BILL NUMBER: SB 748 ENROLLED
BILL TEXT
PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 31, 2009
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 24, 2009
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JULY 16, 2009
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JULY 13, 2009
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 28, 2009
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 15, 2009
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 1, 2009
INTRODUCED BY Senator Leno
FEBRUARY 27, 2009
An act to add Section 14029.5 to the Penal Code, relating to
witness relocation and assistance.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 748, Leno. Witness Relocation and Assistance Program: address
records.
Existing law establishes the Witness Relocation and Assistance
Program.
This bill would provide that no person, state or local public
agency, or private entity shall post the home address, the telephone
number, or personal identifying information that discloses the
location of any witness or witness family member participating in the
Witness Relocation and Assistance Program (WRAP) with the intent
that another person imminently use that information to commit a crime
involving violence or a threat of violence against that witness or
witness' family member, and that a violation of these provisions
would be a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $2,500, or up to
6 months in a county jail, or by both that fine and imprisonment.
The bill would also provide that a violation that leads to the bodily
injury of the witness, or the witness' family members who are
participating in the program, is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine
of up to $5,000, or up to one year in a county jail, or by both that
fine and imprisonment. The bill would authorize participants in the
program to submit opt-out forms to Internet search engine providers
to notify those providers of the participants, and to prevent
inclusion of the participants' addresses and telephone numbers in
public Internet search databases, as specified. The bill would
require a business, state or local agency, private entity, or person
to remove the home address or telephone number of a WRAP participant
from its public Internet search databases within two business days of
delivery of the opt-out form, and to ensure the information is not
reposted on the same Internet Web site, a subsidiary site, or any
other Internet Web site maintained by the recipient of the opt-out
form, and would subject a violator of this provision to a $5,000
civil fine, as specified. The bill would authorize a witness whose
home address or telephone number is made public as a result of a
violation, as specified, to bring an action seeking injunctive or
declaratory relief. The bill would further provide that no business,
state or local agency, private entity, or person that has received an
opt-out form from a WRAP participant shall solicit, sell, or trade
on the Internet the home address or telephone number of that
participant, and would authorize an action for damages, as specified,
for a violation of this prohibition.
By creating new crimes, this bill would impose a state-mandated
local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 14029.5 is added to the Penal Code, to read:
14029.5. (a) (1) No person or private entity shall post on the
Internet the home address, the telephone number, or personal
identifying information that discloses the location of any witness or
witness' family member participating in the Witness Relocation and
Assistance Program (WRAP) with the intent that another person
imminently use that information to commit a crime involving violence
or a threat of violence against that witness or witness' family
member.
(2) A violation of this subdivision is a misdemeanor punishable by
a fine of up to two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500), or
imprisonment of up to six months in a county jail, or by both that
fine and imprisonment.
(3) A violation of this subdivision that leads to the bodily
injury of the witness, or of any of the witness' family members who
are participating in the program, is a misdemeanor punishable by a
fine of up to five thousand dollars ($5,000), or imprisonment of up
to one year in a county jail, or by both that fine and imprisonment.
(b) Upon admission to WRAP, local or state prosecutors shall give
each participant a written opt-out form for submission to relevant
Internet search engine companies or entities. This form shall notify
entities of the protected person and prevent the inclusion of the
participant's addresses and telephone numbers in public Internet
search databases.
(c) A business, state or local agency, private entity, or person
that receives the opt-out form of a WRAP participant pursuant to this
paragraph shall remove the participant's personal information from
public display on the Internet within two business days of delivery
of the opt-out form, and shall continue to ensure that this
information is not reposted on the same Internet Web site, a
subsidiary site, or any other Internet Web site maintained by the
recipient of the opt-out form. No business, state or local agency,
private entity, or person that has received an opt-out form from a
WRAP participant shall solicit, sell, or trade on the Internet the
home address or telephone number of that participant.
(d) A business, state or local agency, private entity, or person
that violates subdivision (c) shall be subject to a civil penalty for
each violation in the amount of five thousand dollars ($5,000). An
action for a civil penalty under this subdivision may be brought by
any public prosecutor in the name of the people of the State of
California and the penalty imposed shall be enforceable as a civil
judgment.
(e) A witness whose home address or telephone number is made
public as a result of a violation of subdivision (c) may bring an
action seeking injunctive or declaratory relief in any court of
competent jurisdiction. If a jury or court finds that a violation has
occurred, it may grant injunctive or declaratory relief and shall
award the witness court costs and reasonable attorney's fees.
(f) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a witness whose
home address or telephone number is solicited, sold, or traded in
violation of subdivision (c) may bring an action in any court of
competent jurisdiction. If a jury or court finds that a violation has
occurred, it shall award damages to that witness in an amount up to
a maximum of three times the actual damages, but in no case less than
four thousand dollars ($4,000).
(g) Nothing in this section shall preclude prosecution under any
other provision of law.
SEC. 2. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the
Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the
meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.