by the department, as specified in subparagraph (C).
(iv)Contact information for assistance with requests for disclosures of information authorized by this subdivision.
(v)Any denials for requests of disclosure of information authorized by this subdivision, including the reason or category of reasons for the denial.
(ak)(1)To provide any peace officer with the Enforcement Branch of the Department of Insurance with both of the following:
(A)Information provided pursuant to subdivision (i) that relates to a specific insurance fraud investigation involving automobile insurance fraud, life insurance and annuity fraud, property and casualty insurance fraud, and organized automobile insurance fraud. That information shall be provided when the requesting peace officer has been designated by the Chief of the Fraud Division of the Department of Insurance and requests the information in the course of, and as part of, an investigation into the commission of a crime or other unlawful act when there is reasonable suspicion to believe that the crime or act may be connected to the information requested and would lead to relevant information regarding the crime or unlawful act.
(B)Employee, wage, employer, and state disability insurance claim information that relates to a specific insurance fraud investigation involving health or disability insurance fraud when the requesting peace officer has been designated by the Chief of the Fraud Division of the Department of Insurance and requests the information in the course of, and as part of, an investigation into the commission of a crime or other unlawful act when there is reasonable suspicion to believe that the crime or act may be connected to the information requested and would lead to relevant information regarding the crime or unlawful act.
(2)To enable the State Department of Developmental Services to obtain quarterly wage data and unemployment insurance claim data of consumers served by that department for the purposes of monitoring, program operation and evaluation, and evaluating employment outcomes, of the Employment First Policy, established pursuant to Section 4869 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
(3)The information provided pursuant to this subdivision shall be provided to the extent permitted by federal statutes and regulations.
(al)To provide the CalSavers Retirement Savings Board with employer tax information for use in the administration of, and to facilitate compliance with, the CalSavers Retirement Savings Trust Act (Title 21 (commencing with Section 100000) of the Government Code). The information should be limited to the tax information the director deems appropriate, and shall be provided to the extent permitted by federal laws and regulations.
(am)(1)To enable the Joint Enforcement Strike Force as established by Section 329, and the Labor Enforcement Task Force, as established pursuant to Assembly Bill 1464 of the 201112 Regular Session (Chapter 21 of the Statutes of 2012), to carry out their duties.
(2)To provide an agency listed in subdivision (a) of Section 329 intelligence, data, including confidential tax and fee information, documents, information, complaints, or lead referrals pursuant to Section 15925 of the Government Code.
(an)To enable the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education to access and use any relevant quarterly wage data necessary to perform the labor market outcome reporting data match pursuant to Section 94892.6 of the Education Code. The information provided pursuant to this subdivision shall be provided to the extent permitted by state and federal laws and regulations.
(ao)To enable the Civil Rights Department to carry out its duties, including ensuring compliance with Section 12999 of the Government Code. Conduct related to information provided pursuant to this subdivision shall not be subject to the criminal sanctions set forth in subdivision (f) of Section 1094.
(ap)To enable the Cradle-to-Career Data System, as established by Article 2 (commencing with Section 10860) of Chapter 8.5 of Part 7 of Division 1 of Title 1 of the Education Code, to receive employment and earnings data and, as required of the director pursuant to Section 10871 of the Education Code, to provide information to the data system, to the extent permissible by federal laws and regulations.
(aq)(1)To enable the State Air Resources Board to receive unpaid final tax assessment information issued to a port drayage motor carrier or short-haul trucking service for misclassification of a commercial driver, for use in the administration of, and to facilitate compliance with, Chapter 3.6 (commencing with Section 39680) of Part 2 of Division 26 of the Health and Safety Code. The information shall be limited to the tax information the director deems appropriate for disclosure and shall be provided only to the extent permitted by federal laws and regulations.
(2)For purposes of this subdivision, the following definitions apply:
(A)Commercial driver has the same meaning as defined in Section 2810.4 of the Labor Code.
(B)Port drayage motor carrier has the same meaning as defined in Section 2810.4 of the Labor Code.
(C)Short-haul trucking service has the same meaning as defined in Section 39682 of the Health and Safety Code.
(ar)To enable the California Health Benefit Exchange to do all of the following:
(1)Notify an employer that an employee has been determined eligible for advance payments of the premium tax credit and cost-sharing reductions and has enrolled in a qualified health plan through the California Health Benefit Exchange, as required pursuant to Section 155.310(h) of Title 45 of the Code of Federal Regulations. The information shall include available employer contact information, including addresses, email addresses, and telephone numbers.
(2)Assist the California Health Benefit Exchange or the State Department of Health Care Services in determining eligibility for the insurance affordability programs administered by those state agencies. Upon the request of either the California Health Benefit Exchange or the State Department of Health Care Services, the department shall also provide to the relevant state agency information on new applicants for unemployment insurance, state disability insurance, and paid family leave. This information shall included include the data points listed in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 100503.9 of the Government Code, and shall be sent in a manner that is encrypted or otherwise complies with government data security best practices, as specified by the California Health Benefit Exchange. The determination of eligibility or entitlement shall include efforts by either the California Health Benefit Exchange or the State Department of Health Care Services to assist those individuals in obtaining that coverage, including informing those individuals potentially eligible for health coverage of the availability of that coverage.
(3)Verify if a consumer has been offered affordable comprehensive employer-sponsored health care coverage pursuant to Title 22 (commencing with Section 100500) of the Government Code and the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Public Law 111-148). The information shall include available employer contact information, including addresses, email addresses, and telephone numbers.
(4)This subdivision shall become operative no later than September 1, 2023.
|
Date
|
Status
|
|---|---|
| Oct 8, 2023 | Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 492, Statutes of 2023. |
| Oct 8, 2023 | Approved by the Governor. |
| Sep 7, 2023 | Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 4 p.m. |
| Sep 1, 2023 | Assembly amendments concurred in. (Ayes 37. Noes 0. Page 2240.) Ordered to engrossing and enrolling. |
| Aug 29, 2023 | Ordered to special consent calendar. |
| Aug 24, 2023 | In Senate. Concurrence in Assembly amendments pending. |
| Aug 24, 2023 | Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 73. Noes 0. Page 2801.) Ordered to the Senate. |
| Aug 17, 2023 | Read second time. Ordered to consent calendar. |
| Aug 16, 2023 | From committee: Do pass. Ordered to consent calendar. (Ayes 15. Noes 0.) (August 16). |
| Jul 12, 2023 | From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To consent calendar. (Ayes 15. Noes 0.) (July 11). Re-referred to Com. on APPR. |
| Jun 29, 2023 | Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on HEALTH. |
| Jun 28, 2023 | From committee: Do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on HEALTH. (Ayes 11. Noes 0.) (June 27). |
| Jun 9, 2023 | June 13 hearing postponed by committee. |
| May 30, 2023 | Re-referred to Coms. on P. & C.P. and HEALTH pursuant to Assembly Rule 96. |
| May 26, 2023 | Referred to Coms. on HEALTH and P. & C.P. |
| May 23, 2023 | In Assembly. Read first time. Held at Desk. |
| May 22, 2023 | Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 40. Noes 0. Page 1205.) Ordered to the Assembly. |
| Apr 25, 2023 | Read second time. Ordered to third reading. |
| Apr 24, 2023 | From committee: Be ordered to second reading pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8. |
| Apr 18, 2023 | Set for hearing April 24. |
| Apr 13, 2023 | Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR. |
| Apr 12, 2023 | From committee: Do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 10. Noes 0. Page 687.) (April 11). |
| Mar 28, 2023 | Set for hearing April 11. |
| Mar 23, 2023 | From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on JUD. with recommendation: To consent calendar. (Ayes 11. Noes 0. Page 473.) (March 22). Re-referred to Com. on JUD. |
| Mar 6, 2023 | Set for hearing March 22. |
| Feb 22, 2023 | Referred to Coms. on HEALTH and JUD. |
| Feb 16, 2023 | From printer. May be acted upon on or after March 18. |
| Feb 15, 2023 | Introduced. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. To print. |
|
Date
|
Description
|
Location
|
Votes
|
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 1, 2023 | Special Consent SB595 Roth | Senate Floor |
Passed |
|
| Aug 24, 2023 | SB 595 Roth Consent Calendar Second Day Regular Session | Assembly Floor |
Passed |
|
| Aug 16, 2023 | Do pass. To Consent Calendar. | Assembly Standing Committee on Appropriations |
Passed |
|
| Jul 11, 2023 | Do pass and be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations] with recommendation: To Consent Calendar | Assembly Standing Committee on Health |
Passed |
|
| Jun 27, 2023 | Do pass as amended and be re-referred to the Committee on [Health] | Assembly Standing Committee on Privacy and Consumer Protection |
Passed |
|
| May 22, 2023 | Senate 3rd Reading SB595 Roth | Senate Floor |
Passed |
|
| Apr 11, 2023 | Do pass as amended, but first amend, and re-refer to the Committee on [Appropriations] | Senate Standing Committee on Judiciary |
Passed |
|
| Mar 22, 2023 | Do pass, but first be re-referred to the Committee on [Judiciary] with the recommendation: To Consent Calendar | Senate Standing Committee on Health |
Passed |
This list shows positions taken on this bill by organizations on the date displayed, which is linked to the original source.
Positions by individuals are not included.
|
Organization
|
Position
|
Date
|
|---|---|---|
| Buen Vecino | ** Support | |
| Bueno Vecino | ** Support | |
| California Pan-Ethnic Health Network | ** Support | |
| California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation, Inc. | ** Support | |
| Central Valley Immigrant Integration Collaborative | ** Support | |
| Coalition of California Welfare Rights Organizations | ** Support | |
| Courage California | ** Support | |
| Electronic Frontier Foundation | ** Against | |
| Health Access California | ** Support | |
| Latino Coalition for a Healthy California | ** Support | |
| Maternal and Child Health Access | ** Support | |
| Multi Ethnic Collaborative of Community Agencies | ** Support | |
| National Health Law Program | ** Support | |
| Oakland Privacy | * Neutral | Jun 27, 2023 |
| Small Business Majority | ** Support | |
| South Asian Network | ** Support | |
| The Childrens Partnership | ** Support | |
| western center on law and poverty | ** Support |
SENATE RULES COMMITTEE Office of Senate Floor Analyses (916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) 327-4478 | SB 595 |
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 595
Author: Roth (D)
Amended: 6/29/23
Vote: 21
SENATE HEALTH COMMITTEE: 11-0, 3/22/23
AYES: Eggman, Nguyen, Glazer, Gonzalez, Hurtado, Limón, Menjivar, Roth, Rubio, Wahab, Wiener
NO VOTE RECORDED: Grove
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: 10-0, 4/11/23
AYES: Umberg, Wilk, Allen, Ashby, Durazo, Laird, McGuire, Min, Niello, Wiener
NO VOTE RECORDED: Stern
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Senate Rule 28.8
SENATE FLOOR: 40-0, 5/22/23
AYES: Allen, Alvarado-Gil, Archuleta, Ashby, Atkins, Becker, Blakespear, Bradford, Caballero, Cortese, Dahle, Dodd, Durazo, Eggman, Glazer, Gonzalez, Grove, Hurtado, Jones, Laird, Limón, McGuire, Menjivar, Min, Newman, Nguyen, Niello, Ochoa Bogh, Padilla, Portantino, Roth, Rubio, Seyarto, Skinner, Smallwood-Cuevas, Stern, Umberg, Wahab, Wiener, Wilk
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 73-0, 8/24/23 (Consent) - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: Covered California: data sharing
SOURCE: California Pan-Ethnic Health Network
Health Access California
Western Center on Law and Poverty
DIGEST:
This bill clarifies that Covered California is only prohibited from disclosing personal information obtained from the Employment Development Department (EDD) without first obtaining consent of the applicant when disclosure is to a certified insurance agent or a certified enrollment counselor for the purpose of communicating about the availability of health coverage through Covered California. This bill requires a person or entity that receives this personal information take reasonable measures to safeguard the confidentiality of any personal information prohibits use or disclose for any purpose other than to market and publicize the availability of health care coverage through Covered California to individuals, as directed by Covered California.
Assembly Amendments:
- Authorize Covered California to use any contact method that is intended to reach the person at their residence or other personal contact channel;
- Authorize Covered California to disclose information obtained from EDD to outreach and marketing vendors under contract with Covered California;
- Prohibit Covered California from disclosing information obtained from EDD to any other entity without consent of the applicant;
- Require any outreach and marketing conducted pursuant to this bill to include a conspicuous and easy to access manner, the ability to decline future outreach and marketing;
- Require Covered California to only request from EDD, use, or disclose the minimum amount of information necessary to accomplish the purpose for which it was obtained;
- Require a person or entity to only request from Covered California, use, or disclose the minimum amount of information necessary to accomplish the purposes for which it was received;
- Require information received by Covered California from EDD to be destroyed in a manner that maintains confidentiality; and,
- Require Covered California to ensure that information disclosed to outreach and marketing vendors or any other entity pursuant to this bill complies with this bill.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
- Establishes Covered California as California’s health benefit exchange for individual and small business purchasers as authorized under the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA). [GOV §100500 -100522]
- Establishes a system of unemployment administered by the EDD. [UIC §100, et seq.]
