SECTIONS 31490 - California Statutes

STREETS AND HIGHWAYS CODE

SECTION 31490

31490. (a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, a
transportation agency may not sell or otherwise provide to any other
person or entity personally identifiable information of any person
who subscribes to an electronic toll collection system or who uses a
toll bridge, toll lane, or toll highway that employs an electronic
toll collection system.
(b) A transportation agency that employs an electronic toll
collection system shall establish a privacy policy regarding the
collection and use of personally identifiable information and provide
to subscribers of that system a copy of the privacy policy in a
manner that is conspicuous and meaningful, such as by providing a
copy to the subscriber with the transponder or other device used as
an electronic toll collection mechanism, or, if the system does not
use a mechanism, with the application materials. A transportation
agency shall conspicuously post its privacy policy on its Internet
Web site. For purposes of this subdivision, "conspicuously post" has
the same meaning as that term is defined in paragraphs (1) to (4),
inclusive, of subdivision (b) of Section 22577 of the Business and
Professions Code. The policy shall include, but need not be limited
to, a description of the following:
(1) The types of personally identifiable information that is
collected by the agency.
(2) The categories of third-party persons or entities with whom
the agency may share personally identifiable information.
(3) The process by which a transportation agency notifies
subscribers of material changes to its privacy policy.
(4) The effective date of the privacy policy.
(5) The process by which a subscriber may review and request
changes to any of his or her personally identifiable information.
(c) A transportation agency may, within practical business and
cost constraints, store only personally identifiable information of a
person such as the account name, credit card number, billing
address, vehicle information, and other basic account information
required to perform account functions such as billing, account
settlement, or enforcement activities. All other information, on and
after July 1, 2011, shall be discarded no more than four years and
six months after the closure date of the billing cycle and the bill
has been paid and all toll violations, if applicable, have been
resolved.
(d) On and after July 1, 2011, a transportation agency shall take
every effort, within practical business and cost constraints, to
purge the personal account information of an account that is closed
or terminated. In no case shall a transportation agency maintain
personal information more than four years and six months after the
date an account is closed or terminated.
(e) (1) A transportation agency may make personally identifiable
information of a person available to a law enforcement agency only
pursuant to a search warrant. Absent a provision in the search
warrant to the contrary, the law enforcement agency shall
immediately, but in any event within no more than five days, notify
the person that his or her records have been obtained and shall
provide the person with a copy of the search warrant and the identity
of the law enforcement agency or peace officer to whom the records
were provided.
(2) This section does not prohibit a peace officer, as defined in
Section 830.1 or 830.2 of the Penal Code, when conducting a criminal
or traffic collision investigation, from obtaining personally
identifiable information of a person if the officer has good cause to
believe that a delay in obtaining this information by seeking a
search warrant would cause an adverse result, as defined in paragraph
(2) of subdivision (a) of Section 1524.2 of the Penal Code.
(f) This section does not prohibit a transportation agency in
subdivision (a) from providing aggregated traveler information
derived from collective data that relates to a group or category of
persons from which personally identifiable information has been
removed.
(g) This section does not prohibit a transportation agency from
providing the license plate number of an intermodal chassis to the
owner of the chassis for purposes of locating the driver of the
chassis in the event the driver fails to pay the toll.
(h) This section does not prohibit a transportation agency from
sharing data with another transportation agency solely to comply with
interoperability specifications and standards adopted pursuant to
Section 27565 regarding electronic toll collection devices and
technologies. A third-party vendor may not use personally
identifiable information obtained under this subdivision for a
purpose other than described in this subdivision.
(i) Subdivision (d) shall not prohibit a transportation agency, or
its designee, from performing financial and accounting functions
such as billing, account settlement, enforcement, or other financial
activities required to operate and manage the toll facilities.
(j) This section does not prohibit a transportation agency from
communicating about products and services offered by itself, a
business partner, or the agency with which it contracts to
subscribers of the transportation agency through a contracted
third-party vendor using personally identifiable information limited
to the subscriber's name, address, and electronic mail address,
provided that, for customer agreements entered into on or after
January 1, 2011, the transportation agency has received the
subscriber's express written consent to receive the communications.
(k) A transportation agency may not use a nonsubscriber's
personally identifiable information obtained using an electronic toll
collection system to market products or services to that
nonsubscriber. This subdivision shall not apply to toll-related
products or services contained in a notice of toll evasion issued
pursuant to Section 23302 of the Vehicle Code.
(l) For purposes of this section, "transportation agency" means
the Department of Transportation, the Bay Area Toll Authority, any
entity operating a toll bridge, toll lane, or toll highway within the
state, or any entity under contract with any of the above entities.
(m) For purposes of this section, "electronic toll collection
system" is a system where a transponder, camera-based vehicle
identification system, or other electronic medium is used to deduct
payment of a toll from a subscriber's account or to establish an
obligation to pay a toll.
(n) For purposes of this section, "person" means any person who
subscribes to an electronic toll collection system or any person who
uses a toll bridge, toll lane, or toll road that employs an
electronic toll collection system.
(o) For purposes of this section, "personally identifiable
information" means any information that identifies or describes a
person including, but not limited to, travel pattern data, address,
telephone number, e-mail address, license plate number, photograph,
bank account information, or credit card number.
(p) (1) In addition to any other remedies provided by law, a
person whose personally identifiable information has been knowingly
sold or otherwise provided in violation of this section may bring an
action to recover either actual damages or two thousand five hundred
dollars ($2,500) for each individual violation, whichever is greater,
and may also recover reasonable costs and attorney's fees.
(2) A person whose personally identifiable information has been
knowingly sold or otherwise provided three or more times in violation
of this section may bring an action to recover either actual damages
or four thousand dollars ($4,000) for each individual violation,
whichever is greater, and may also recover reasonable costs and
attorney's fees.
(q) Nothing in subdivisions (c) and (d) shall preclude compliance
with a court order or settlement agreement that has been approved on
or before April 25, 2010.
(r) A transportation agency that employs an electronic toll
collection system may impose an administrative fee on persons who use
that system in an amount sufficient to cover the cost of
implementing this section.