1800. (a) The department shall file each application received for
the registration of a vehicle and shall keep a record of each vehicle
registered in suitable books, or on index cards as follows:
(1) Under a distinctive registration number assigned to the
vehicle.
(2) Alphabetically, under the name of the owner.
(3) Under the motor or a permanent identifying number of the
vehicle as may be determined by the department.
(4) In the discretion of the department, in any other manner it
may deem desirable.
(b) The department shall file every application for a license to
operate a motor vehicle received by it and maintain:
(1) A suitable index containing, in alphabetical order, all
applications denied. On the applications shall be noted the reasons
for such denial.
(2) A suitable index containing, in alphabetical order, all
applications granted.
(3) A suitable index containing, in alphabetical order, the name
of every licensee whose license has been suspended or revoked by the
department or by a court and after each name note the reasons for the
action and the period of revocation or suspension.
1801. (a) Whenever any notice, report, statement, court abstract,
or record is required to be submitted to the department by this code,
the document may be submitted to the department by electronic
transmission or other means approved by the department.
(b) All records maintained by the department may be stored in any
feasible manner, including, but not limited to, any electronic media
or any other form of data compilation.
(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the records shall
be deemed original documents and shall be admissible in evidence in
all administrative, quasi-judicial, and judicial proceedings.
1801.1. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the
department may allow a person to submit any document required to be
submitted to the department by using electronic media deemed feasible
by the department instead of requiring the actual submittal of the
original document.
(b) If a signature on a document is required by law in order to
complete a transaction, that requirement may be waived by the
department for an electronically submitted document when supported by
a signed agreement between the department and the submitter. The
agreement shall require, at a minimum, each document to include all
information necessary to complete the transaction, certification by
the submitter as to the truthfulness of all data to be transmitted to
the department, and retention of supporting records by the
submitter.
(c) The department may establish minimum transaction volume
levels, audit and security standards, and technological requirements,
or terms and conditions it deems necessary for the approval of this
process.
(d) An electronically submitted document, once accepted by the
department, shall be deemed the same as an original document, and
shall be admissible in all administrative, quasi-judicial, and
judicial proceedings.
1802. Every judge of a court not of record shall keep a full record
of every case in which a person is charged with any violation of
this code.
1803. (a) Every clerk of a court in which a person was convicted of
any violation of this code, was convicted of any violation of
subdivision (a), (b), (c), (d), (e), or (f) of Section 655 of the
Harbors and Navigation Code pertaining to a mechanically propelled
vessel but not to manipulating any water skis, an aquaplane, or
similar device, was convicted of any violation of Section 655.2,
655.6, 658, or 658.5 of the Harbors and Navigation Code, or any
violation of Section 191.5 of the Penal Code when the conviction
resulted from the operation of a vessel, was convicted of any offense
involving use or possession of controlled substances under Division
10 (commencing with Section 11000) of the Health and Safety Code, was
convicted of any felony offense when a commercial motor vehicle, as
defined in subdivision (b) of Section 15210, was involved in or
incidental to the commission of the offense, or was convicted of any
violation of any other statute relating to the safe operation of
vehicles, shall prepare within 10 days after conviction and
immediately forward to the department at its office at Sacramento an
abstract of the record of the court covering the case in which the
person was so convicted. If sentencing is not pronounced in
conjunction with the conviction, the abstract shall be forwarded to
the department within 10 days after sentencing and the abstract shall
be certified by the person so required to prepare it to be true and
correct.
For the purposes of this section, a forfeiture of bail shall be
equivalent to a conviction.
(b) The following violations are not required to be reported under
subdivision (a):
(1) Division 3.5 (commencing with Section 9840).
(2) Section 21113, with respect to parking violations.
(3) Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 22500) of Division 11,
except Section 22526.
(4) Division 12 (commencing with Section 24000), except Sections
24002, 24004, 24250, 24409, 24604, 24800, 25103, 26707, 27151, 27315,
27360, 27800, and 27801 and Chapter 3 (commencing with Section
26301).
(5) Division 15 (commencing with Section 35000), except Chapter 5
(commencing with Section 35550).
(6) Violations for which a person was cited as a pedestrian or
while operating a bicycle or a motorized scooter.
(7) Division 16.5 (commencing with Section 38000).
(8) Subdivision (b) of Section 23221, subdivision (b) of Section
23223, subdivision (b) of Section 23225, and subdivision (b) of
Section 23226.
(c) If the court impounds a license, or orders a person to limit
his or her driving pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of
Section 23538, subdivision (b) of Section 23542, subdivision (b) of
Section 23562, or subdivision (d) of Section 40508, the court shall
notify the department concerning the impoundment or limitation on an
abstract prepared pursuant to subdivision (a) of this section or on a
separate abstract, which shall be prepared within 10 days after the
impoundment or limitation was ordered and immediately forwarded to
the department at its office in Sacramento.
(d) If the court determines that a prior judgment of conviction of
a violation of Section 23152 or 23153 is valid or is invalid on
constitutional grounds pursuant to Section 41403, the clerk of the
court in which the determination is made shall prepare an abstract of
that determination and forward it to the department in the same
manner as an abstract of record pursuant to subdivision (a).
(e) Within 10 days of an order terminating or revoking probation
under Section 23602, the clerk of the court in which the order
terminating or revoking probation was entered shall prepare and
immediately forward to the department at its office in Sacramento an
abstract of the record of the court order terminating or revoking
probation and any other order of the court to the department required
by law.
1803.3. (a) The clerk, or judge if there is no clerk, of any court
which reverses a conviction for an offense described in subdivision
(a) of Section 1803, which is not exempted under subdivision (b) of
that section, shall prepare and forward to the department at its
office in Sacramento an abstract of the record of the court covering
the case in which the conviction was reversed. In addition, if a
court dismisses a charge of a violation of Section 40508 for which a
notice was given to the department pursuant to Section 40509 or
40509.5, the court shall notify the department of the dismissal.