- Requires the EDD director to permit the use of any information in the director’s possession to the extent necessary to enable federal, state, or local governmental departments or agencies, to verify or determine the eligibility or entitlement of any applicant for, or a recipient of, public social services, as specified, when the verification or determination is directly connected with, and limited to, the administration of public social services. [UIC §1095]
- Requires Covered California to request information, on at least a monthly basis, from EDD for each new applicant for unemployment compensation, state disability, and paid family leave so that Covered California can communicate with and inform those individuals of available health care coverage options through Covered California and assist those individuals in obtaining health care coverage. [GOV §100503.9]
- Prohibits Covered California from disclosing personal information obtained from EDD without the consent of the applicant. Requires Covered California to at all times take reasonable measures to safeguard the confidentiality of any personal information obtained by EDD and not disclose that information for any purposes other than to market and publicize the availability of health care coverage, and, requires this personal information to at all times be subject to applicable privacy and information security-related requirements arising under federal and state law. [GOV §100503.9]
This bill:
- Authorizes Covered California to use any contact method that is intended to reach the person at their residence or other personal contact channel to communicate with and inform an individual whose contact information is received from EDD about health care coverage options, as specified.
- Authorizes Covered California to disclose information obtained from EDD to outreach and marketing vendors under contract with Covered California.
- Prohibits Covered California from disclosing information obtained from EDD to a certified insurance agent, a certified enrollment counselor, or any other entity without consent of the applicant.
- Requires any outreach and marketing conducted pursuant to this bill to include a conspicuous and easy to access manner, the ability to decline future outreach and marketing.
- Requires Covered California to only request from EDD, use, or disclose the minimum amount of information necessary to accomplish the purpose for which it was obtained.
- Requires a person or entity that receives personal information from Covered California pursuant to this bill to at all times take all necessary measures to safeguard the confidentiality of any personal information obtained from Covered California and is prohibited from using or disclosing that information for any purpose other than to market and publicize the availability of health care coverage through Covered California to individuals, as directed by the Covered California.
- Requires a person or entity to only request from Covered California, use, or disclose the minimum amount of information necessary to accomplish the purposes for which it was received.
- Requires information received by Covered California from EDD to be destroyed in a manner that maintains confidentiality.
- Requires Covered California to ensure that information disclosed to outreach and marketing vendors or any other entity pursuant to this bill complies with this bill.
Comments
- Author’s statement. According to the author, access to information regarding health insurance options is one of the primary barriers to achieving universal healthcare coverage in the state, especially as Californians experience transitions in employment and income. Last year, SB 644 (Leyva, Chapter 983, Statutes of 2022) was passed and established a vital partnership between Covered California and EDD for the purpose of conducting direct outreach on affordable healthcare coverage options to community members who applied for unemployment insurance, or other EDD programs. However, after signing SB 644 into law, the Governor called on the Legislature to introduce follow-up legislation to ensure that the provisions of the bill enable timely communication to individuals to reduce burdens of applying for health insurance and to minimize gaps in coverage. This bill will do just that. This bill will ensure greater accessibility to health insurance for Californians, regardless of their employment status.
- SB 644. SB 644 required Covered California to request information from the EDD for each applicant for unemployment compensation, state disability, paid family leave, or any other program administered by EDD so that Covered California can communicate with and inform those individuals of available health care coverage options through Covered California and assist those individuals in obtaining health care coverage. SB 644 contained a provision that requires consent of the applicant prior to disclosing applicant information for the purposes of the bill. The Governor’s signing message associated with SB 644 states:
I am signing Senate Bill 644, which enhances partnership between Covered California and the Employment Development Department by enabling Covered California to conduct proactive and targeted outreach to applicants of unemployment insurance and other benefits. In doing so, this legislation provides Californians with important and timely information about affordable health coverage options when they may need it the most.
To ensure Covered California can effectively reach Californians, and to
maximize the important impact SB 644 can have to keep Californians in need covered, I strongly encourage Covered California and the Legislature to work together on subsequent legislation next year to ensure that the provisions of the bill enable timely communication to individuals to reduce burdens of applying for health care and minimize gaps in coverage.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: No
According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, there are minimal state costs, if any. Covered California reports that its costs will be minor and absorbable. EDD estimates possible staffing costs if its data sharing contract with Covered California must be updated. If these costs occur, they will likely be less than $150,000.
SUPPORT: (Verified 8/24/23)
California Pan-Ethnic Health Network (co-source)
Health Access California (co-source)
Western Center on Law and Poverty (co-source)
Buen Vecino
California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation, Inc.
Central Valley Immigrant Integration Collaborative
Coalition of California Welfare Rights Organizations
Courage California
Latino Coalition for a Healthy California
Maternal and Child Health Access
Multi-Ethnic Collaborative of Community Agencies
National Health Law Program
Small Business Majority
South Asian Network
The Children’s Partnership
OPPOSITION: (Verified 8/24/23)
None received
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: The bill’s sponsors and proponents write that current statute limits Covered California’s ability to send outreach materials to Californians in need, as it would require the agency’s contracted vendors to obtain individual consent prior to contacting individuals. This bill would add clarifying language that allows Covered California to outreach while protecting individuals from receiving cold calls from insurance agents and enrollment counselors without individual consent. The National Health Law Program writes that one of the top hurdles to achieving universal health coverage is making sure Californians are aware of their insurance options, especially as they experience transitions in employment. Last year, SB 644 (Leyva) was passed and established a vital partnership between Covered CA and the EDD for the purpose of conducting direct outreach on affordable health coverage options to community members who applied for unemployment insurance or other EDD programs. However, current statute limits Covered California’s ability to send outreach materials to Californians in need, as it would require the agency’s contracted vendors to obtain individual consent prior to contacting individuals. This bill would add clarifying language that allows Covered California to outreach while protecting individuals from receiving cold calls from insurance agents and enrollment counselors who do not have individual consent.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 73-0, 8/24/23
AYES: Addis, Aguiar-Curry, Alanis, Alvarez, Arambula, Bains, Bauer-Kahan, Bennett, Berman, Boerner, Bryan, Calderon, Juan Carrillo, Wendy Carrillo, Cervantes, Chen, Connolly, Megan Dahle, Davies, Dixon, Essayli, Flora, Mike Fong, Vince Fong, Friedman, Gabriel, Gipson, Grayson, Haney, Hart, Holden, Hoover, Irwin, Jackson, Kalra, Lackey, Lee, Low, Lowenthal, Mathis, McCarty, Muratsuchi, Stephanie Nguyen, Ortega, Pacheco, Papan, Jim Patterson, Joe Patterson, Pellerin, Petrie-Norris, Quirk-Silva, Ramos, Rendon, Reyes, Luz Rivas, Rodriguez, Blanca Rubio, Sanchez, Santiago, Schiavo, Soria, Ta, Ting, Valencia, Villapudua, Waldron, Wallis, Weber, Wicks, Wilson, Wood, Zbur, Robert Rivas
NO VOTE RECORDED: Bonta, Gallagher, Garcia, Jones-Sawyer, Maienschein, McKinnor, Ward
Prepared by: Teri Boughton / HEALTH / (916) 651-4111
8/25/23 13:44:33
**** END ****
Date of Hearing: August 16, 2023
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Chris Holden, Chair
SBPCA Bill Id:SB 595
Author:(Roth) – As Amended Ver:June 29, 2023
Policy Committee: | Privacy and Consumer Protection | Vote: | 11 - 0 |
Health | 15 - 0 | ||
|
|
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: No Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY:
This bill allows Covered California to share information about applicants for Employment Development Department (EDD) programs with Covered California’s vendors without obtaining consent from each individual applicant.
FISCAL EFFECT:
Minimal state costs, if any. Covered California reports that its costs will be minor and absorbable. EDD estimates possible staffing costs if its data sharing contract with Covered California must be updated. If these costs occur, they will likely be less than $150,000.
COMMENTS:
- Purpose. According to the author:
Access to information regarding health insurance options is one of the primary barriers to achieving universal healthcare coverage in the State, especially as Californians experience transitions in employment and income. SB 595 is follow-up legislation to Senator Leyva’s SB 644, which was signed into law last year. It will make certain that the provisions of the bill enable timely communication to individuals to reduce burdens of applying for health insurance and to minimize gaps in coverage. SB 595 is a simple fix that maintains the greater accessibility to health insurance established by SB 644—while protecting Californians from receiving cold calls from outside entities.
- Background. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) is a federal law that provided a series of policies, regulations, and guidelines to enable the states to enact major health care reform. Among other features, the ACA requires each state to establish a marketplace through which low- and middle- income people can obtain health insurance coverage. California’s marketplace, Covered California, is a state-run government agency that offers subsidized federal health insurance plans to the state’s residents in compliance with the ACA.
Covered California is obligated by law to conduct marketing and outreach activities to inform Californians about the availability of health care coverage and related federal subsidies, and to facilitate maximum enrollment in the marketplace. To that end, the Legislature passed SB 644 (Levya), Chapter 983, Statutes of 2022, which requires Covered California to request data from EDD about applicants for EDD’s unemployment compensation, disability, and paid family leave programs and use the data in its outreach and marketing activities. However, among the privacy protections included in SB 644 is a provision that prohibits Covered California from sharing an EDD applicant’s personal information without first obtaining the applicant’s consent. Because Covered California contracts with a third party vendor to conduct the agency’s outreach and marketing, this consent requirement was so burdensome that it effectively prevents Covered California from providing health insurance information to EDD applicants.
This bill allows Covered California to share personal information it obtains from EDD with specified vendors without obtaining consent from each affected person. The bill requires any person or entity that receives such personal information from Covered California to fulfill certain confidentiality and information security requirements, and requires Covered California to ensure that the information it shares is used appropriately. Finally, the bill requires Covered California to provide an accessible mechanism through which an EDD applicant may opt out of any future health care exchange marketing.
Analysis Prepared by: Annika Carlson / APPR. / (916) 319-2081
Date of Hearing: July 11, 2023
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HEALTH
Jim Wood, Chair
SBPCA Bill Id:SB 595
Author:(Roth) – As Amended Ver:June 29, 2023
SENATE VOTE: 40-0
SUBJECT: Covered California: data sharing.
SUMMARY: Requires California’s Health Benefit Exchange (Exchange or Covered California) to only request from the Employment Development Department (EDD), the minimum amount of information necessary to accomplish outreach and marketing. Requires a person or entity (such as Covered California marketing vendors) to take all necessary measures to safeguard the confidentiality of any information obtained from the Exchange and prohibits a person or entity from using or disclosing that information for any purpose other than to market and publicize the availability of health care coverage through the Exchange to individuals, as directed by the Exchange. Requires information received by the Exchange from the EDD to be destroyed in a manner that maintains confidentiality. Specifically, this bill:
- Authorizes the Exchange to use any contact method that is intended to reach an individual at their residence or other personal contact channel to communicate with an individual, as specified, to assist those individuals in obtaining health care coverage.
- Authorizes the Exchange to disclose information obtained from the EDD to outreach and marketing vendors under Exchange contract.
- Prohibits the Exchange from disclosing information obtained from the EDD to a certified insurance agent, a certified enrollment counselor, or any other entity without the consent of the applicant, except as provided in 2) above.
- Specifies any outreach and marketing conducted pursuant to this bill to include, in a conspicuous and easy to access manner, the ability for individuals to decline all future outreach and marketing.
- Requires the Exchange to take all necessary measures to safeguard the confidentiality of any information from EDD and at all times only request from the EDD, use, or disclose the minimum amount of information necessary.
- Requires a person or entity that receives information from the Exchange pursuant to this bill to take all necessary measures to safeguard the confidentiality of any information obtained from the Exchange and to at no time use or disclose that information for any purpose other than to market and publicize the availability of health care coverage through the Exchange to individuals, as directed by the Exchange. Requires a person or entity to, at all times, only request from the Exchange, use, or disclose the minimum amount of information necessary to accomplish the purposes for which it was received.
- Requires information received by the Exchange from the EDD to:
- At all times be subject to applicable privacy and information security-related requirements arising under both federal and state law; and,
- Be destroyed in a manner that maintains confidentiality.
- Requires the Exchange to ensure that information disclosed to outreach and marketing vendors or any other entity pursuant to this bill to comply with 7) above.
- Revises existing law to specify that upon the request of either the Exchange or the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS), EDD to provide to the relevant state agency information on new applicants for unemployment insurance, state disability insurance, and paid family leave. Requires the Exchange and DHCS to, at all times, request from EDD the minimum amount of information necessary from the information listed in 2) above. Requires the information to be sent in a manner that is encrypted or otherwise complies with government data security best practices, as specified by the Exchange; and, this information to only be used for the purposes of outreach and marketing.
EXISTING LAW:
- Establishes, in state government, Covered California or the Exchange, as an independent public entity not affiliated with an agency or department, and requires the Exchange to compare and make available through selective contracting health insurance for individual and small business purchasers as authorized under the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA). Specifies the powers and duties of the Covered California board governing the Exchange, and requires the board to facilitate the purchase of qualified health plans though the Exchange by qualified individuals and small employers. [Government Code (GOV) §100500-100522]
- Establishes the Medi-Cal program, administered by DHCS, under which low-income individuals are eligible for medical coverage. [Welfare and Institutions Code (WIC) § 14000, et seq.] Establishes a schedule of benefits under the Medi-Cal program, which includes benefits required under federal law and benefits provided at state option but for which federal financial participation is available. [WIC §14132]
- Establishes a system of unemployment administered by the EDD. [Unemployment Insurance Code (UIC) §100, et seq.]
- Requires the EDD Director to permit the use of any information in the EDD Director’s possession to the extent necessary to enable federal, state, or local governmental departments or agencies, to verify or determine the eligibility or entitlement of any applicant for, or a recipient of, public social services, as specified, when the verification or determination is directly connected with, and limited to, the administration of public social services. Requires EDD, upon the request of either the Exchange or DHCS, to also provide to the relevant state agency information on new applicants for unemployment insurance, state disability insurance, and paid family leave. Requires specified data points to be sent in a manner that is encrypted or otherwise complies with government data security best practices, as specified by the Exchange. [UIC §1095]
- Requires Covered California to request information, on at least a monthly basis, from EDD for each new applicant for unemployment compensation, state disability, and paid family leave so that Covered California can communicate with and inform those individuals of available health care coverage options through Covered California and assist those individuals in obtaining health care coverage. [GOV §100503.9]
- Prohibits Covered California from disclosing personal information obtained from EDD without the consent of the applicant. Requires Covered California to at all times take reasonable measures to safeguard the confidentiality of any personal information obtained by EDD and not disclose that information for any purposes other than to market and publicize the availability of health care coverage, and, requires this personal information to at all times be subject to applicable privacy and information security-related requirements arising under federal and state law. [GOV §100503.9]
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state costs.
