SECTIONS 11549.5-11549.10 - California Statutes

GOVERNMENT CODE

SECTION 11549.5-11549.10

11549.5. (a) There is hereby created, in the State and Consumer
Services Agency, the Office of Privacy Protection. The purpose of the
Office of Privacy Protection shall be to protect the privacy of
individuals' personal information in a manner consistent with the
California Constitution by identifying consumer problems in the
privacy area and facilitating the development of fair information
practices in adherence with the Information Practices Act of 1977
(Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 1798) of Title 1.8 of Part 4 of
Division 3 of the Civil Code) and to promote and protect consumer
privacy to ensure the trust of the residents of this state.
(b) The Office of Privacy Protection shall inform the public of
potential options for protecting the privacy of, and avoiding the
misuse of, personal information.
(c) The Office of Privacy Protection shall make recommendations to
organizations for privacy policies and practices that promote and
protect the interests of the consumers of this state.
(d) The Office of Privacy Protection may promote voluntary and
mutually agreed upon nonbinding arbitration and mediation of
privacy-related disputes where appropriate.
(e) The Office of Privacy Protection shall do all of the
following:
(1) Receive complaints from individuals concerning a person
obtaining, compiling, maintaining, using, disclosing, or disposing of
personal information in a manner that may be potentially unlawful or
violate a stated privacy policy relating to that individual, and
provide advice, information, and referral, where available.
(2) Provide information to consumers on effective ways of handling
complaints that involve violations of privacy-related laws,
including identity theft and identity fraud. If appropriate local,
state, or federal agencies are available to assist consumers with
those complaints, the office shall refer those complaints to those
agencies.
(3) Develop informational and educational programs and materials
to foster public understanding and recognition of the purposes of
this article.
(4) Assist and coordinate in the training of local, state, and
federal law enforcement agencies regarding identity theft and other
privacy-related crimes, as appropriate.
(5) The authority of the Office of Privacy Protection to adopt
regulations under this article shall be limited exclusively to those
regulations necessary and appropriate to implement subdivisions (b),
(c), (d), and (e).

11549.7. The Office of Privacy Protection shall be under the
direction of a director who shall report to the Secretary of State
and Consumer Services and lead the Office of Privacy Protection in
carrying out its mission.

11549.8. As used in this article, the following terms have the
following meanings:
(a) "Director" means the Director of the Office of Privacy
Protection.
(b) "Office" means the Office of Privacy Protection.

11549.10. This chapter shall not apply to the State Compensation
Insurance Fund, the Legislature, or the Legislative Data Center in
the Legislative Counsel Bureau.