(b) The abstract shall be forwarded within 30 days of the date the
judgment of reversal becomes final. The notice of dismissal shall
be given to the department not later than 30 days after the
dismissal. Within 30 days of receiving the abstract or notice, the
department shall remove any record of that conviction, or notice
received pursuant to Section 40509 or 40509.5, from the driver's
record.
(c) As used in this section, "reverse" includes any action by
which a conviction is nullified or set aside.
1803.4. Any record regarding the providing of information pursuant
to Section 13106, or record of persons personally given notice by the
department or a court, by a peace officer pursuant to Section 13382
or 13388, or otherwise pursuant to this code regarding the suspension
or revocation of a person's privilege to operate a motor vehicle
shall, upon request, be provided as follows:
(a) Immediately to any peace officer, as defined in Chapter 4.5
(commencing with Section 830) of Title 3 of Part 2 of the Penal Code,
acting within the scope of his or her duties.
(b) Clearly stated on the record provided to any court of this
state.
1803.5. Every clerk of a court or hearing officer, when a person
who receives a notice to appear at a court or board proceeding for a
violation of any statute relating to the safe operation of vehicles
is granted a continuance of the proceeding in consideration for
attendance at a school for traffic violators, a licensed driving
school, or any other court-approved program of driving instruction,
and which results in a dismissal of the complaint in consideration
for that attendance, shall prepare an abstract of the record of the
court or board proceeding, certify the abstract to be true and
correct, and cause the abstract to be forwarded to the department at
its office at Sacramento within 10 days after the complaint is
dismissed.
1804. (a) The abstract shall be made upon a form furnished or
approved by the department and shall contain all necessary
information to identify the defendant, including, but not limited to,
the person's driver's license number, name, and date of birth, the
date and nature of the offense, the vessel number, if any, of the
vessel involved in the offense, the license plate number of the
vehicle involved in the offense, the date of hearing, and the
judgment, except that in the case of infractions where the court has
not directed the department to suspend or restrict the defendant's
driver's license, only the conviction and not the judgment need be
set forth in the abstract. The abstract shall also indicate whether
the vehicle involved in the offense is a commercial motor vehicle, as
defined in subdivision (b) of Section 15210, whether the vehicle was
of a type requiring the driver to have a certificate issued pursuant
to Section 2512, 12517, 12519, 12523, or 12523.5 or any endorsement
issued pursuant to paragraph (2) or (4) of subdivision (a) of Section
15278, and whether the vehicle was transporting hazardous material
at the time of the offense, or whether the vessel involved in the
offense was a recreational vessel, as defined in subdivision (bb) of
Section 651 of the Harbors and Navigation Code.
(b) As to any abstract for which the original arrest and final
conviction was for a violation of subdivision (b), (c), (d), (e), or
(f) of Section 655 of the Harbors and Navigation Code or Section
23152 or 23153 of this code, the abstract shall contain a statement
indicating the percentage of alcohol, by weight, in the person's
blood whenever that percentage was determined by a chemical test.
The information regarding the chemical test shall be compiled if it
is available to the clerk of the court. All information required to
be compiled pursuant to this subdivision shall be kept confidential
in the records of the department pursuant to Section 1808.5. The
department may use the information for research and statistical
purposes and for determining the eligibility of any person to operate
a motor vehicle on the highways of this state. The information
shall not be released to any other public or private agency, except
for research and statistical summary purposes and, for those
purposes, the name and address of the person and any other
identifying information shall not be disclosed.
(c) The Legislature finds and declares that blood-alcohol
percentages have valuable research potential in providing statistical
summary information on impaired drivers but that a specific
blood-alcohol percentage is only an item of evidence for purposes of
criminal and licensing sanctions imposed by law. The Legislature
recognizes that the accuracy of the determination of a specific
blood-alcohol percentage is not the critical determination in a
conviction for driving under the influence of an alcoholic beverage
if the blood-alcohol percentage exceeds the statutory amount.
1805. The failure, refusal, or neglect of any such judicial officer
to comply with any of the requirements of Sections 1802, 1803, 1804
and 1816 is misconduct in office and is ground for removal therefrom.
1806. (a) The department shall file all accident reports and
abstracts of court records of convictions received under this code,
and in connection therewith, shall maintain convenient records or
make suitable notations in order that an individual record of each
license showing the convictions of the licensee and all traffic
accidents in which the individual was involved, except those where,
in the opinion of a reporting officer, another individual was at
fault, are readily ascertainable. At its discretion the department
may file and maintain these accident reports and abstracts by
electronic recording and storage media and after transcribing
electronically all available data from the accident reports and
abstracts of conviction may destroy the original documents.
Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, the recorded facts from
any electronic recording and storage device maintained by the
department shall constitute evidence of the facts in any
administrative actions instituted by the department.
(b) When the department receives notification pursuant to
subdivision (c) of Section 1872.45 of the Insurance Code, the
department shall remove from the license record of each victim any
record of his or her involvement in the accident which is the subject
of the criminal complaint.
1806.1. If a person has entered into a stipulated vehicle release
agreement pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (d) of Section
14607.6, the department shall maintain a record of that fact for
seven years from the date the person signed the agreement.
1806.5. Notwithstanding Section 1808, the department shall not
furnish information filed pursuant to Section 1806 to any person if
the furnishing of that information would violate the federal Fair
Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. Sec. 1681 et seq.).
1807. The department is not required to maintain records relating
to drivers of motor vehicles after the records are, in the opinion of
the director, no longer necessary, except that records of
convictions shall be maintained so long as they may form the basis of
license suspensions or revocations as prior convictions or with
other records of conviction constitute a person a "negligent driver."
Records which are not required to be maintained may be destroyed
with the approval of the Department of General Services.