COMMENTS:
- PURPOSE OF THIS BILL. According to the author, access to information regarding health insurance options is one of the primary barriers to achieving universal healthcare coverage in the State, especially as Californians experience transitions in employment and income. The author states that this bill is follow-up legislation to Senator Leyva’s SB 644 (Leyva), Chapter 983, Statutes of 2022, which was signed into law last year. According to the author, this bill would make certain that the provisions of SB 644 enable timely communication to individuals to reduce burdens of applying for health insurance and to minimize gaps in coverage. The author concludes that this bill is a simple fix that maintains the greater accessibility to health insurance established by SB 644—while protecting Californians from receiving cold calls from outside entities.
- BACKGROUND. SB 644 requires Covered California to request from the EDD, at least monthly, and no later than September 1, 2023, contact information of each new applicant for unemployment compensation, state disability, and paid family leave, including their last name, first name, social security number, date of birth, and all mailing addresses. Existing law prohibits the Exchange from disclosing personal information obtained from EDD without the applicant’s consent and requires the Exchange to take reasonable measures to safeguard the confidentiality of any personal information obtained by the EDD. SB 644 also requires the Exchange to market and publicize the availability of health care coverage through the Exchange, and engage in outreach activities, to the individuals whose information the Exchange receives from EDD. While SB 644 was passed in 2022, Governor Newsom’s signing message states the following:
I am signing Senate Bill 644, which enhances partnership between Covered California and the Employment Development Department by enabling Covered California to conduct proactive and targeted outreach to applicants of unemployment insurance and other benefits. In doing so, this legislation provides Californians with important and timely information about affordable health coverage options when they may need it the most.
To ensure Covered California can effectively reach Californians, and to maximize the important impact SB 644 can have to keep Californians in need covered, I strongly encourage Covered California and the Legislature to work together on subsequent legislation next year to ensure that the provisions of the bill enable timely communication to individuals to reduce burdens of applying for health care and minimize gaps in coverage.
According to the author and sponsors of this bill, this bill is necessary since Covered California does not directly handle the outreach and marketing to individuals. Currently, Covered California hires a third party vendor to handle the outreach and marketing and the vendor under contract must then follow all applicable privacy and information security laws. Thus, EDD is able to share applicant information with Covered California and Covered California is able to receive it, however, Covered California’s vendors would need to get applicant consent again in order to conduct outreach to these individuals. This bill allows the sharing of information to enable the timely communication to individuals necessary to avoid gaps in health care coverage.
The Federal ACA. Enacted in March 2010, the ACA provides the framework, policies, regulations and guidelines for the implementation of comprehensive health care reform by the states. The ACA expands access to quality, affordable insurance and health care. The ACA required exchanges, also known as Marketplaces, to be established in every state by January 1, 2014, otherwise the federal government would establish one in the state, by federally-facilitated exchanges (FFEs). The central purpose of these new Marketplaces is to enable low and moderate income individuals, and small employers to obtain affordable health coverage. The new Marketplaces are required to carry out a number of different functions, including determining eligibility and enrolling individuals in appropriate plans; conducting plan management activities; assisting consumers; and, ensuring plan accountability.
Covered California. California was the first state in the nation to enact legislation creating an Exchange under the ACA and is the largest state-run Exchange in the nation. Additionally, it is the only place to get federal premium assistance to help Californians buy health insurance. A 2020 Covered California report, entitled "Coverage When You Need It: Lessons from Insurance Coverage Transitions in California's Individual Marketplace Pre and Post the COVID-19 Pandemic," states that Covered California's experience demonstrates the positive role a marketplace can play to meet health coverage and economic needs of Americans, especially in the time of the COVID-19 recession, as the California marketplace has reached its highest number of covered members since its launch in 2014 (over 1.53 million). Building on its outreach and promotion with a COVID-19 special enrollment period (SEP), Covered California has enrolled over twice as many people as in the year prior, with almost 290,000 Californians gaining coverage gaining coverage since March 20, 2020. While enrollment in states served by the FFE grew in the months since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, if the FFE states experienced California's trend for new sign-ups in 2020, nearly 500,000 more Americans would have signed up for insurance coverage during the special enrollment period through May 2020. There have been dramatic changes in the mix of consumers signing up for coverage since the COVID-19 pandemic began, with far more signing up after losing job-based coverage, and one-fifth of new sign-ups from those who likely would be ineligible to enroll without California's COVID-19 SEP. The insurance-related impacts of the recession are evident in changes in where consumers are going when they leave Covered California. A much smaller share of consumers are leaving for job-based coverage (only 15% compared to the pre-COVID rate of 55%), more are enrolling in Medi-Cal as they lose income, and a greater share of consumers are leaving to become uninsured, a troubling indicator of unaffordability of even subsidized coverage in tough economic times.
Privacy Protections. This bill authorizes the Exchange to share information related to outreach and marketing without an individual’s consent. To address privacy concerns, Covered California also identified some of the protections in existing law. California law prohibits Covered California from using or disclosing the information received for any other purpose other than to market and publicize the availability of health care coverage through the Exchange. The California Information Practices Act requires Covered California to maintain in its records only personal information which is relevant and necessary to accomplish a purpose of the agency required or authorized by state or federal law. Federal regulations require Covered California to establish and implement privacy and security standards that limit the creation, collection, use, and disclosure of personally identifiable information only to the extent necessary to accomplish a specified purpose(s). Privacy and security controls set forth in the Minimum Acceptable Risk Safeguards for Exchanges (MARS-E) require Covered California to identify the minimum personally identifiable information elements required to accomplish to legally authorized purpose and use the information only for legally authorized purposes. Covered California Privacy Standards, adopted pursuant to federal regulations and approved by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, require Covered California only collect the minimum amount of consumer personally identifiable information needed to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected.
- SUPPORT. The California Pan-Ethnic Health Network, Western Center on Law & Poverty, and Health Access California, cosponsors, write that this bill will enable Covered California to conduct targeted outreach to people who apply for unemployment insurance by utilizing information collected and shared by the EDD. One of the top hurdles to achieving universal health coverage is making sure Californians are aware of their insurance options, especially as they experience transitions in employment and income. Last year, SB 644 (Leyva) was passed and established a vital partnership between Covered California and EDD for conducting direct outreach on affordable health coverage options to community members who applied for unemployment insurance, or other EDD programs. However, current statute limits Covered California’s ability to send outreach materials to Californians in need, as it would require the agency’s trusted contracted and subcontracted vendors to obtain individual consent prior to contacting individuals. Currently, Covered California must abide by strict federal and state privacy protections. Similarly, any vendors that are contracted or subcontracted must abide by the same strict protections the moment a contract is signed as these trusted partners operate as an extension of the agency to assist with specific duties. According to the sponsors, this bill aligns with these existing state and federal protections. Additionally, recent amendments to the bill add additional specifications for safeguarding information and include any person or entity that receives information – which is inclusive of contracted vendors – and carefully limits the sharing of information strictly for the purpose of outreach on health care coverage options offered by Covered CA to Californians in need. California continues to take strides towards universal coverage and this bill is part of that solution. This important piece of legislation would ensure unemployed Californians are contacted and enrolled in health care coverage and avoids increasing the uninsured populations, which can become incredibly costly for the state. Without the passage of this bill, the sponsors conclude that Covered California and their outreach vendors will be unable to fulfill their outreach duties and we risk leaving thousands of community members throughout the state without quality health care coverage.
- PREVIOUS LEGISLATION.
- SB 644 requires the Exchange, at least monthly no later than September 1, 2023, to request from the EDD contact information of each new applicant for unemployment compensation, state disability, and paid family leave, including last name, first name, social security number, date of birth, and all mailing addresses. Prohibits the Exchange from disclosing personal information obtained from EDD without the applicant’s consent. Requires the Exchange to take reasonable measures to safeguard the confidentiality of any personal information obtained by the EDD, as specified. Requires EDD to provide specified information to the Exchange or the DHCS upon request to assist in determining eligibility for insurance eligibility administered by those state agencies. Requires the Exchange to market and publicize the availability of health care coverage through the Exchange, and engage in outreach activities, to the individuals whose information the Exchange receives from EDD.
- SB 260 (Hurtado), Chapter 845, Statutes of 2019, requires Covered California, beginning July 1, 2021, to enroll an individual or individuals using electronic information from Medi-Cal or the Children’s Health Insurance Program in the lowest cost silver Covered California plan. Requires a health plan or insurer to annually notify an individual that when he or she ceases to be enrolled in coverage, his or her contact information will be provided to Covered California to assist him or her in obtaining other coverage, or that he or she may opt out of this transfer of information.
- AB 792 (Bonilla), Chapter 851, Statutes of 2012, establishes notification requirements about the availability of reduced-cost coverage available in Covered California and no-cost coverage available in Medi-Cal to an individual filing a dissolution or nullity of marriage, divorce or separation, or petitioning for adoption, or for an individual who ceases to be enrolled in health coverage through a health plan or health insurer.
- AB 1602 (John A Pérez), Chapter 655, Statutes of 2010, and SB 900 (Alquist), Chapter 659, Statutes of 2010, establish the Exchange in California and delineate its powers and duties.
- DOUBLE REFERRAL. This bill is double-referred; it passed the Privacy and Consumer Protection Committee by a vote of 8-0 on June 27, 2023.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
Buen Vecino
California Pan-Ethnic Health Network
California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation, Inc.
Central Valley Immigrant Integration Collaborative
Children's Partnership, the
Coalition of California Welfare Rights Organizations
Health Access California
Multi Ethnic Collaborative of Community Agencies
National Health Law Program
South Asian Network
Western Center on Law & Poverty
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by: Kristene Mapile / HEALTH / (916) 319-2097
Date of Hearing: June 27, 2023
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PRIVACY AND CONSUMER PROTECTION
Jesse Gabriel, Chair
SBPCA Bill Id:SB 595
Author:(Roth) – As Amended Ver:April 13, 2023
AS PROPOSED TO BE AMENDED
SENATE VOTE: 40-0
SUBJECT: Covered California: data sharing
SYNOPSIS
This bill proposes to allow Covered California to share, without first obtaining consent from the individual, the personal information of applicants for the Employment Development Department’s (EDD) unemployment insurance, state disability, and paid family leave programs with vendors who are under contract to conduct marketing and outreach for the state’s healthcare exchange.
One trip to an emergency room or a ride in an ambulance can cost a person thousands of dollars and instantly saddle them with debilitating debt. According to a 2021 investigation by National Public Radio, more than 100 million people in the United States, including 41 percent of adults, are burdened by medical debt. While this news is not surprising, the problem is far more pervasive than previously thought. A recent study from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health found that about 810,000 (or one in 10) Los Angeles County adults together owed more than $2.6 billion in medical debt as of 2021. Given these recent findings and the fact that EDD receives over 100,000 new unemployment claims from Californians every month, the need to help people who are recently unemployed, disabled, or on long-term family leave quickly find health insurance is indisputable.
The Legislature intended to assist these Californians by passing SB 644 (Leyva, Ch. 983, Stats. 2022) last year, a bill that allowed Covered California to receive the personal information for applicants monthly, while still endeavoring to protect the privacy of the applicants. Unfortunately, requiring Covered California to obtain consent from each applicant prior to sharing the information with their outreach vendors rendered the bill unworkable.
As proposed to be amended, this bill would address the technical problems with the previous bill by carving out vendors who are under contract to Covered California from the current prohibition against sharing the information without first receiving consent, while still leaving in place the prohibition for all other entities. This change will allow Covered California to conduct marketing and outreach regarding health insurance to applicants for unemployment compensation, state disability, and paid family leave, as originally intended in SB 644.
This bill is co-sponsored by the California Pan-Ethnic Health Network, Health Access California, and the Western Center on Law and Poverty. It is also supported by close to one dozen other organizations. Electronic Frontier Foundation and Oakland Privacy were previously opposed to this bill, but have now taken a neutral position based on the proposed Committee amendments.
If passed by this Committee, the bill will next be heard by the Assembly Health Committee.
SUMMARY: Eliminates the current prohibition against the California Health Benefits Exchange (Covered California) sharing, absent consent from the individual applicant, personal information that it receives from the Employment Development Department (EDD) regarding applicants with vendors that are under contract with Covered California to conduct marketing and outreach, subject to new privacy protections. Specifically, this bill:
- Limits the current list of applicant information that Covered California is allowed to request from EDD to only that which is necessary for conducting marketing and outreach.
- Allows Covered California to release information obtained from EDD related to an individual’s application for unemployment compensation, state disability, and/or paid family leave only to an outreach and marketing vendor who is under contract with Covered California.
- Requires Covered California to obtain consent from an EDD applicant before sharing their information with a certified insurance agent, a certified enrollment counselor, or any other entity that is not under contract with Covered California to conduct marketing and outreach.
- States that a person or entity that receives EDD applicant information obtained by Covered California must take all necessary measures to safeguard the confidentiality of the information and prohibits them from sharing that information for any purpose other than to market and publicize the availability of coverage through Covered California.
