SECTIONS 27300-27307 - California Statutes

GOVERNMENT CODE

SECTION 27300-27307

27300. As used in this article, the following terms have the
following meanings:
(a) "Official record" means the permanent archival record of all
instruments, papers, and notices as accepted for recording by a
county recorder.
(b) "Public record" means a record that is in an electronic format
and is an exact copy of an official record except that any social
security number contained in the copied record is truncated. The
public record shall have the same legal force and effect as the
official record.
(c) "Truncate" means to redact the first five digits of a social
security number.
(d) "Truncated social security number" means a social security
number that displays only the last four digits of the number.

27301. The county recorder of each county shall establish a social
security number truncation program in order to create a public record
version of each official record. The program shall include both of
the following components, which the recorder shall implement
concurrently:
(a) For each official record recorded between January 1, 1980, and
December 31, 2008, the recorder shall create in an electronic format
an exact copy of the record except that any social security number
contained in the copied record shall be truncated. In order to create
a public record copy, the recorder shall first truncate the social
security numbers in all records that already exist in an electronic
format and then create an electronic version of all other records and
truncate social security numbers contained in those records. Each
group of records shall be handled in descending chronological order.
(b) For each official record recorded on or after January 1, 2009,
the recorder shall create a copy of that record in an electronic
format and truncate any social security number contained in that
record.
(c) Nothing in this article shall be construed to restrict, delay,
or modify access to any official record, or modify any existing
agreements regarding access to any official record, prior to the
creation and availability of a public record version of that official
record. A county recorder shall not charge any new fee or increase
any existing fees in order to fund the social security number
truncation program pursuant to this article, except as provided in
subdivision (d) of Section 27361.
(d) Notwithstanding subdivisions (a) and (b), a county recorder
shall not be required to create a public record version of an
official record if the fee authorized in Section 27304 is determined
by the recorder to be insufficient to meet the cost of creating the
public record version. In that case, the county recorder shall
determine whether the fee is sufficient to meet the cost of creating
a public record version of only a fraction of the official records
described in subdivisions (a) and (b). If the fee is sufficient to
meet the cost of creating a public record version of a fraction of
the official records, the recorder shall be required to create a
public record version of that fraction only.

27302. (a) A county recorder shall be deemed to be in compliance
with the requirements of Section 27301 and shall not be liable for
failure to truncate a social security number if he or she uses due
diligence to locate social security numbers in official records and
truncate social security numbers in the public record version of
those official records. The use of an automated program with a high
rate of accuracy shall be deemed to be due diligence.
(b) In the event that a county recorder fails to truncate a social
security number contained in a public record, any person may request
that the county recorder truncate the social security number
contained in that record. Notwithstanding that a county recorder may
be deemed to be in compliance with Section 27301 pursuant to
subdivision (a), a county recorder that receives a request that
identifies the exact location of an untruncated social security
number within a specifically identified public record, shall truncate
that number within 10 business days of receiving the request. The
public record with the truncated social security number shall replace
the record with the untruncated number.

27303. When a public record version of an official record exists,
both of the following shall apply:
(a) Upon a request for inspection, copying, or any other public
disclosure of an official record that is not exempt from disclosure,
a county recorder shall make available only the public record version
of that record.
(b) A county recorder shall publicly disclose an official record
only in response to a subpoena or order of a court of competent
jurisdiction.

27304. (a) Each county may use funds generated by fees authorized
by subdivision (d) of Section 27361 to implement a social security
number truncation program required by this article.
(b) No later than June 1, 2008, the county recorder of each county
shall petition the board of supervisors in that county for the
authority to levy the fee authorized by subdivision (d) of Section
27361.
(c) It is the intent of the Legislature that in the interest of
enabling county recorders to act expeditiously to protect the privacy
of Californians, counties be permitted to seek revenue anticipation
loans or other outside funding sources for the implementation of a
social security number truncation program to be secured by the
anticipated revenue from the fee authorized by subdivision (d) of
Section 27361.

27305. (a) To assist the Legislature in monitoring the progress of
each county recorder's social security number truncation program, the
County Recorders Association of California, no later than January 1,
2009, and annually thereafter, shall submit to the chairpersons of
the Assembly Committee on Judiciary and of the Senate Committee on
Judiciary, and to the Office of Privacy Protection, or any successor
agency, a report on the progress each county recorder has made in
complying with this article.
(b) Upon the Office of Privacy Protection making a determination
that all counties have completed the component of the program
described in subdivision (a) of Section 27301, the report described
in subdivision (a) of this section shall no longer be required.

27307. A county recorder is authorized to take all actions required
by this article notwithstanding subdivision (d) of Section 27203 or
any other provision of law.