1807.5. (a) Notwithstanding Section 1808, any record of the
department of a conviction of Section 23103 as specified in Section
23103.5, or of a conviction of Section 23152 or 23153 which occurred
before January 1, 1987, is not a public record on and after a date
which is five years after the date of conviction of that offense, and
the department shall, thereafter, make any information relating to
that conviction available only to persons authorized by law to
receive the information.
(b) For the purposes of this section, "persons authorized by law
to receive the information" means any of the following:
(1) The courts of the state.
(2) Peace officers, as defined in Section 830.1 of the Penal Code;
subdivision (a) of Section 830.2 of the Penal Code; subdivisions
(a), (b), and (j) of Section 830.3 of the Penal Code; and
subdivisions (a), (b), and (c) of Section 830.5 of the Penal Code.
(3) The Attorney General.
(4) District attorneys of any county within the state.
(5) Prosecuting city attorneys of any city within the state.
(6) Probation officers of any city or county of the state.
(7) Parole officers of any city or county of the state.
1808. (a) Except where a specific provision of law prohibits the
disclosure of records or information or provides for confidentiality,
all records of the department relating to the registration of
vehicles, other information contained on an application for a driver'
s license, abstracts of convictions, and abstracts of accident
reports required to be sent to the department in Sacramento, except
for abstracts of accidents where, in the opinion of a reporting
officer, another individual was at fault, shall be open to public
inspection during office hours. All abstracts of accident reports
shall be available to law enforcement agencies and courts of
competent jurisdiction.
(b) The department shall make available or disclose abstracts of
convictions and abstracts of accident reports required to be sent to
the department in Sacramento, as described in subdivision (a), if the
date of the occurrence is not later than the following:
(1) Seven years for any violation designated as two points
pursuant to Section 12810.
(2) Three years for accidents and all other violations.
(c) The department shall make available or disclose suspensions
and revocations of the driving privilege while the suspension or
revocation is in effect and for three years following termination of
the action or reinstatement of the privilege, except that driver's
license suspension actions taken pursuant to Sections 13202.6 and
13202.7, or Section 256 or 11350.6 of the Welfare and Institutions
Code shall be disclosed only during the actual time period in which
the suspension is in effect.
(d) The department shall not make available or disclose any
suspension or revocation that has been judicially set aside or
stayed.
(e) The department shall not make available or disclose personal
information about any person unless the disclosure is in compliance
with the Driver's Privacy Protection Act of 1994 (18 U.S.C. Sec. 2721
et seq.). However, any disclosure is subject to the prohibition in
paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 12800.5.
(f) The department shall make available or disclose to the courts
and law enforcement agencies any conviction of Section 23152, 23153,
or paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) of Section 192 of the Penal Code,
punished as a felony for a period of 10 years from the date of the
offense for the purpose of imposing penalties mandated by Section
23550.5, or by any other applicable provisions of California law.
(g) The department shall make available or disclose to the courts
and law enforcement agencies any conviction of Section 191.5, or
paragraph (3) of subdivision (c) of Section 192 of the Penal Code,
punished as a felony, for the purpose of imposing penalties mandated
by Section 23550.5, or by any other applicable provisions of
California law.
1808.1. (a) The prospective employer of a driver who drives any
vehicle specified in subdivision (k) shall obtain a report showing
the driver's current public record as recorded by the department.
For purposes of this subdivision, a report is current if it was
issued less than 30 days prior to the date the employer employs the
driver. The report shall be reviewed, signed, and dated by the
employer and maintained at the employer's place of business until
receipt of the pull-notice system report pursuant to subdivisions (b)
and (c). These reports shall be presented upon request to any
authorized representative of the Department of the California Highway
Patrol during regular business hours.
(b) The employer of a driver who drives any vehicle specified in
subdivision (k) shall participate in a pull-notice system, which is a
process for the purpose of providing the employer with a report
showing the driver's current public record as recorded by the
department, and any subsequent convictions, failures to appear,
accidents, driver's license suspensions, driver's license
revocations, or any other actions taken against the driving privilege
or certificate, added to the driver's record while the employer's
notification request remains valid and uncanceled. As used in this
section, participation in the pull-notice system means obtaining a
requester code and enrolling all employed drivers who drive any
vehicle specified in subdivision (k) under that requester code.
(c) The employer of a driver of any vehicle specified in
subdivision (k) shall, additionally, obtain a periodic report from
the department at least every 12 months. The employer shall verify
that each employee's driver's license has not been suspended or
revoked, the employee's traffic violation point count, and whether
the employee has been convicted of a violation of Section 23152 or
23153. The report shall be signed and dated by the employer and
maintained at the employer's principal place of business. The
reports shall be presented upon demand to any authorized
representative of the Department of the California Highway Patrol
during regular business hours.
(d) Upon the termination of a driver's employment, the employer
shall notify the department to discontinue the driver's enrollment in
the pull-notice system.
(e) For the purposes of the pull-notice system and periodic report
process required by subdivisions (b) and (c), owners, other than
owner-operators as defined in Section 34624, and employers who drive
vehicles described in subdivision (k) shall be enrolled as if they
were employees. Family members and volunteer drivers who drive
vehicles described in subdivision (k) shall also be enrolled as if
they were employees.
(f) An employer who, after receiving any driving record pursuant
to this section, employs or continues to employ as a driver any
person against whom a disqualifying action has been taken regarding
his or her driving privilege or required driver's certificate, is
guilty of a public offense, and upon conviction thereof, shall be
punished by confinement in a county jail for not more than six
months, by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000), or
by both that confinement and fine.