- Requires that Covered California, at all times, only request from EDD, use, or disclose the minimum amount of applicant information necessary to conduct marketing and outreach.
- Requires a person or entity under contract to Covered California to only request from Covered California, use, or disclose the minimum amount of applicant information necessary to conduct marketing and outreach.
- Restricts the contact methods for Covered California outreach to only the methods intended to reach a person at their residence or through another personal contact channel.
- Requires that all marketing and outreach include, in a conspicuous and easy to access manner, the ability for recipients to decline all future outreach and marketing.
- Requires all information received from EDD to be destroyed in a manner that maintains confidentiality.
- Clarifies in the Unemployment Insurance Code that the applicant information provided by EDD shall only be used for marketing and outreach and that Covered California shall at all times request the minimum amount of information necessary.
EXISTING LAW:
- Provides, pursuant to the California Constitution, that all people are by nature free and independent and have inalienable rights. Among these is a fundamental right to privacy. (Cal. Const. art. I, § 1.)
- Establishes the Information Practices Act of 1977, which places restrictions on state agencies collecting and sharing an individual’s personal information. (Civ. Code § 1798 et seq.)
- Requires that each state agency maintain in its records only personal information that is relevant and necessary to accomplish the purpose of the agency. (Civ. Code § 1798.14)
- Requires that each agency collect personal information to the greatest extent practicable directly from the individual who is the subject of the information rather than from another source. (Civ. Code § 1798.15)
- States that the “right to privacy is a personal and fundamental right protected by Section 1 of Article I of the Constitution of California and by the United States Constitution and that all individuals have a right of privacy in information pertaining to them.” Further states the following findings of the Legislature:
- The right to privacy is being threatened by the indiscriminate collection, maintenance, and dissemination of personal information and the lack of effective laws and legal remedies.
- The increasing use of computers and other sophisticated information technology has greatly magnified the potential risk to individual privacy that can occur from the maintenance of personal information.
- In order to protect the privacy of individuals, it is necessary that the maintenance and dissemination of personal information be subject to strict limits. (Civ. Code § 1798.1.)
- Establishes the California Health Benefit Exchange, also known as Covered California, as California’s health benefit exchange for individual and small business purchasers as authorized under the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA). (Gov. Code § 100500 et seq.)
- Requires the director of the Employment Development Department (EDD) to permit the use of any information in the director’s possession to the extent necessary to carry out certain enumerated purposes, including to enable federal, state, or local governmental departments or agencies, to verify or determine the eligibility or entitlement of any applicant for, or a recipient of, public social services, as specified, when the verification or determination is directly connected with, and limited to, the administration of public social services. (Unemp. Ins. Code § 1095.)
- Requires Covered California, starting no later than September 1, 2023, and at least monthly thereafter, to request specified information from EDD of each new applicant for unemployment compensation, state disability, and paid family leave. This includes the following information:
- Full name.
- Social security number.
- Date of birth.
- Race or ethnicity, to the extent available.
- Preferred language.
- Gender.
- All mailing addresses, including city, state, and ZIP Code.
- All telephone numbers, including home, work, and cellular.
- Email address, to the extent available.
- Date of most recent job loss, to the extent available.
- Wages or prior wages.
- The EDD program for which the applicant filed.
- Date the claim was filed.
- Claimant eligibility status.
- Date initial payment was approved by EDD.
- The weekly benefit amount.
- The benefit period start date.
- The benefit period end date. (Gov. Code § 100503.9(a).)
- Requires Covered California to use this information to market and publicize the availability of health care coverage through Covered California and engage in outreach activities to the individuals whose information was shared. (Gov. Code § 100503.9(b)(1).)
- Prohibits Covered California from disclosing personal information obtained from EDD without the consent of the applicant. (Gov. Code § 100503.9(b)(3).)
- Requires Covered California to, at all times, take reasonable measures to safeguard the confidentiality of any personal information obtained by EDD and not disclose that information for any purpose other than to market and publicize the availability of health care coverage through Covered California to the individuals whose information it has received. (Gov. Code § 100503.9(b)(4).)
- Provides that all personal information received from EDD shall at all times be subject to applicable privacy and information security-related requirements arising under federal and state law. (Gov. Code § 100503.9(b)(5).)
FISCAL EFFECT: As currently in print this bill is keyed fiscal.
COMMENTS:
1) Background. Enacted in March 2010, the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) provides the framework, policies, regulations and guidelines for the implementation of comprehensive health care reform by the states. The ACA expands access to quality, affordable insurance and health care. As of January 1, 2014, insurers are no longer able to deny coverage or charge higher premiums based on preexisting conditions. These aspects of the ACA, along with tax credits for low and middle income people buying insurance on their own in new health benefit exchanges, make it easier for people to gain insurance coverage who would previously have been uninsured.
The ACA required exchanges, also known as marketplaces, to be established in every state by January 1, 2014; otherwise, the federal government would establish one in the state. The central purpose of these new marketplaces is to enable low and moderate income individuals, and small employers to obtain affordable health coverage. The new marketplaces are required to carry out a number of different functions, including determining eligibility and enrolling individuals in appropriate plans; conducting plan management activities; assisting consumers; and ensuring plan accountability.
California was the first state in the nation to enact legislation creating an exchange under the ACA; the California Health Benefits Exchange (Covered California) is now the largest state-run exchange in the nation. Additionally, Covered California is the only place to get federal premium assistance to help Californians buy health insurance. As stated on Covered California’s website:
The Covered California Health Exchange is the government agency offering subsidized Obamacare plans for this state. The California Health Exchange was created to assist citizens and legal residents with applying for marketplace coverage in order to comply with the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”). When the law was passed in 2010, each of the 50 states had to decide to either create a state-run health insurance exchange or offer enrollment through a federally-operated exchange. This state chose to create their own exchange and called it “Covered California”. (What is Covered California? California Health Exchange, available at https://www.healthforcalifornia.com/covered-california.)
2) Purpose of this bill. Since its creation, Covered California has invested immense resources in marketing and outreach to ensure all that need health care coverage are able to secure it. In fact, Covered California is statutorily obligated to undertake whatever activities are necessary to market and publicize the availability of health care coverage and federal subsidies. It is also required to undertake outreach and enrollment activities that seek to assist people in enrolling Covered California’s exchange in the least burdensome manner, including populations that may experience barriers to enrollment, such people with disabilities and those with limited English language proficiency. (Ibid.)
However, a group of nonprofit organizations working to ensure broad access to health care expressed that Covered California’s efforts would benefit from access to data from the Employment Development Department (EDD) that would assist it in directly targeting those most likely in need of health insurance. As jobs and health care insurance in this country are closely linked, oftentimes when a person loses their employment, they also lose their health coverage. While EDD would share information with its clients about Covered California, this would only occur after a claim was successfully approved.
In 2022, SB 644 (Leyva, Ch. 983, Stats. 2022) sought to address this issue by requiring Covered California, starting no later than September 1, 2023, and at least monthly thereafter, to request from EDD information on each new applicant for unemployment compensation, state disability, and paid family leave. The requested information is extensive, comprising the 18 items set forth in paragraph 8) under EXISTING LAW above.
SB 644 requires Covered California to use this information to market and publicize the availability of health care coverage and engage in outreach activities to the individuals whose information was shared. (Gov. Code § 100503.9(b)(1).)
While providing this information to Covered California serves a noble purpose, privacy concerns always arise when such sensitive data is exchanging hands. Therefore, SB 644 was amended to include various privacy and security protections. First, it included use limitations; Covered California was prohibited from using or disclosing the information for “any purpose other than to market and publicize the availability of health care coverage through the Exchange.” Secondly, the bill established an obligation for Covered California to take reasonable measures to safeguard the confidentiality of any personal information obtained. SB 644 also stated that the personal information received is “subject to applicable privacy and information security-related requirements arising under federal and state law.”
Finally, and most relevant here, SB 644 prohibited Covered California from disclosing personal information obtained from EDD without the consent of the applicant. This was meant to ensure applicants had some measure of control over their information. It is this latter protection that this bill seeks to loosen, because Covered California does not directly handle the outreach and marketing that is done to individuals. Currently, Covered California contracts with a third party vendor to handle the outreach and marketing. As a result, EDD is able to share applicant information with Covered California and Covered California is able to receive it. However, Covered California would need to get consent from each applicant in order to share the information with their marketing and outreach vendors who are tasked with conducting the outreach to the applicants. This is a burdensome task which defeats the purpose of ensuring that the recently-unemployed and others who have fallen into hardship quickly learn about and obtain health insurance coverage.
When signing AB 644 into law, the Governor noted that additional work on this policy would be required in order to make the bill workable. In his signing message he stated:
I am signing Senate Bill 644, which enhances partnership between Covered California and the Employment Development Department by enabling Covered California to conduct proactive and targeted outreach to applicants of unemployment insurance and other benefits. In doing so, this legislation provides Californians with important and timely information about affordable health coverage options when they may need it the most.
To ensure Covered California can effectively reach Californians, and to maximize the important impact SB 644 can have to keep Californians in need covered, I strongly encourage Covered California and the Legislature to work together on subsequent legislation next year to ensure that the provisions of the bill enable timely communication to individuals to reduce burdens of applying for health care and minimize gaps in coverage.
This bill is the clean-up bill for SB 644. It proposes loosening the privacy protections in current law by allowing marketing vendors under contract to Covered California to obtain the necessary EDD contact information without first obtaining consent, in order to conduct outreach to applicants for EDD’s programs.
3) Author’s statement. According to the author:
Access to information regarding health insurance options is one of the primary barriers to achieving universal healthcare coverage in the State, especially as Californians experience transitions in employment and income. SB 595 is follow-up legislation to Senator Leyva’s SB 644, which was signed into law last year. It will make certain that the provisions of the bill enable timely communication to individuals to reduce burdens of applying for health insurance and to minimize gaps in coverage. SB 595 is a simple fix that maintains the greater accessibility to health insurance established by SB 644—while protecting Californians from receiving cold calls from outside entities.
4) How this bill would work. As discussed previously, requiring Covered California to obtain prior consent from individuals who had applied for EDD programs made it difficult for them to carry out the intent of SB 644. In the current version of the bill in print, the Committee is being asked to undo those privacy protections and allow the extensive amount of information provided on EDD applicants to be shared by Covered California without obtaining permission, with the exception of sharing the information with an insurance agent or enrollment counselor.
With the Committee amendments, detailed below, the bill would include additional privacy protections to help mitigate the loss of the ability of EDD applicants to consent to the use of their information for marketing. As detailed in the SUMMARY, this bill would do the following:
- Allow Covered California to request, on a monthly basis, the minimum amount of information necessary from EDD to conduct outreach and marketing to new applicants for unemployment compensation, state disability, and/or paid family leave.
- Remove the blanket requirement that Covered California obtain the EDD applicant’s permission before sharing the applicant’s personal information. Instead, Covered California is allowed to share the minimum amount of data necessary with their contracted vendors who conduct marketing and outreach on the department’s behalf.
- Retain the existing prohibition in current law against sharing the information with insurance agents, enrollment counselors, and any other entity without the applicant’s consent.
- Require Covered California and its marketing and outreach contractors to take all necessary measures to protect the EDD applicant information. In addition, it strictly prohibits them from using the data for any purpose other than outreach.
- Limit the outreach contact methods to only those intended to reach a person at their residence or through another personal contact channel, rather than allowing Covered California to use any contact method available.
- Require Covered California to provide a conspicuous and easy to access method for EDD applicants to opt out of any future marketing or outreach related to the Health Care Exchange.
5) Analysis. One trip to an emergency room or a ride in an ambulance can cost a person thousands of dollars and instantly saddle them with debilitating debt. According to a 2021 investigation by National Public Radio, more than 100 million people in the United States, including 41 percent of adults, are burdened by medical debt (Levey, 100 Million People in American Are Saddled With Health Care Debt, KFF Health News (Jun. 16, 2022), available at https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/diagnosis-debt-investigation-100-million-americans-hidden-medical-debt/). While this news is not surprising, the problem is far more pervasive than previously thought. A recent study from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health found that about 810,000 (or one in 10) Los Angeles County adults together owed more than $2.6 billion in medical debt as of 2021 (Work, Personal Medical Debt in Los Angeles County Tops $2.6 Billion, Report Finds. California Healthline (Jun. 7, 2023), available at https://californiahealthline.org/news/article/la-county-california-medical-debt-burden-report/).
Given these recent findings and the fact that EDD receives over 100,000 new unemployment claims from Californians every month (see https://edd.ca.gov/en/newsroom/facts-and-stats/dashboard/), the need is indisputable to help people quickly find health insurance if they are recently unemployed, disabled, or on long-term family leave. The Legislature intended to assist these Californians by passing SB 644 (Leyva) last year, a bill that allowed Covered California to receive information from EDD for applicants monthly, while still endeavoring to protect the privacy of the applicants. Unfortunately, as described above, requiring Covered California to obtain consent prior to sharing the data with their outreach vendors rendered the bill unworkable.
The question before the Committee is how to allow Covered California to share with their vendors an extensive amount of personal information for over one million people a year without first obtaining the individuals’ consent, while still protecting their privacy to the greatest extent possible. With the Committee amendments enumerated below, Covered California will be able to obtain and share with their contracted vendors all of the information necessary to conduct outreach. At the same time, it and its vendors will be required to take all necessary measures to protect that information. Covered California will continue to be prohibited from sharing this with anyone who is not under contract with it to conduct marketing and research, absent individual consent.
In addition, the amendments add two additional consumer protections. First, the amendments require Covered California to make it easy for individuals to opt-out of future marketing efforts. Second, the amendments restrict the outreach efforts of Covered California to those that are intended to reach people at their places of residence. The original legislation allowed for unlimited outreach and marketing to any phone number, address, or email, potentially resulting in marketing calls and emails to a person’s current or former place of business.