(g) As part of its inspection of bus maintenance facilities and
terminals required at least once every 13 months pursuant to
subdivision (c) of Section 34501, the Department of the California
Highway Patrol shall determine whether each transit operator, as
defined in Section 99210 of the Public Utilities Code, is then in
compliance with this section and Section 12804.6, and shall certify
each operator found to be in compliance. No funds shall be allocated
under Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 99200) of Part 11 of
Division 10 of the Public Utilities Code to a transit operator which
the Department of the California Highway Patrol has not certified
under this section.
(h) A request to participate in the pull-notice system established
by this section shall be accompanied by a fee determined by the
department to be sufficient to defray the entire actual cost to the
department for the notification service. For the receipt of
subsequent reports, the employer shall also be charged a fee
established by the department pursuant to Section 1811. Any employer
who qualifies under Section 1812 shall be exempt from any fee
required under this section. Failure to pay the fee shall result in
automatic cancellation of the employer's participation in the
notification services.
(i) The department, as soon as feasible, may establish an
automatic procedure to provide the periodic reports to employers by
mail or via an electronic delivery method, as required by subdivision
(c), on a regular basis without the need for individual requests.
(j) (1) The employer of a driver who is employed as a casual
driver is not required to enter that driver's name in the pull-notice
system, as otherwise required by subdivision (a). However, the
employer of a casual driver shall be in possession of a report of the
driver's current public record as recorded by the department, prior
to allowing a casual driver to drive any vehicle specified in
subdivision (k). A report is current if it was issued less than six
months prior to the date the employer employs the driver.
(2) For the purposes of this subdivision, a driver is employed as
a casual driver when the employer has employed the driver less than
30 days during the preceding six months. "Casual driver" does not
include any driver who operates a vehicle that requires a passenger
transportation endorsement.
(k) This section applies to any vehicle for the operation of which
the driver is required to have a class 1, class 2, class A, or class
B driver's license, a class C license with a hazardous materials
endorsement, a class C license issued pursuant to Section 12814.7, or
a certificate issued pursuant to Section 12512, 12517, 12519, 12520,
12523, or 12523.5, or any passenger vehicle having a seating
capacity of not more than 10 persons, including the driver, operated
for compensation by a charter-party carrier of passengers or
passenger stage corporation pursuant to a certificate of public
convenience and necessity or a permit issued by the Public Utilities
Commission.
(l) This section shall not be construed to change the definition
of "employer," "employee," or "independent contractor" for any
purpose.
(m) A motor carrier who contracts with any person to drive any
vehicle described in subdivision (k) which is owned by, or leased to,
that motor carrier, shall be subject to subdivisions (a), (b), (c),
(d), (f), (j), (k), and (l) and the employer obligations therein.
1808.2. In addition to those specified in Section 1808.4, the home
address of any inspector or investigator regularly employed and paid
as such in the office of a district attorney or any peace officer
employee of the Board of Prison Terms appearing in any record of the
department is confidential.
1808.21. (a) Any residence address in any record of the department
is confidential and shall not be disclosed to any person, except a
court, law enforcement agency, or other government agency, or as
authorized in Section 1808.22 or 1808.23.
(b) Release of any mailing address or part thereof in any record
of the department may be restricted to a release for purposes related
to the reasons for which the information was collected, including,
but not limited to, the assessment of driver risk, or ownership of
vehicles or vessels. This restriction does not apply to a release to
a court, a law enforcement agency, or other governmental agency, or
a person who has been issued a requester code pursuant to Section
1810.2.
(c) Any person providing the department with a mailing address
shall declare, under penalty of perjury, that the mailing address is
a valid, existing, and accurate mailing address and shall consent to
receive service of process pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section
415.20, subdivision (a) of Section 415.30, and Section 416.90 of the
Code of Civil Procedure at the mailing address.
(d) (1) Any registration or driver's license record of a person
may be suppressed from any other person, except those persons
specified in subdivision (a), if the person requesting the
suppression submits verification acceptable to the department that he
or she has reasonable cause to believe either of the following:
(A) That he or she is the subject of stalking, as specified in
Section 1708.7 of the Civil Code or Section 646.9 of the Penal Code.
(B) That there exists a threat of death or great bodily injury to
his or her person, as defined in Section 12022.7 of the Penal Code.
(2) Upon suppression of a record, each request for information
about that record shall be authorized by the subject of the record or
verified as legitimate by other investigative means by the
department before the information is released.
(e) Suppression of a record pursuant to subdivision (d) shall
occur for one year after approval by the department. Not less than
60 days prior to the date the suppression of the record would
otherwise expire, the department shall notify the subject of the
record of its impending expiration. The suppression may be continued
for two additional periods of one year each if a letter is submitted
to the department stating that the person continues to have a
reasonable cause to believe that he or she is the subject of stalking
or that there exists a threat of death or great bodily injury as
described in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (d).
The suppression may be additionally continued at the end of the
second one-year period by submitting verification acceptable to the
department. The notification described in this subdivision shall
instruct the person of the method to reapply for record suppression.
(f) For the purposes of subdivisions (d) and (e), "verification
acceptable to the department" means recent police reports, court
documentation, or other documentation from a law enforcement agency.
1808.22. (a) Section 1808.21 does not apply to a financial
institution licensed by the state or federal government to do
business in the State of California which states under penalty of
perjury that it has obtained a written waiver of Section 1808.21
signed by the individual whose address is requested, or to providing
the address of any person who has entered into an agreement held by
that institution prior to July 1, 1990, so long as that agreement
remains in effect.
(b) Section 1808.21 does not apply to an insurance company
licensed to do business in California when the company, under penalty
of perjury, requests the information for the purpose of obtaining
the address of another motorist or vehicle owner involved in an
accident with their insured, or requests the information on an
individual who has signed a written waiver of Section 1808.21 or the
individuals insured under a policy if a named insured of that policy
has signed a written waiver.
(c) Section 1808.21 does not apply to an attorney when the
attorney states, under penalty of perjury, that the motor vehicle or
vessel registered owner or driver residential address information is
necessary in order to represent his or her client in a criminal or
civil action which directly involves the use of the motor vehicle or
vessel that is pending, is to be filed, or is being investigated.
Information requested pursuant to this subdivision is subject to all
of the following:
(1) The attorney shall state that the criminal or civil action
that is pending, is to be filed, or is being investigated relates
directly to the use of that motor vehicle or vessel.
(2) The case number, if any, or the names of expected parties to
the extent they are known to the attorney requesting the information,
shall be listed on the request.
(3) A residence address obtained from the department shall not be
used for any purpose other than in furtherance of the case cited or
action to be filed or which is being investigated.
(4) If no action is filed within a reasonable time, the residence
address information shall be destroyed.
(5) No attorney shall request residence address information
pursuant to this subdivision in order to sell the information to any
person.
(6) Within 10 days of receipt of a request, the department shall
notify every individual whose residence address has been requested
pursuant to this subdivision.
(d) A knowing violation of paragraph (1), (2), (3), (4), or (5) of
subdivision (c) is a misdemeanor. A knowing violation of paragraph
(1), (2), (3), (4), or (5) of subdivision (c) in furtherance of
another crime is subject to the same penalties as that other crime.
1808.23. (a) Section 1808.21 does not apply to a vehicle
manufacturer licensed to do business in this state if the
manufacturer, or its agent, under penalty of perjury, requests and
uses the information only for the purpose of safety, warranty,
including a warranty issued in compliance with Section 1795.92 of the
Civil Code, emission, or product recall if the manufacturer offers
to make and makes any changes at no cost to the vehicle owner.
(b) Section 1808.21 does not apply to a dealer licensed to do
business in this state if the dealer, or its agent, under penalty of
perjury, requests and uses the information only for the purpose of
completing registration transactions and documents.
(c) Section 1808.21 does not apply to a person who, under penalty
of perjury, requests and uses the information as permitted under
subdivision (h) of Section 1798.24 of the Civil Code, if the request
specifies that no persons will be contacted by mail or otherwise at
the address included with the information released. The information
released by the department under this subdivision shall not be in a
form that identifies any person.
(d) Residential addresses released shall not be used for direct
marketing or solicitation for the purchase of any consumer product or
service.
1808.24. Information regarding any motor vehicle liability
insurance policy or surety bond provided to the department pursuant
to Section 4000.37 or provided electronically is confidential and
shall not be disclosed to any person, except to the following:
(a) A court of competent jurisdiction.
(b) A law enforcement or other governmental agency.
(c) An insurance company or its assigns to verify a record the
company or its assigns previously submitted to the department.
(d) A person whose vehicle or property has been involved in an
accident reported to the department, or who suffered bodily injury or
death in an accident reported to the department, pursuant to Chapter
1 (commencing with Section 16000) of Division 7, or the person's
authorized representative, employer, parent, or legal guardian.
1808.25. (a) The department shall implement a pilot program to
provide residence address information to an accredited
degree-granting nonprofit independent institution of higher education
incorporated in the state, that has concluded a memorandum of
understanding pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 830.7 of the
Penal Code if, under penalty of perjury, the institution requests and
uses the information solely for the purpose of enforcing parking
restrictions.
(b) The memorandum of understanding executed by the sheriff or
chief of police within whose jurisdiction the independent institution
is located shall expressly permit the institution to enforce parking
restrictions pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 830.7 of the
Penal Code.
For the purposes of this subdivision, a participating institution
shall enter into a contractual agreement with the department that, at
a minimum, requires the institution to do all of the following:
(1) Establish and maintain procedures, to the satisfaction of the
department, for persons to contest parking violation notices issued
by the institution.
(2) Remit a fee, as determined by the department, to cover the
department's costs of providing each address to the institution.
(3) Agree that access to confidential residence address
information from the department's vehicle registration database will
be provided only through an approved commercial requester account.
(c) The director may terminate a contract authorized by
subdivision (b) at any time the department determines that the
independent institution of higher education fails to maintain
adequate safeguards to ensure that the operation of the program does
not adversely affect those individuals whose records are maintained
in the department's files, or that the information is used for any
purpose other than that specified in subdivision (a).
(d) Sections 1808.45, 1808.46, and 1808.47 are applicable to
persons who obtain department records pursuant to this section and
the department may pursue any appropriate civil or criminal action
against any individual at an independent institution who violates the
provisions of this section.
(e) For purposes of this article only, any confidential
information obtained from the department for administration or
enforcement of this article shall be held confidential, except to the
extent necessary for the enforcement of parking restrictions, and
may not be used for any purpose other than the administration or
enforcement of parking restrictions.
(f) The department shall submit a report to the Legislature
containing its evaluation of the pilot program which shall include a
recommendation as to the advisability of continuing the program. The
report shall be submitted on or before January 1, 2003.
(g) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2004, and as of that date is repealed unless a later enacted statute,
that is enacted before January 1, 2004, deletes or extends that
date.
1808.4. (a) The home address of any of the following persons, that
appears in any record of the department, is confidential, if the
person requests the confidentiality of that information:
(1) Attorney General.
(2) State public defender.
(3) Members of the Legislature.
(4) Judges or court commissioners.
(5) District attorneys.
(6) Public defenders.
(7) Attorneys employed by the Department of Justice, the office of
the State Public Defender, or a county office of the district
attorney or public defender.
(8) City attorneys and attorneys who submit verification from
their public employer that they represent the city in matters that
routinely place them in personal contact with persons under
investigation for, charged with, or convicted of, committing criminal
acts, if those attorneys are employed by city attorneys.
(9) Nonsworn police dispatchers.
(10) Child abuse investigators or social workers, working in child
protective services within a social services department.
(11) Active or retired peace officers, as defined in Chapter 4.5
(commencing with Section 830) of Title 3 of Part 2 of the Penal Code.