Staff believes that these changes strike the proper balance between the need for people to quickly access healthcare when their employment circumstances change, while still protecting their constitutional right to privacy.
6) Proposed Committee amendments. The specific changes to the current bill language are the following:
In Section 1 of the bill: Section 100503.9 of the Government Code is amended to read:
100503.9. (a) (1) Beginning no later than September 1, 2023, and at least monthly thereafter, the Exchange, subject to the restrictions in (b)(5), shall request from the Employment Development Department the following information of each new applicant for unemployment compensation, state disability, and paid family leave:
This amendment is intended to limit the information requested by Covered California to only that which is necessary to conduct marketing and outreach.
100503.9. (a) (2) The Exchange may use any contact method that is intended to reach the person at their residence or other personal contact channel to communicate with and inform an individual whose contact information the Exchange receives pursuant to subdivision (a) of available health care coverage options through the exchange and to assist those individuals in obtaining health care coverage.
100503.9. (a) (3) (A) The Exchange may disclose information obtained from the Employment Development Department to outreach and marketing vendors under contract to the Exchange.
(B) The Exchange shall not disclose personal information obtained from the Employment Development Department to a certified insurance agent, or a certified enrollment counselor or any other entity without the consent of the applicant, except that allowed pursuant to (b)(3)(A).
This amendment addresses concerns raised by privacy advocates that the original language was too broad and eliminated the prohibition on sharing with any and all parties and replaced it with a specific prohibition of just two certified insurance agents and certified enrollment counselors. Instead, the broad prohibition remains and carves out for exception only those specific vendors under contract with Covered California to conduct outreach.
100503.9. (a) (4) Any outreach and marketing, pursuant to this section, must include, in a conspicuous and easy to access manner, the ability for individuals to decline all future outreach and marketing.
100503.9. (a) (5) The Exchange shall at all times take reasonable take all necessary measures to safeguard the confidentiality of any personal information obtained by from the Employment Development Department and shall at no time use or disclose that information for any purpose other than to market and publicize the availability of health care coverage through the Exchange to individuals whose contact information the Exchange receives pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (a). The Exchange shall at all times only request from the Employment Development Department, use, or disclose the minimum amount of information necessary to accomplish the purposes for which it was obtained.
The above amendments limit the information that Covered California can receive to only that which is necessary for marketing and outreach. In addition, the amendments increase applicable security standards by requiring that Covered California take all necessary measures to protect the information.
100503.9. (a) (5) (6) A person or entity that receives personal information from the Exchange pursuant to this section shall at all times take reasonable take all necessary measures to safeguard the confidentiality of any personal information obtained from the Exchange and shall at no time use or disclose that information for any purpose other than to market and publicize the availability of health care coverage through the Exchange to individuals, as directed by the Exchange. A person or entity shall at all times only request from the Exchange, use, or disclose the minimum amount of information necessary to accomplish the purposes for which it was received.
Similar to the previous amendment, this change strictly limits the information that Covered California can share with their vendors to only that which is necessary for the vendor to conduct outreach. In addition, it increases the security standards by requiring that vendors take all necessary measures to protect the information.
100503.9. (a) (6) (7) Personal Information received by the Exchange from the Employment Development Department shall:
(A) At all times be subject to applicable privacy and information security-related requirements arising under both federal and state law.
(B) Be destroyed in a manner that maintains confidentiality.
100503.9. (a) (8) The Exchange shall ensure that information disclosed to outreach and marketing vendors or any other entity pursuant to this section shall comply with paragraph (7).
This amendment enshrines in the statute that Covered California’s contractors are bound by the same privacy requirements as Covered California, and that contractors are also required to properly destroy the EDD applicant information they receive.
In section 2 of the bill -- Section 1095 of the Unemployment Insurance Code is amended to read:
1095. (ar)(2) Assist the California Health Benefit Exchange or the State Department of Health Care Services in determining eligibility for the insurance affordability programs administered by those state agencies. Upon the request of either the California Health Benefit Exchange or the State Department of Health Care Services, the department shall also provide to the relevant state agency information on new applicants for unemployment insurance, state disability insurance, and paid family leave. This information shall include the data points listed in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 100503.9 of the Government Code, and shall be sent in a manner that is encrypted or otherwise complies with government data security best practices, as specified by the California Health Benefit Exchange. The determination of eligibility or entitlement shall include efforts by either the California Health Benefit Exchange or the State Department of Health Care Services to assist those individuals in obtaining that coverage, including informing those individuals potentially eligible for health coverage of the availability of that coverage.
1095. (ar)(4) Upon the request of either the California Health Benefit Exchange or the State Department of Health Care Services, the department shall also provide to the relevant state agency information on new applicants for unemployment insurance, state disability insurance, and paid family leave. They shall at all times request from the department the minimum amount of information necessary from the information listed in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 100503.9 of the Government Code, to accomplish the purposes of Section 100503.9 of the Government Code. The information shall be sent in a manner that is encrypted or otherwise complies with government data security best practices, as specified by the California Health Benefit Exchange. This information shall only be used for the purposes of outreach and marketing.
These amendments to the Unemployment Insurance Code ensure that the restrictions for the amount of data that can be requested and how that data can be used mirror those in the Government Code section of the bill.
The proposed Committee amendments set forth above incorporate provisions requested by Electronic Frontier Foundation and Oakland Privacy, which previously opposed the bill. Both groups have removed their opposition based on these proposed amendments.
7) Related legislation. SB 644 (Leyva, Chap. 983, Stats. 2022) required Covered California, starting no later than September 1, 2023, and at least monthly thereafter, to request from EDD information on each new applicant for unemployment compensation, state disability, and paid family leave. Covered California is required to use this information to market and publicize the availability of health care coverage through Covered California and engage in outreach activities to the individuals whose information was shared. Prior to sharing the information with its marketing and outreach vendors, Covered California is required to obtain consent from the applicants to share their personal information.
SB 260 (Hurtado, Chap. 845, Stats. 2019) required Covered California to enroll an individual or individuals using electronic information from Medi-Cal or the Children’s Health Insurance Program in the lowest cost silver Covered California plan. Required a health plan or insurer to annually notify an individual that when they cease to be enrolled in coverage, their contact information will be provided to Covered California to assist them in obtaining other coverage, or that they may opt out of this transfer of information.
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: Co-sponsors of the bill, Western Center on Law and Poverty, write in support:
California continues to take strides towards universal coverage and SB 595 is part of that solution. This important piece of legislation would ensure unemployed Californians are contacted and enrolled in health care coverage and avoids increasing the uninsured populations, which can become incredibly costly for the state. Without the passage of SB 595, Covered CA and their outreach vendors will be unable to fulfill their outreach duties and we risk leaving thousands of community members throughout the state without quality health care coverage.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
California Pan-Ethnic Health Network (co-sponsor)
Health Access California (co-sponsor)
Western Center on Law & Poverty (co-sponsor)
Bueno Vecino
Central Valley Immigrant Integration Collaborative
Children's Partnership, the
Coalition of California Welfare Rights Organizations
Courage California
Latino Coalition for A Healthy California
Maternal and Child Health Access
Multi Ethnic Collaborative of Community Agencies
National Health Law Program
Small Business Majority
South Asian Network
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by: Julie Salley / P. & C.P. / (916) 319-2200
Date of Hearing: June 27, 2023
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PRIVACY AND CONSUMER PROTECTION
Jesse Gabriel, Chair
SBPCA Bill Id:SB 595
Author:(Roth) – As Amended Ver:April 13, 2023
AS PROPOSED TO BE AMENDED
SENATE VOTE: 40-0
SUBJECT: Covered California: data sharing
SYNOPSIS
This bill proposes to allow Covered California to share, without first obtaining consent from the individual, the personal information of applicants for the Employment Development Department’s (EDD) unemployment insurance, state disability, and paid family leave programs with vendors who are under contract to conduct marketing and outreach for the state’s healthcare exchange.
One trip to an emergency room or a ride in an ambulance can cost a person thousands of dollars and instantly saddle them with debilitating debt. According to a 2021 investigation by National Public Radio, more than 100 million people in the United States, including 41 percent of adults, are burdened by medical debt. While this news is not surprising, the problem is far more pervasive than previously thought. A recent study from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health found that about 810,000 (or one in 10) Los Angeles County adults together owed more than $2.6 billion in medical debt as of 2021. Given these recent findings and the fact that EDD receives over 100,000 new unemployment claims from Californians every month, the need to help people who are recently unemployed, disabled, or on long-term family leave quickly find health insurance is indisputable.
The Legislature intended to assist these Californians by passing SB 644 (Leyva, Ch. 983, Stats. 2022) last year, a bill that allowed Covered California to receive the personal information for applicants monthly, while still endeavoring to protect the privacy of the applicants. Unfortunately, requiring Covered California to obtain consent from each applicant prior to sharing the information with their outreach vendors rendered the bill unworkable.
As proposed to be amended, this bill would address the technical problems with the previous bill by carving out vendors who are under contract to Covered California from the current prohibition against sharing the information without first receiving consent, while still leaving in place the prohibition for all other entities. This change will allow Covered California to conduct marketing and outreach regarding health insurance to applicants for unemployment compensation, state disability, and paid family leave, as originally intended in SB 644.
This bill is co-sponsored by the California Pan-Ethnic Health Network, Health Access California, and the Western Center on Law and Poverty. It is also supported by close to one dozen other organizations. Electronic Frontier Foundation and Oakland Privacy were previously opposed to this bill, but have now taken a neutral position based on the proposed Committee amendments.
If passed by this Committee, the bill will next be heard by the Assembly Health Committee.
SUMMARY: Eliminates the current prohibition against the California Health Benefits Exchange (Covered California) sharing, absent consent from the individual applicant, personal information that it receives from the Employment Development Department (EDD) regarding applicants with vendors that are under contract with Covered California to conduct marketing and outreach, subject to new privacy protections. Specifically, this bill:
- Limits the current list of applicant information that Covered California is allowed to request from EDD to only that which is necessary for conducting marketing and outreach.
- Allows Covered California to release information obtained from EDD related to an individual’s application for unemployment compensation, state disability, and/or paid family leave only to an outreach and marketing vendor who is under contract with Covered California.
- Requires Covered California to obtain consent from an EDD applicant before sharing their information with a certified insurance agent, a certified enrollment counselor, or any other entity that is not under contract with Covered California to conduct marketing and outreach.
- States that a person or entity that receives EDD applicant information obtained by Covered California must take all necessary measures to safeguard the confidentiality of the information and prohibits them from sharing that information for any purpose other than to market and publicize the availability of coverage through Covered California.
- Requires that Covered California, at all times, only request from EDD, use, or disclose the minimum amount of applicant information necessary to conduct marketing and outreach.
- Requires a person or entity under contract to Covered California to only request from Covered California, use, or disclose the minimum amount of applicant information necessary to conduct marketing and outreach.
- Restricts the contact methods for Covered California outreach to only the methods intended to reach a person at their residence.
- Requires that all marketing and outreach include, in a conspicuous and easy to access manner, the ability for recipients to decline all future outreach and marketing.
- Requires all information received from EDD to be destroyed in a manner that maintains confidentiality.
- Clarifies in the Unemployment Insurance Code that the applicant information provided by EDD shall only be used for marketing and outreach and that Covered California shall at all times request the minimum amount of information necessary.
EXISTING LAW:
- Provides, pursuant to the California Constitution, that all people are by nature free and independent and have inalienable rights. Among these is a fundamental right to privacy. (Cal. Const. art. I, § 1.)
- Establishes the Information Practices Act of 1977, which places restrictions on state agencies collecting and sharing an individual’s personal information. (Civ. Code § 1798 et seq.)
- Requires that each state agency maintain in its records only personal information that is relevant and necessary to accomplish the purpose of the agency. (Civ. Code § 1798.14)
- Requires that each agency collect personal information to the greatest extent practicable directly from the individual who is the subject of the information rather than from another source. (Civ. Code § 1798.15)
- States that the “right to privacy is a personal and fundamental right protected by Section 1 of Article I of the Constitution of California and by the United States Constitution and that all individuals have a right of privacy in information pertaining to them.” Further states the following findings of the Legislature:
- The right to privacy is being threatened by the indiscriminate collection, maintenance, and dissemination of personal information and the lack of effective laws and legal remedies.
- The increasing use of computers and other sophisticated information technology has greatly magnified the potential risk to individual privacy that can occur from the maintenance of personal information.
- In order to protect the privacy of individuals, it is necessary that the maintenance and dissemination of personal information be subject to strict limits. (Civ. Code § 1798.1.)
- Establishes the California Health Benefit Exchange, also known as Covered California, as California’s health benefit exchange for individual and small business purchasers as authorized under the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA). (Gov. Code § 100500 et seq.)
- Requires the director of the Employment Development Department (EDD) to permit the use of any information in the director’s possession to the extent necessary to carry out certain enumerated purposes, including to enable federal, state, or local governmental departments or agencies, to verify or determine the eligibility or entitlement of any applicant for, or a recipient of, public social services, as specified, when the verification or determination is directly connected with, and limited to, the administration of public social services. (Unemp. Ins. Code § 1095.)
- Requires Covered California, starting no later than September 1, 2023, and at least monthly thereafter, to request specified information from EDD of each new applicant for unemployment compensation, state disability, and paid family leave. This includes the following information:
- Full name.
- Social security number.
- Date of birth.
- Race or ethnicity, to the extent available.
- Preferred language.
- Gender.
- All mailing addresses, including city, state, and ZIP Code.
- All telephone numbers, including home, work, and cellular.
- Email address, to the extent available.