(12) Employees of the Department of Corrections, the Department of
the Youth Authority, or the Prison Industry Authority specified in
Sections 20403 and 20405 of the Government Code.
(13) Nonsworn employees of a city police department, a county
sheriff's office, the Department of the California Highway Patrol,
federal, state, and local detention facilities, and local juvenile
halls, camps, ranches, and homes, who submit agency verification
that, in the normal course of their employment, they control or
supervise inmates or are required to have a prisoner in their care or
custody.
(14) County counsels assigned to child abuse cases.
(15) Investigators employed by the Department of Justice, a county
district attorney, or a county public defender.
(16) Members of a city council.
(17) Members of a board of supervisors.
(18) Federal prosecutors and criminal investigators and National
Park Service Rangers working in this state.
(19) Any active or retired city enforcement officer engaged in the
enforcement of the Vehicle Code or municipal parking ordinances.
(20) Any employee of a trial court.
(21) Any psychiatric social worker employed by a county.
(22) Any police or sheriff department employee designated by the
Chief of Police of the department or the sheriff of the county as
being in a sensitive position. Any designation pursuant to this
paragraph shall, for purposes of this section, remain in effect for
three years subject to additional designations that, for purposes of
this section, shall remain in effect for additional three-year
periods.
(23) State employees in the following classifications:
(A) Licensing Registration Examiner, Department of Motor Vehicles.
(B) Motor Carrier Specialist 1, California Highway Patrol.
(C) Museum Security Officer and Supervising Museum Security
Officer.
(24) (A) The spouse or child of any person listed in paragraphs
(1) to (23), inclusive, regardless of the spouse's or child's place
of residence.
(B) The surviving spouse or child of a peace officer, as defined
in Chapter 4.5 (commencing with Section 830) of Title 3 of Part 2 of
the Penal Code, if the peace officer died in the line of duty.
(b) The confidential home address of any of the persons listed in
subdivision (a) shall not be disclosed to any person, except for any
of the following:
(1) A court.
(2) A law enforcement agency.
(3) The State Board of Equalization.
(4) An attorney in a civil or criminal action that demonstrates to
a court the need for the home address, if the disclosure is made
pursuant to a subpoena.
(5) Any governmental agency to which, under any provision of law,
information is required to be furnished from records maintained by
the department.
(c) Any record of the department containing a confidential home
address shall be open to public inspection, as provided in Section
1808, if the address is completely obliterated or otherwise removed
from the record. The home address shall be withheld from public
inspection for three years following termination of office or
employment except with respect to retired peace officers, whose home
addresses shall be withheld from public inspection permanently upon
request of confidentiality at the time the information would
otherwise be opened. The home address of the surviving spouse or
child listed in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (24) of subdivision
(a) shall be withheld from public inspection for three years
following the death of the peace officer. The department shall
inform any person who requests a confidential home address what
agency the individual whose address was requested is employed by or
the court at which the judge or court commissioner presides.
(d) A violation of subdivision (a) by the disclosure of the
confidential home address of a peace officer, as specified in
paragraph (11) of subdivision (a), a nonsworn employee of the city
police department or county sheriff's office, or the spouses or
children of these persons, including, but not limited to, the
surviving spouse or child listed in subparagraph (B) of paragraph
(24) of subdivision (a), that results in bodily injury to the peace
officer, employee of the city police department or county sheriff's
office, or the spouses or children of these persons is a felony.
1808.45. The willful, unauthorized disclosure of information from
any department record to any person, or the use of any false
representation to obtain information from a department record or any
use of information obtained from any department record for a purpose
other than the one stated in the request or the sale or other
distribution of the information to a person or organization for
purposes not disclosed in the request is a misdemeanor, punishable by
a fine not exceeding five thousand dollars ($5,000) or by
imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding one year, or both fine
and imprisonment.
1808.46. No person or agent shall directly or indirectly obtain
information from the department files using false representations or
distribute restricted or confidential information to any person or
use the information for a reason not authorized or specified in a
requester code application. Any person who violates this section, in
addition to any other penalty provided in this code, is liable to
the department for civil penalties up to one hundred thousand dollars
($100,000) and shall have its requester code privileges suspended
for a period of up to five years, or revoked. The regulatory
agencies having jurisdiction over any licensed person receiving
information pursuant to this chapter shall implement procedures to
review the procedures of any licensee which receives information to
ensure compliance with the limitations on the use of information as
part of the agency's regular oversight of the licensees. The agency
shall report noncompliance to the department.
1808.47. Any person who has access to confidential or restricted
information from the department shall establish procedures to protect
the confidentiality of those records. If any confidential or
restricted information is released to any agent of a person
authorized to obtain information, the person shall require the agent
to take all steps necessary to ensure confidentiality and prevent the
release of any information to a third party. No agent shall obtain
or use any confidential or restricted records for any purpose other
than the reason the information was requested.
1808.5. Except as provided in Section 22511.58, all records of the
department relating to the physical or mental condition of any
person, and convictions of any offense involving the use or
possession of controlled substances under Division 10 (commencing
with Section 11000) of the Health and Safety Code not arising from
circumstances involving a motor vehicle, are confidential and not
open to public inspection.
1808.6. (a) In addition to those specified in Section 1808.4, the
home address of any of the following persons, that appears in any
record of the department, is confidential, if the person requests the
confidentiality of that information:
(1) The chairperson, executive officer, commissioners, and deputy
commissioners of the Board of Prison Terms.
(2) The chairperson, members, executive director, and hearing
representatives of the Youthful Offender Parole Board.
(3) The spouse or children of persons listed in this section,
regardless of the spouse's or child's place of residence.
(b) The confidential home address of any of the persons listed in
subdivision (a) shall not be disclosed to any person, except a court,
a law enforcement agency, the State Board of Equalization, or any
governmental agency to which, under any provision of law, information
is required to be furnished from records maintained by the
department.