- Date of most recent job loss, to the extent available.
- Wages or prior wages.
- The EDD program for which the applicant filed.
- Date the claim was filed.
- Claimant eligibility status.
- Date initial payment was approved by EDD.
- The weekly benefit amount.
- The benefit period start date.
- The benefit period end date. (Gov. Code § 100503.9(a).)
- Requires Covered California to use this information to market and publicize the availability of health care coverage through Covered California and engage in outreach activities to the individuals whose information was shared. (Gov. Code § 100503.9(b)(1).)
- Prohibits Covered California from disclosing personal information obtained from EDD without the consent of the applicant. (Gov. Code § 100503.9(b)(3).)
- Requires Covered California to, at all times, take reasonable measures to safeguard the confidentiality of any personal information obtained by EDD and not disclose that information for any purpose other than to market and publicize the availability of health care coverage through Covered California to the individuals whose information it has received. (Gov. Code § 100503.9(b)(4).)
- Provides that all personal information received from EDD shall at all times be subject to applicable privacy and information security-related requirements arising under federal and state law. (Gov. Code § 100503.9(b)(5).)
FISCAL EFFECT: As currently in print this bill is keyed fiscal.
COMMENTS:
1) Background. Enacted in March 2010, the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) provides the framework, policies, regulations and guidelines for the implementation of comprehensive health care reform by the states. The ACA expands access to quality, affordable insurance and health care. As of January 1, 2014, insurers are no longer able to deny coverage or charge higher premiums based on preexisting conditions. These aspects of the ACA, along with tax credits for low and middle income people buying insurance on their own in new health benefit exchanges, make it easier for people to gain insurance coverage who would previously have been uninsured.
The ACA required exchanges, also known as marketplaces, to be established in every state by January 1, 2014; otherwise, the federal government would establish one in the state. The central purpose of these new marketplaces is to enable low and moderate income individuals, and small employers to obtain affordable health coverage. The new marketplaces are required to carry out a number of different functions, including determining eligibility and enrolling individuals in appropriate plans; conducting plan management activities; assisting consumers; and ensuring plan accountability.
California was the first state in the nation to enact legislation creating an exchange under the ACA; the California Health Benefits Exchange (Covered California) is now the largest state-run exchange in the nation. Additionally, Covered California is the only place to get federal premium assistance to help Californians buy health insurance. As stated on Covered California’s website:
The Covered California Health Exchange is the government agency offering subsidized Obamacare plans for this state. The California Health Exchange was created to assist citizens and legal residents with applying for marketplace coverage in order to comply with the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”). When the law was passed in 2010, each of the 50 states had to decide to either create a state-run health insurance exchange or offer enrollment through a federally-operated exchange. This state chose to create their own exchange and called it “Covered California”. (What is Covered California? California Health Exchange, available at https://www.healthforcalifornia.com/covered-california.)
2) Purpose of this bill. Since its creation, Covered California has invested immense resources in marketing and outreach to ensure all that need health care coverage are able to secure it. In fact, Covered California is statutorily obligated to undertake whatever activities are necessary to market and publicize the availability of health care coverage and federal subsidies. It is also required to undertake outreach and enrollment activities that seek to assist people in enrolling Covered California’s exchange in the least burdensome manner, including populations that may experience barriers to enrollment, such people with disabilities and those with limited English language proficiency. (Ibid.)
However, a group of nonprofit organizations working to ensure broad access to health care expressed that Covered California’s efforts would benefit from access to data from the Employment Development Department (EDD) that would assist it in directly targeting those most likely in need of health insurance. As jobs and health care insurance in this country are closely linked, oftentimes when a person loses their employment, they also lose their health coverage. While EDD would share information with its clients about Covered California, this would only occur after a claim was successfully approved.
In 2022, SB 644 (Leyva, Ch. 983, Stats. 2022) sought to address this issue by requiring Covered California, starting no later than September 1, 2023, and at least monthly thereafter, to request from EDD information on each new applicant for unemployment compensation, state disability, and paid family leave. The requested information is extensive, comprising the 18 items set forth in paragraph 8) under EXISTING LAW above.
SB 644 requires Covered California to use this information to market and publicize the availability of health care coverage and engage in outreach activities to the individuals whose information was shared. (Gov. Code § 100503.9(b)(1).)
While providing this information to Covered California serves a noble purpose, privacy concerns always arise when such sensitive data is exchanging hands. Therefore, SB 644 was amended to include various privacy and security protections. First, it included use limitations; Covered California was prohibited from using or disclosing the information for “any purpose other than to market and publicize the availability of health care coverage through the Exchange.” Secondly, the bill established an obligation for Covered California to take reasonable measures to safeguard the confidentiality of any personal information obtained. SB 644 also stated that the personal information received is “subject to applicable privacy and information security-related requirements arising under federal and state law.”
Finally, and most relevant here, SB 644 prohibited Covered California from disclosing personal information obtained from EDD without the consent of the applicant. This was meant to ensure applicants had some measure of control over their information. It is this latter protection that this bill seeks to loosen, because Covered California does not directly handle the outreach and marketing that is done to individuals. Currently, Covered California contracts with a third party vendor to handle the outreach and marketing. As a result, EDD is able to share applicant information with Covered California and Covered California is able to receive it. However, Covered California would need to get consent from each applicant in order to share the information with their marketing and outreach vendors who are tasked with conducting the outreach to the applicants. This is a burdensome task which defeats the purpose of ensuring that the recently-unemployed and others who have fallen into hardship quickly learn about and obtain health insurance coverage.
When signing AB 644 into law, the Governor noted that additional work on this policy would be required in order to make the bill workable. In his signing message he stated:
I am signing Senate Bill 644, which enhances partnership between Covered California and the Employment Development Department by enabling Covered California to conduct proactive and targeted outreach to applicants of unemployment insurance and other benefits. In doing so, this legislation provides Californians with important and timely information about affordable health coverage options when they may need it the most.
To ensure Covered California can effectively reach Californians, and to maximize the important impact SB 644 can have to keep Californians in need covered, I strongly encourage Covered California and the Legislature to work together on subsequent legislation next year to ensure that the provisions of the bill enable timely communication to individuals to reduce burdens of applying for health care and minimize gaps in coverage.
This bill is the clean-up bill for SB 644. It proposes loosening the privacy protections in current law by allowing marketing vendors under contract to Covered California to obtain the necessary EDD contact information without first obtaining consent, in order to conduct outreach to applicants for EDD’s programs.
3) Author’s statement. According to the author:
Access to information regarding health insurance options is one of the primary barriers to achieving universal healthcare coverage in the State, especially as Californians experience transitions in employment and income. SB 595 is follow-up legislation to Senator Leyva’s SB 644, which was signed into law last year. It will make certain that the provisions of the bill enable timely communication to individuals to reduce burdens of applying for health insurance and to minimize gaps in coverage. SB 595 is a simple fix that maintains the greater accessibility to health insurance established by SB 644—while protecting Californians from receiving cold calls from outside entities.
4) How this bill would work. As discussed previously, requiring Covered California to obtain prior consent from individuals who had applied for EDD programs made it difficult for them to carry out the intent of SB 644. In the current version of the bill in print, the Committee is being asked to undo those privacy protections and allow the extensive amount of information provided on EDD applicants to be shared by Covered California without obtaining permission, with the exception of sharing the information with an insurance agent or enrollment counselor.
With the Committee amendments, detailed below, the bill would include additional privacy protections to help mitigate the loss of the ability of EDD applicants to consent to the use of their information for marketing. As detailed in the SUMMARY, this bill would do the following:
- Allow Covered California to request, on a monthly basis, the minimum amount of information necessary from EDD to conduct outreach and marketing to new applicants for unemployment compensation, state disability, and/or paid family leave.
- Remove the blanket requirement that Covered California obtain the EDD applicant’s permission before sharing the applicant’s personal information. Instead, Covered California is allowed to share the minimum amount of data necessary with their contracted vendors who conduct marketing and outreach on the department’s behalf.
- Retain the existing prohibition in current law against sharing the information with insurance agents, enrollment counselors, and any other entity without the applicant’s consent.
- Require Covered California and its marketing and outreach contractors to take all necessary measures to protect the EDD applicant information. In addition, it strictly prohibits them from using the data for any purpose other than outreach.
- Limit the outreach contact methods to only those intended to reach a person at their residence, rather than allowing Covered California to use any contact method available.
- Require Covered California to provide a conspicuous and easy to access method for EDD applicants to opt out of any future marketing or outreach related to the Health Care Exchange.
5) Analysis. One trip to an emergency room or a ride in an ambulance can cost a person thousands of dollars and instantly saddle them with debilitating debt. According to a 2021 investigation by National Public Radio, more than 100 million people in the United States, including 41 percent of adults, are burdened by medical debt (Levey, 100 Million People in American Are Saddled With Health Care Debt, KFF Health News (Jun. 16, 2022), available at https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/diagnosis-debt-investigation-100-million-americans-hidden-medical-debt/). While this news is not surprising, the problem is far more pervasive than previously thought. A recent study from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health found that about 810,000 (or one in 10) Los Angeles County adults together owed more than $2.6 billion in medical debt as of 2021 (Work, Personal Medical Debt in Los Angeles County Tops $2.6 Billion, Report Finds. California Healthline (Jun. 7, 2023), available at https://californiahealthline.org/news/article/la-county-california-medical-debt-burden-report/).
Given these recent findings and the fact that EDD receives over 100,000 new unemployment claims from Californians every month (see https://edd.ca.gov/en/newsroom/facts-and-stats/dashboard/), the need is indisputable to help people quickly find health insurance if they are recently unemployed, disabled, or on long-term family leave. The Legislature intended to assist these Californians by passing SB 644 (Leyva) last year, a bill that allowed Covered California to receive information from EDD for applicants monthly, while still endeavoring to protect the privacy of the applicants. Unfortunately, as described above, requiring Covered California to obtain consent prior to sharing the data with their outreach vendors rendered the bill unworkable.
The question before the Committee is how to allow Covered California to share with their vendors an extensive amount of personal information for over one million people a year without first obtaining the individuals’ consent, while still protecting their privacy to the greatest extent possible. With the Committee amendments enumerated below, Covered California will be able to obtain and share with their contracted vendors all of the information necessary to conduct outreach. At the same time, it and its vendors will be required to take all necessary measures to protect that information. Covered California will continue to be prohibited from sharing this with anyone who is not under contract with it to conduct marketing and research, absent individual consent.
In addition, the amendments add two additional consumer protections. First, the amendments require Covered California to make it easy for individuals to opt-out of future marketing efforts. Second, the amendments restrict the outreach efforts of Covered California to those that are intended to reach people at their places of residence. The original legislation allowed for unlimited outreach and marketing to any phone number, address, or email, potentially resulting in marketing calls and emails to a person’s current or former place of business.
Staff believes that these changes strike the proper balance between the need for people to quickly access healthcare when their employment circumstances change, while still protecting their constitutional right to privacy.
6) Proposed Committee amendments. The specific changes to the current bill language are the following:
In Section 1 of the bill: Section 100503.9 of the Government Code is amended to read:
100503.9. (a) (1) Beginning no later than September 1, 2023, and at least monthly thereafter, the Exchange, subject to the restrictions in (b)(5), shall request from the Employment Development Department the following information of each new applicant for unemployment compensation, state disability, and paid family leave:
This amendment is intended to limit the information requested by Covered California to only that which is necessary to conduct marketing and outreach.
100503.9. (a) (2) The Exchange may use any contact method that is intended to reach the person at their residence to communicate with and inform an individual whose contact information the Exchange receives pursuant to subdivision (a) of available health care coverage options through the exchange and to assist those individuals in obtaining health care coverage.
100503.9. (a) (3) (A) The Exchange may disclose information obtained from the Employment Development Department to outreach and marketing vendors under contract to the Exchange.
(B) The Exchange shall not disclose personal information obtained from the Employment Development Department to a certified insurance agent, or a certified enrollment counselor or any other entity without the consent of the applicant, except that allowed pursuant to (b)(3)(A).
This amendment addresses concerns raised by privacy advocates that the original language was too broad and eliminated the prohibition on sharing with any and all parties and replaced it with a specific prohibition of just two certified insurance agents and certified enrollment counselors. Instead, the broad prohibition remains and carves out for exception only those specific vendors under contract with Covered California to conduct outreach.
100503.9. (a) (4) Any outreach and marketing, pursuant to this section, must include, in a conspicuous and easy to access manner, the ability for individuals to decline all future outreach and marketing.
100503.9. (a) (5) The Exchange shall at all times take reasonable take all necessary measures to safeguard the confidentiality of any personal information obtained by from the Employment Development Department and shall at no time use or disclose that information for any purpose other than to market and publicize the availability of health care coverage through the Exchange to individuals whose contact information the Exchange receives pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (a). The Exchange shall at all times only request from the Employment Development Department, use, or disclose the minimum amount of information necessary to accomplish the purposes for which it was obtained.
The above amendments limit the information that Covered California can receive to only that which is necessary for marketing and outreach. In addition, the amendments increase applicable security standards by requiring that Covered California take all necessary measures to protect the information.
100503.9. (a) (5) (6) A person or entity that receives personal information from the Exchange pursuant to this section shall at all times take reasonable take all necessary measures to safeguard the confidentiality of any personal information obtained from the Exchange and shall at no time use or disclose that information for any purpose other than to market and publicize the availability of health care coverage through the Exchange to individuals, as directed by the Exchange. A person or entity shall at all times only request from the Exchange, use, or disclose the minimum amount of information necessary to accomplish the purposes for which it was received.
Similar to the previous amendment, this change strictly limits the information that Covered California can share with their vendors to only that which is necessary for the vendor to conduct outreach. In addition, it increases the security standards by requiring that vendors take all necessary measures to protect the information.