(c) Any record of the department containing a confidential home
address shall be open to public inspection, as provided in Section
1808, if the address is completely obliterated or otherwise removed
from the record. The home address shall be withheld from public
inspection for three years following termination of office or
employment, except with respect to retired peace officers, whose home
addresses shall be withheld from public inspection permanently upon
request of confidentiality at the time the information would
otherwise be opened. The department shall inform any person who
requests a confidential home address of the name of the agency that
employs the individual whose address was requested.
1808.7. The record of the department relating to the first
proceeding and dismissal under Section 1803.5 in any 18-month period
for participation by a person in a licensed school for traffic
violators, a licensed driving school, or any other court-approved
program of driving instruction, is confidential, shall not be
disclosed to any person, except a court, and shall be used only for
statistical purposes by the department.
1808.8. (a) Dismissal of any driver certified pursuant to Section
12517, 12523, or 12523.5, for a cause relating to pupil
transportation safety, shall be reported by the carrier to the
department within five days of the dismissal date.
(b) Reinstatement of any driver whose dismissal has been reported
under subdivision (a) shall be reported by the carrier to the
department within five days of the reinstatement date.
1808.9. (a) Except for retired peace officers whose home address is
permanently withheld from public inspection under subdivision (c) of
Section 1808.4 or subdivision (c) of Section 1808.6, a person whose
home address is confidential in any record of the department under
Section 1808.2, 1808.4, or 1808.6 may be required by the department
to demonstrate his or her continued eligibility for that
confidentiality upon renewal of a driver's license or identification
card issued by the department. Not later than 90 days prior to the
expiration of a driver's license or identification card, the
department shall notify the person whose record is confidential of
any requirement to demonstrate the continued eligibility.
(b) A person whose driver's license or identification card is
renewed within one year of the first request for address
confidentiality under this section shall not be required to
demonstrate his or her eligibility for that confidentially again
until the subsequent renewal.
1809. The department may prepare and disseminate information
relating to prevention of traffic accidents.
1810. (a) Except as provided in Sections 1806.5, 1808.2, 1808.4,
1808.5, 1808.7, 1808.8, and paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of
Section 12800.5, the department may permit inspection of, or sell, or
both, information from its records concerning the registration of
any vehicle or information from the files of drivers' licenses at a
charge sufficient to pay at least the actual cost to the department
for providing the inspection or sale of the information, including,
but not limited to, costs incurred by the department in carrying out
subdivision (b), with the charge for the information to be determined
by the director. This section does not apply to statistical
information of the type previously compiled and distributed by the
department.
(b) (1) With respect to the inspection or sale of information
concerning the registration of any vehicle or of information from the
files of drivers' licenses, the department shall, by regulation,
establish administrative procedures under which any person making a
request for that information shall be required to identify himself or
herself and state the reason for making the request. The procedures
shall provide for the verification of the name and address of the
person making a request for the information, and the department may
require the person to produce that information as it determines is
necessary to ensure that the name and address of the person is the
true name and address. The procedures may provide for a 10-day delay
in the release of the requested information. The procedures shall
also provide for notification to the person to whom the information
primarily relates, as to what information was provided and to whom it
was provided. The department shall, by regulation, establish a
reasonable period of time for which a record of all the foregoing
shall be maintained.
(2) The procedures required by this subdivision do not apply to
any governmental entity, any person who has applied for and has been
issued a requester code by the department, or any court of competent
jurisdiction.
(c) With respect to the inspection or sale of information from the
files of drivers' licenses, the department may require both the full
name of the driver and either the driver's license number or date of
birth as identifying points of the record, except that the
department may disclose a record without two identifying points if
the department determines that the public interest in disclosure
outweighs the public interest in personal privacy.
(d) With respect to the inspection or sale of information from the
files of drivers' licenses, certificates of ownership, and
registration cards, the department shall not, for a fee or otherwise,
allow copying by the public.
1810.2. (a) The department may establish commercial requester
accounts for individuals or organizations and issue requester codes
for the purpose of obtaining information from the department's files,
except as prohibited by Section 1808.21.
(b) Commercial requester account applications shall include the
requester's name, address, type of business, a specific reason for
requesting information, and the name of the person responsible for
the business or firm.
(c) The department shall establish a commercial requester account
when it determines that the applicant has a legitimate business need
for the information requested and when the applicant files a bond in
the amount of fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) and pays a two hundred
fifty dollar ($250) filing fee. If the applicant does not request
and is not issued a requester code permitting the applicant access to
residence address information, only a filing fee of fifty dollars
($50) shall be required with the original application and each
biennial renewal application.
(d) An individual requester code shall be issued for a period not
to exceed five years and may be renewed upon application for
additional periods not to exceed five years each.
(e) A requester code may be denied to any person unless the
proposed use of the information from department records is related to
legitimate business or commercial purposes of that person. A
requester code may be canceled immediately if the requested
information is used for a purpose other than the purpose for which
the requester code was issued.
1810.5. The Attorney General, district attorneys, law enforcement
agencies, public defenders, and public defender investigators shall
have access, including, but not limited to, telephone access, to
department records which are open to the public on an equal basis.
1810.7. (a) Except as provided in Sections 1806.5, 1808.2, 1808.4,
1808.5, 1808.7, and 1808.21, the department may, by special permit,
authorize any person to access the department's electronic database,
as provided for in this section, for the purpose of obtaining
information for commercial use.
(b) The department may limit the number of permits issued under
this section, and may restrict, or establish priority for, access to
its files as the department deems necessary to avoid disruption of
its normal operations, or as the department deems is in the best
interest of the public.
(c) The department may establish minimum volume levels, audit and
security standards, and technological requirements, or any terms and
conditions it deems necessary for the permits.
(d) As a condition of issuing a permit pursuant to this section,
the department shall require each direct-access permittee to file a
performance bond or other financial security acceptable to the
department, in an amount the department deems appropriate.
(e) The department shall charge fees for direct-access service
permits, and shall charge fees pursuant to Section 1810 for any
information copied from the files.
(f) The department shall ensure that information provided pursuant
to this section includes only the public portions of records.
(g) The director shall, on and after January 1, 1992, report every
three years to the Legislature on the implementation of this
section. The report shall include the number and location of
direct-access permittees, the volume and nature of direct-access
inquiries, procedures the department has taken to ensure the security
of its files, and the costs and revenues associated with the
project.
(h) The department shall establish procedures to ensure
confidentiality of any records of residence addresses and mailing
addresses as required by Sections 1808.21, 1808.22, 1808.45, 1808.46,
and 1810.2.
1811. The department may sell copies of all or any part of its
records at a charge sufficient to pay at least the entire actual cost
to the department of the copies, the charge for the records and the
conditions under which they may be sold to be determined by the
director.
1812. The department shall not charge for copies of records or for
information from its records given to any county, city, any transit
operator as defined in Section 99210 of the Public Utilities Code,
state department, or the United States government.
1813. The director and such officers of the department as he may
designate may, upon request, prepare under the seal of the department
and deliver without charge a certified copy of any record of the
department received or maintained under this code.
1814. Any person engaged in the business of examining the records
of the department and supplying information relative thereto to the
public for compensation shall first obtain a permit from the
director. The director shall grant such a permit when he determines
that the applicant is qualified and intends in good faith to carry on
such business, and when the applicant files with the director a bond
in the amount of five thousand dollars ($5,000).
1815. The bond shall be to the satisfaction of the director and
shall obligate the principal and sureties to compensate the officers
of the department and any other person who may suffer loss or damage
by reason of any failure or neglect of the principal, the principal's
agents, or employees to preserve carefully and surrender any records
examined in the department and by reason of any act of the
principal, the principal's agents, or employees in respect to the
loss, alteration, substitution, or mutilation of any records of the
department.
1816. Every judge of the juvenile court, juvenile traffic hearing
officer, duly constituted referee of a juvenile court, or other
person responsible for the disposition of cases involving traffic
offenses required to be reported under Section 1803 committed by
persons under 18 years of age shall keep a full record of every case
in which a person is charged with such a violation, and shall report
the offense to the department at its office in Sacramento not more
than 30 days after the date on which it was committed, and in no case
less than 10 days after adjudication. The report required by this
section shall be required for any determination that a minor
committed the violation, including any determination that because of
the act the minor is a person described in Section 601 or 602 of the
Welfare and Institutions Code or that a program of supervision should
be instituted for the minor. No report shall be made if it is found
that the alleged offense was not committed.
The report required by this section shall be made upon a form
furnished by the department and shall contain all necessary
information as to the identity of the offender, the arresting agency,
the date and nature of the offense, and the date the finding was
made.
1817. Written allegations received by the department from members
of the public identifying motor vehicles or other vehicles by license
number from which any flaming or glowing substance has been thrown,
or discharged, shall be forwarded to the Department of Forestry and
Fire Protection together with any information as to the identity of
the registered owner of the vehicle as shown by the records of the
department.
1818. Any record of, or information from any record concerning, an
abstract of conviction kept by the department shall contain an
appropriate notation indicating the commercial or noncommercial
nature or the license plate number of the vehicle involved in the
offense.
1819. All records of the department containing information as to
the actual mileage of motor vehicles submitted as required by
subdivision (b) of Section 4456 and Sections 5900 and 5901 shall be
open to inspection by the public during the office hours of the
department.
1821. (a) The department shall establish and maintain a data and
monitoring system to evaluate the efficacy of intervention programs
for persons convicted of violations of Section 23152 or 23153.
(b) The system may include a recidivism tracking system. The
recidivism tracking system may include, but not be limited to, jail
sentencing, license restriction, license suspension, level I (first
offender) and II (multiple offender) alcohol and drug education and
treatment program assignment, alcohol and drug education treatment
program readmission and dropout rates, adjudicating court, length of
jail term, actual jail or alternative sentence served, type of
treatment program assigned, actual program compliance status,
subsequent accidents related to driving under the influence of
alcohol or drugs, and subsequent convictions of violations of Section
23152 or 23153.
(c) The systems described in subdivisions (a) and (b) shall
include an evaluation of the efficacy of the increased level of
intervention resulting from the act that added this subdivision.
(d) The department shall submit an annual report of its
evaluations to the Legislature. The evaluations shall include a
ranking of the relative efficacy of criminal penalties, other
sanctions, and intervention programs and the various combinations
thereof, including, but not limited to, those described in
subdivision (c).
1822. The Legislature finds that driving under the influence of
alcohol or drugs continues to be a primary safety issue on the state'
s highways, and the major cause of traffic deaths. It is imperative
that violators who drive while under the influence of alcohol or
drugs be fully prosecuted under the law. The Legislature also finds
that too often violators have not had their driving records at the
Department of Motor Vehicles appropriately updated. Therefore, it is
the intent of the Legislature that the department, working with the
courts, establish and maintain a data and monitoring system to track
violations of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs,
including, but not limited to, violations of Article 1.3 (commencing
with Section 23136), Article 1.5 (commencing with Section 23140), and
Article 2 (commencing with Section 23152), of Chapter 12 of Division
11. The system shall match arrests for driving under the influence
of alcohol or drug violations with convictions reported to the
department.
1825. (a) The department may conduct an annual, random audit of
applications submitted and processed pursuant to Section 22511.55 or
subdivision (b) or (c) of Section 22511.59 to verify the authenticity
of the certificates and information submitted in support of those
applications.
(b) The audit provisions of subdivision (a) only apply to those
applications that were initially submitted to the department after
January 1, 2001. |