100503.9. (a) (6) (7) Personal Information received by the Exchange from the Employment Development Department shall:
(A) At all times be subject to applicable privacy and information security-related requirements arising under both federal and state law.
(B) Be destroyed in a manner that maintains confidentiality.
100503.9. (a) (8) The Exchange shall ensure that information disclosed to outreach and marketing vendors or any other entity pursuant to this section shall comply with paragraph (7).
This amendment enshrines in the statute that Covered California’s contractors are bound by the same privacy requirements as Covered California, and that contractors are also required to properly destroy the EDD applicant information they receive.
In section 2 of the bill -- Section 1095 of the Unemployment Insurance Code is amended to read:
1095. (ar)(2) Assist the California Health Benefit Exchange or the State Department of Health Care Services in determining eligibility for the insurance affordability programs administered by those state agencies. Upon the request of either the California Health Benefit Exchange or the State Department of Health Care Services, the department shall also provide to the relevant state agency information on new applicants for unemployment insurance, state disability insurance, and paid family leave. This information shall include the data points listed in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 100503.9 of the Government Code, and shall be sent in a manner that is encrypted or otherwise complies with government data security best practices, as specified by the California Health Benefit Exchange. The determination of eligibility or entitlement shall include efforts by either the California Health Benefit Exchange or the State Department of Health Care Services to assist those individuals in obtaining that coverage, including informing those individuals potentially eligible for health coverage of the availability of that coverage.
1095. (ar)(4) Upon the request of either the California Health Benefit Exchange or the State Department of Health Care Services, the department shall also provide to the relevant state agency information on new applicants for unemployment insurance, state disability insurance, and paid family leave. They shall at all times request from the department the minimum amount of information necessary from the information listed in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 100503.9 of the Government Code, to accomplish the purposes of Section 100503.9 of the Government Code. The information shall be sent in a manner that is encrypted or otherwise complies with government data security best practices, as specified by the California Health Benefit Exchange. This information shall only be used for the purposes of outreach and marketing.
These amendments to the Unemployment Insurance Code ensure that the restrictions for the amount of data that can be requested and how that data can be used mirror those in the Government Code section of the bill.
The proposed Committee amendments set forth above incorporate provisions requested by Electronic Frontier Foundation and Oakland Privacy, which previously opposed the bill. Both groups have removed their opposition based on these proposed amendments.
7) Related legislation. SB 644 (Leyva, Chap. 983, Stats. 2022) required Covered California, starting no later than September 1, 2023, and at least monthly thereafter, to request from EDD information on each new applicant for unemployment compensation, state disability, and paid family leave. Covered California is required to use this information to market and publicize the availability of health care coverage through Covered California and engage in outreach activities to the individuals whose information was shared. Prior to sharing the information with its marketing and outreach vendors, Covered California is required to obtain consent from the applicants to share their personal information.
SB 260 (Hurtado, Chap. 845, Stats. 2019) required Covered California to enroll an individual or individuals using electronic information from Medi-Cal or the Children’s Health Insurance Program in the lowest cost silver Covered California plan. Required a health plan or insurer to annually notify an individual that when they cease to be enrolled in coverage, their contact information will be provided to Covered California to assist them in obtaining other coverage, or that they may opt out of this transfer of information.
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: Co-sponsors of the bill, Western Center on Law and Poverty, write in support:
California continues to take strides towards universal coverage and SB 595 is part of that solution. This important piece of legislation would ensure unemployed Californians are contacted and enrolled in health care coverage and avoids increasing the uninsured populations, which can become incredibly costly for the state. Without the passage of SB 595, Covered CA and their outreach vendors will be unable to fulfill their outreach duties and we risk leaving thousands of community members throughout the state without quality health care coverage.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
California Pan-Ethnic Health Network (co-sponsor)
Health Access California (co-sponsor)
Western Center on Law & Poverty (co-sponsor)
Bueno Vecino
Central Valley Immigrant Integration Collaborative
Children's Partnership, the
Coalition of California Welfare Rights Organizations
Courage California
Latino Coalition for A Healthy California
Maternal and Child Health Access
Multi Ethnic Collaborative of Community Agencies
National Health Law Program
Small Business Majority
South Asian Network
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by: Julie Salley / P. & C.P. / (916) 319-2200
SENATE HEALTH COMMITTEE Office of Senate Floor Analyses (916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) 327-4478 | SB 595 |
THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 595
Author: Roth (D)
Amended: 4/13/23
Vote: 21
SENATE HEALTH COMMITTEE: 11-0, 3/22/23
AYES: Eggman, Nguyen, Glazer, Gonzalez, Hurtado, Limón, Menjivar, Roth, Rubio, Wahab, Wiener
NO VOTE RECORDED: Grove
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: 10-0, 4/11/23
AYES: Umberg, Wilk, Allen, Ashby, Durazo, Laird, McGuire, Min, Niello, Wiener
NO VOTE RECORDED: Stern
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Senate Rule 28.8
SUBJECT: Covered California: data sharing
SOURCE: California Pan-Ethnic Health Network
Health Access California
Western Center on Law and Poverty
DIGEST:
This bill clarifies that Covered California is only prohibited from disclosing personal information obtained from the Employment Development Department without first obtaining consent of the applicant when disclosure is to a certified insurance agent or a certified enrollment counselor for the purpose of communicating about the availability of health coverage through Covered California. This bill requires a person or entity that receives this personal information take reasonable measures to safeguard the confidentiality of any personal information prohibits use or disclose for any purpose other than to market and publicize the availability of health care coverage through Covered California to individuals, as directed by Covered California.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
- Establishes Covered California as California’s health benefit exchange for individual and small business purchasers as authorized under the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA). [GOV §100500 -100522]
- Establishes a system of unemployment administered by the Employment Development Department (EDD). [UIC §100, et seq.]
- Requires the EDD director to permit the use of any information in the director’s possession to the extent necessary to enable federal, state, or local governmental departments or agencies, to verify or determine the eligibility or entitlement of any applicant for, or a recipient of, public social services, as specified, when the verification or determination is directly connected with, and limited to, the administration of public social services. [UIC §1095]
- Requires Covered California to request information, on at least a monthly basis, from EDD for each new applicant for unemployment compensation, state disability, and paid family leave so that Covered California can communicate with and inform those individuals of available health care coverage options through Covered California and assist those individuals in obtaining health care coverage. [GOV §100503.9]
- Prohibits Covered California from disclosing personal information obtained from EDD without the consent of the applicant. Requires Covered California to at all times take reasonable measures to safeguard the confidentiality of any personal information obtained by EDD and not disclose that information for any purposes other than to market and publicize the availability of health care coverage, and, requires this personal information to at all times be subject to applicable privacy and information security-related requirements arising under federal and state law. [GOV §100503.9]
This bill:
- Clarifies that Covered California is only prohibited from disclosing personal information obtained from EDD without consent of the applicant when disclosing the information to a certified insurance agent or enrollment counselor for the purposes of communicating about the availability of health coverage through Covered California.
- Requires a person or entity that receives personal information from Covered California pursuant to this bill to at all times take reasonable measures to safeguard the confidentiality of any personal information obtained from Covered California and is prohibited from using or disclosing that information for any purpose other than to market and publicize the availability of health care coverage through the Exchange to individuals, as directed by the Exchange.
Comments
Author’s statement. According to the author, access to information regarding health insurance options is one of the primary barriers to achieving universal healthcare coverage in the state, especially as Californians experience transitions in employment and income. Last year, SB 644 (Leyva, Chapter 983, Statutes of 2022) was passed and established a vital partnership between Covered California and EDD for the purpose of conducting direct outreach on affordable healthcare coverage options to community members who applied for unemployment insurance, or other EDD programs. However, after signing SB 644 into law, the Governor called on the Legislature to introduce follow-up legislation to ensure that the provisions of the bill enable timely communication to individuals to reduce burdens of applying for health insurance and to minimize gaps in coverage. This bill will do just that. This bill will ensure greater accessibility to health insurance for Californians, regardless of their employment status.
SB 644. SB 644 required Covered California to request information from the EDD for each applicant for unemployment compensation, state disability, paid family leave, or any other program administered by EDD so that Covered California can communicate with and inform those individuals of available health care coverage options through Covered California and assist those individuals in obtaining health care coverage. SB 644 contained a provision that requires consent of the applicant prior to disclosing applicant information for the purposes of the bill. The Governor’s signing message associated with SB 644 states:
I am signing Senate Bill 644, which enhances partnership between Covered California and the Employment Development Department by enabling Covered California to conduct proactive and targeted outreach to applicants of unemployment insurance and other benefits. In doing so, this legislation provides Californians with important and timely information about affordable health coverage options when they may need it the most.
To ensure Covered California can effectively reach Californians, and to
maximize the important impact SB 644 can have to keep Californians in need
covered, I strongly encourage Covered California and the Legislature to work
together on subsequent legislation next year to ensure that the provisions of the bill enable timely communication to individuals to reduce burdens of applying for health care and minimize gaps in coverage.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: No
SUPPORT: (Verified 4/24/23)
California Pan-Ethnic Health Network (co-source)
Health Access California (co-source)
Western Center on Law and Poverty (co-source)
Coalition of California Welfare Rights Organizations
Courage California
Latino Coalition for a Healthy California
Maternal and Child Health Access
National Health Law Program
Small Business Majority
The Children’s Partnership
OPPOSITION: (Verified 4/24/23)
Electronic Frontier Foundation
Oakland Privacy
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: This bill’s sponsors and proponents write that current statute limits Covered California’s ability to send outreach materials to Californians in need, as it would require the agency’s contracted vendors to obtain individual consent prior to contacting individuals. This bill addS clarifying language that allows Covered California to outreach while protecting individuals from receiving cold calls from insurance agents and enrollment counselors without individual consent. The National Health Law Program writes one of the top hurdles to achieving universal health coverage is making sure Californians are aware of their insurance options, especially as they experience transitions in employment. Last year, SB 644 (Leyva) was passed and established a vital partnership between Covered California and the EDD for the purpose of conducting direct outreach on affordable health coverage options to community members who applied for unemployment insurance or other EDD programs. However, current statute limits Covered California’s ability to send outreach materials to Californians in need, as it would require the agency’s contracted vendors to obtain individual consent prior to contacting individuals. This bill adds clarifying language that allows Covered California to outreach while protecting individuals from receiving cold calls from insurance agents and enrollment counselors who do not have individual consent.
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION: Oakland Privacy writes that unspecified flexibility with personal information that is being forwarded by EDD without the consent of the applicant, who may or may not be interested in securing health insurance via the Exchange, is not consistent with the intent of SB 644. It is also not consistent with fundamental privacy protection practices. The state has a responsibility to only share personal information without consent for specific and narrowly tailored purposes that are clearly defined and not excessively flexible. Oakland Privacy will not be able to move to a neutral position on this bill until the exclusive “everybody but the two parties we mention is allowed” prohibition is changed to an inclusive prohibition that forbids sharing EDD data with all parties but those specifically allowed for the stated outreach purpose and who maintain an enforceable contractual relationship as marketing and outreach vendors with Covered California. The Electronic Frontier Foundation writes rather than make a small, specific carveout, this bill instead removes the prohibition on sharing with any and all parties and replaces it with a specific prohibition of just two certified insurance agents and certified enrollment counselors. We understand the author has amended the bill in response to Oakland Privacy's concerns, and we appreciate his willingness to address these concerns. Unfortunately, the language as written is not sufficient.
Prepared by: Teri Boughton / HEALTH / (916) 651-4111
4/26/23 15:11:53
**** END ****
Senator Thomas Umberg, Chair
2023-2024 Regular Session
Bill No: SB 595 (Author:Roth)
Version: February 15, 2023
Hearing Date: April 11, 2023
Fiscal: Yes
Urgency: No
Consultant: CK
SUBJECT
Covered California: data sharing
DIGEST
This bill narrows the restriction on Covered California’s disclosing personal information received from the Employment Development Department, requiring consent only before disclosing such information to a certified insurance agent or a certified enrollment counselor.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Existing law requires regular sharing of data between the Employment Development Department (EDD) and Covered California. Covered California must request specified information on each new applicant for unemployment compensation, state disability, and paid family leave. This data includes names, contact information, and social security numbers.
The law currently restricts Covered California from disclosing any of the personal information received from EDD to anyone without the consent of the applicant whose information is to be disclosed. The author and sponsors share concerns that this limitation prevents Covered California from sharing this data with their vendors who actually carry out the marketing and outreach envisioned by the data sharing statute.
This bill drastically narrows this restriction so that consent of the applicant is only required before sharing the information with a certified insurance agent or a certified enrollment counselor.
The bill is cosponsored by Western Center on Law and Poverty, California Pan-Ethnic Health Network, and Health Access. It is supported by a number of groups, including Latino Coalition for a Healthy California and Courage California. It is opposed by Oakland Privacy.
PROPOSED CHANGES TO THE LAW
Existing law:
- Provides, pursuant to the California Constitution, that all people are by nature free and independent and have inalienable rights. Among these are enjoying and defending life and liberty, acquiring, possessing, and protecting property, and pursuing and obtaining safety, happiness, and privacy. (Cal. Const. art. I, § 1.)
- Establishes the California Health Benefit Exchange, also known as Covered California, as California’s health benefit exchange for individual and small business purchasers as authorized under the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA). (Gov. Code § 100500 et seq.)
- Requires the director of the Employment Development Department (EDD) to permit the use of any information in the director’s possession to the extent necessary to carry out certain enumerated purposes, including to enable federal, state, or local governmental departments or agencies, to verify or determine the eligibility or entitlement of any applicant for, or a recipient of, public social services, as specified, when the verification or determination is directly connected with, and limited to, the administration of public social services. (Unemp. Ins. Code § 1095.)
- Requires Covered California, starting no later than September 1, 2023, and at least monthly thereafter, to request specified information from EDD of each new applicant for unemployment compensation, state disability, and paid family leave. This includes names, social security numbers, and contact information. (Gov. Code § 100503.9(a).)
- Requires Covered California to use this information to market and publicize the availability of health care coverage through Covered California and engage in outreach activities to the individuals whose information was shared. (Gov. Code § 100503.9(b)(1).)
- Prohibits Covered California from disclosing personal information obtained from EDD without the consent of the applicant. (Gov. Code § 100503.9(b)(3).)
- Requires Covered California to at all times take reasonable measures to safeguard the confidentiality of any personal information obtained by EDD and not disclose that information for any purpose other than to market and publicize the availability of health care coverage through Covered California to the individuals whose information they have received. (Gov. Code § 100503.9(b)(4).)
- Provides that all personal information received from EDD shall at all times be subject to applicable privacy and information security-related requirements arising under federal and state law. (Gov. Code § 100503.9(b)(5).)
This bill allows Covered California to disclose personal information obtained from EDD without the consent of the applicant except to a certified agent or a certified enrollment counselor, subject to other restrictions and applicable federal and state privacy laws.
COMMENTS
- Stated intent of the bill
According to the author:
Access to information regarding health insurance options is one of the primary barriers to achieving universal healthcare coverage in the State, especially as Californians experience transitions in employment and income. Last year, SB 644 (Leyva) was passed and established a vital partnership between Covered California and the Employment Development Department (EDD) for the purpose of conducting direct outreach on affordable healthcare coverage options to community members who applied for unemployment insurance, or other EDD programs. However, after signing SB 644 (Leyva) into law, the Governor called on the Legislature to introduce follow-up legislation to ensure that the provisions of the bill enable timely communication to individuals to reduce burdens of applying for health insurance and to minimize gaps in coverage. SB 595 will do just that. SB 595 will ensure greater accessibility to health insurance for Californians, regardless of their employment status.
- Balancing privacy with greater outreach to populations in need
As authorized by the Affordable Care Act, California established the California Health Benefit Exchange, more commonly known as Covered California, as California’s health benefit exchange for individual and small business purchasers.[1] As stated on its own website:
The Covered California Health Exchange is the government agency offering subsidized Obamacare plans for this state. The California Health Exchange was created to assist citizens and legal residents with applying for marketplace coverage in order to comply with the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”). When the law was passed in 2010, each of the 50 states had to decide to either create a state-run health insurance exchange or offer enrollment through a federally-operated exchange. This state chose to create their own exchange and called it “Covered California”.[2]
Since its creation, Covered California has invested immense resources in marketing and outreach to ensure all that need health care coverage are able to secure it. In fact, they are statutorily obligated to undertake whatever activities are necessary to market and publicize the availability of health care coverage and federal subsidies and to undertake outreach and enrollment activities that seek to assist enrollees and potential enrollees with enrolling and reenrolling in Covered California’s exchange in the least burdensome manner, including populations that may experience barriers to enrollment, such as the disabled and those with limited English language proficiency.[3]
However, a group of nonprofit organizations working to ensure broad access to health care expressed that such efforts could benefit from access to data that would assist Covered California in directly targeting those most likely in need. As jobs and health care insurance in this country are closely linked, oftentimes when one loses their employment their coverage is also lost. While EDD would share information with clients about Covered California, it was only after a claim had been successfully approved.
In 2022, SB 644 (Leyva, Ch. 983, Stats. 2022) sought to address that issue by requiring Covered California, starting no later than September 1, 2023, and at least monthly thereafter, to request from EDD information on each new applicant for unemployment compensation, state disability, and paid family leave. The requested information is extensive:
- last name;
- first name;
- middle initial;
- social security number;
- date of birth;
- race or ethnicity, to the extent available;
- preferred language;
- gender;
- all mailing addresses, including city, state, and zip code;
- all telephone numbers, including home, work, and cellular;
- email address, to the extent available;
- date of most recent job loss, to the extent available;
- wages or prior wages;
- the EDD program for which the applicant filed;
- date the claim was filed;
- claimant eligibility status;
- date initial payment was approved by EDD;
- the weekly benefit amount;
- the benefit period start date; and
- the benefit period end date.[4]
SB 644 requires Covered California to use this information to market and publicize the availability of health care coverage through Covered California and engage in outreach activities to the individuals whose information was shared, consistent with their statutory obligation cited above. (Gov. Code § 100503.9(b)(1).)
While the information exchange serves a noble purpose, privacy concerns always arise when such sensitive data is exchanging hands. Therefore, SB 644 was amended to include various privacy and security protections. First, it included use limitations; Covered California is prohibited from using or disclosing the information for “any purpose other than to market and publicize the availability of health care coverage through the Exchange.” Secondly, the statute establishes an obligation on Covered California to take reasonable measures to safeguard the confidentiality of any personal information obtained. The law also states that the personal information received is “subject to applicable privacy and information security-related requirements arising under federal and state law.” However, it is not clear what function this provision serves, as applicable laws apply without it.
Finally, and most relevant here, SB 644 prohibited Covered California from disclosing personal information obtained from EDD without the consent of the applicant. This ensures applicants have some measure of control over their information. It is this latter protection that this bill seeks to loosen.
This bill allows Covered California to disclose personal information obtained from EDD without the consent of the applicant except to a certified agent or a certified enrollment counselor, subject to other restrictions and applicable federal and state privacy laws. The sponsors of the bill, Western Center on Law and Poverty, California Pan-Ethnic Health Network, and Health Access, explain the need for the change:
[C]urrent statute limits Covered California’s ability to send outreach materials to Californians in need, as it would require the agency’s trusted, contract vendors to obtain individual consent prior to contacting individuals.
SB 595 would add clarifying language that allows Covered California to engage in outreach activities while protecting individuals from receiving cold calls from insurance agents and enrollment counselors without individual consent. This simple fix would allow Covered CA to connect with and enroll consumers in health care coverage while protecting consumer privacy under both state and federal law. Without the passage of SB 595, the agency will be unable to share health care options with Californians who have experienced unemployment or reduced work hours when they need it most.
While this change allows for increased disclosure of sensitive personal information, there are clear countervailing public policy benefits. In addition, the other protections of the statute continue to apply. Namely, Covered California continues to be prohibited from using or disclosing the information, with or without consent, for any purpose other than carrying out their statutory duty to market and publicize the availability of health care coverage. However, to ensure that the obligations to secure this data and that limit the permissible uses of the data, the author has agreed to amend the bill to ensure that any parties to whom this personal information is disclosed, are also bound by these privacy-protective provisions:
Amendment
“A person or entity that receives personal information from the Exchange pursuant to this section shall at all times take reasonable measures to safeguard the confidentiality of any personal information obtained from the Exchange and shall at no time use or disclose that information for any purpose other than to market and publicize the availability of health care coverage through the Exchange to individuals, as directed by the Exchange.”
Writing in an oppose-unless-amended position, Oakland Privacy raises concerns about what this change in the law opens up: “Under the language currently proposed, the Exchange would be free to share personal information received from EDD with any party who is not a certified insurance agent or a certified enrolled counselor, as long as the stated reason for the sharing has something to do with marketing and publicity.” Oakland Privacy argues this opens up data sharing beyond the ostensible reason provided for the loosened protection:
Unspecified flexibility with personal information that is being forwarded by the Employment Development Department without the consent of the applicant, who may or may not be interested in securing health insurance via the Exchange, is not consistent with the intent of SB 644. It is also not consistent with fundamental privacy protection practices. The state has a responsibility to only share personal information without consent for specific and narrowly tailored purposes that are clearly defined and not excessively flexible.
SUPPORT
California Pan-Ethnic Health Network Org (co-sponsor)
Health Access California (co-sponsor)
Western Center on Law & Poverty (co-sponsor)
Coalition of California Welfare Rights Organizations
Courage California
Latino Coalition for a Healthy California
Maternal and Child Health Access
National Health Law Program
Small Business Majority
The Children's Partnership
OPPOSITION
Oakland Privacy
RELATED LEGISLATION
Pending Legislation: None known.
Prior Legislation: SB 644 (Leyva, Ch. 983, Stats. 2022) See Comment 2.
PRIOR VOTES:
Senate Health Committee (Ayes 11, Noes 0)
**************
Gov. Code § 100500 et seq. ↑
What is Covered California?, Covered California, https://www.healthforcalifornia.com/covered-california?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIt5bN6v30_QIVOy6tBh3bUQD_EAAYASAAEgIiKvD_BwE. All internet citations current as of April 1, 2023. ↑
Gov. Code § 100503(k). ↑
Gov. Code § 100503.9(a). ↑
SENATE COMMITTEE ON HEALTH
Senator Dr. Susan Talamantes Eggman, Chair
BILL NO: SB 595
AUTHOR: | Roth | ||
VERSION: | February 15, 2023 | ||
HEARING DATE: | March 22, 2023 | ||
CONSULTANT: | Teri Boughton | ||
SUBJECT: Covered California: data sharing
SUMMARY:
- Clarifies that Covered California is only prohibited from disclosing personal information obtained from the Employment Development Department without first obtaining consent of the applicant when disclosure is to a certified insurance agent or a certified enrollment counselor for the purpose of communicating about the availability of health coverage through Covered California.
Existing law:
- Establishes Covered California as California’s health benefit exchange for individual and small business purchasers as authorized under the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA). [GOV §100500 -100522]
- Establishes a system of unemployment administered by the Employment Development Department (EDD). [UIC §100, et seq.]
- Requires the EDD director to permit the use of any information in the director’s possession to the extent necessary to enable federal, state, or local governmental departments or agencies, to verify or determine the eligibility or entitlement of any applicant for, or a recipient of, public social services, as specified, when the verification or determination is directly connected with, and limited to, the administration of public social services. [UIC §1095]
- Requires Covered California to request information, on at least a monthly basis, from EDD for each new applicant for unemployment compensation, state disability, and paid family leave so that Covered California can communicate with and inform those individuals of available health care coverage options through Covered California and assist those individuals in obtaining health care coverage. [GOV §100503.9]
- Prohibits Covered California from disclosing personal information obtained from EDD without the consent of the applicant. Requires Covered California to at all times take reasonable measures to safeguard the confidentiality of any personal information obtained by EDD and not disclose that information for any purposes other than to market and publicize the availability of health care coverage, and, requires this personal information to at all times be subject to applicable privacy and information security-related requirements arising under federal and state law. [GOV §100503.9]
This bill clarifies that Covered California is only prohibited from disclosing personal information obtained from EDD without consent of the applicant when disclosing the information to a certified insurance agent or enrollment counselor for the purposes of communicating about the availability of health coverage through Covered California.
FISCAL EFFECT:
This bill has not been analyzed by a fiscal committee.
COMMENTS:
- Author’s statement. According to the author, access to information regarding health insurance options is one of the primary barriers to achieving universal healthcare coverage in the state, especially as Californians experience transitions in employment and income. Last year, SB 644 (Leyva, Chapter 983, Statutes of 2022) was passed and established a vital partnership between Covered California and EDD for the purpose of conducting direct outreach on affordable healthcare coverage options to community members who applied for unemployment insurance, or other EDD programs. However, after signing SB 644 into law, the Governor called on the Legislature to introduce follow-up legislation to ensure that the provisions of the bill enable timely communication to individuals to reduce burdens of applying for health insurance and to minimize gaps in coverage. This bill will do just that. This bill will ensure greater accessibility to health insurance for Californians, regardless of their employment status.
- Double referral. This bill has been double referred and will be referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee should it pass out of this committee.
- Prior legislation. SB 644 requires Covered California to request information from the EDD for each applicant for unemployment compensation, state disability, paid family leave, or any other program administered by EDD so that Covered California can communicate with and inform those individuals of available health care coverage options through Covered California and assist those individuals in obtaining health care coverage. SB 644 contains a provision that requires consent of the applicant prior to disclosing applicant information for the purposes of the bill. The Governor’s signing message associated with SB 644 states:
I am signing Senate Bill 644, which enhances partnership between Covered
California and the Employment Development Department by enabling Covered
California to conduct proactive and targeted outreach to applicants of
unemployment insurance and other benefits. In doing so, this legislation provides
Californians with important and timely information about affordable health
coverage options when they may need it the most.
To ensure Covered California can effectively reach Californians, and to
maximize the important impact SB 644 can have to keep Californians in need
covered, I strongly encourage Covered California and the Legislature to work
together on subsequent legislation next year to ensure that the provisions of the
bill enable timely communication to individuals to reduce burdens of applying
for health care and minimize gaps in coverage.
- Support. The bill’s sponsors and proponents write that current statute limits Covered California’s ability to send outreach materials to Californians in need, as it would require the agency’s contracted vendors to obtain individual consent prior to contacting individuals. This bill would add clarifying language that allows Covered California to outreach while protecting individuals from receiving cold calls from insurance agents and enrollment counselors without individual consent.
SUPPORT AND OPPOSITION:
Support: Health Access California (cosponsor)
California Pan-Ethnic Health Network (cosponsor)
Western Center on Law and Poverty (cosponsor)
Coalition of California Welfare Rights Organizations
Courage California
Latino Coalition for a Healthy California
National Health Law Program
The Children’s Partnership
Oppose: None received
-- END --
Discussed in Hearing
6MIN
Assembly Standing Committee on Privacy and Consumer Protection
1MIN
Senate Floor
8MIN
Senate Standing Committee on Judiciary
Bill Author
Bill Co-Author(s):