Rep. Norm Thurston — Voting Record

Bill

Number

S.B. 230 (2018GS)

Sponsor

Sen. Ipson, D.

Final action

Governor Signed 3/19/2018

Outcome

Became law — signed by Gov. Gary R. Herbert

Summary

What it does

• This bill:
• creates a process by which a law enforcement officer may have their own personal information removed from publicly available state or local government sites;
• requires that the law enforcement officer deliver copies of a form to the affected state or local government agency;
• provides that the ban on the information may remain in place for up to four years; and
• makes conforming and technical amendments.

Every vote on this bill

Bill text

LAW ENFORCEMENT PROTECTION AMENDMENTS
GENERAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH
Chief Sponsor: Don L. Ipson
House Sponsor: 
Lee B. Perry
LONG TITLE
General Description:
This bill amends provisions relating to publicly available personal information of law
enforcement officers.
Highlighted Provisions:
This bill:
▸ creates a process by which a law enforcement officer may have their own personal
information removed from publicly available state or local government sites;
▸ requires that the law enforcement officer deliver copies of a form to the affected
state or local government agency;
▸ provides that the ban on the information may remain in place for up to four years;
and
▸ makes conforming and technical amendments.
Money Appropriated in this Bill:
None
Other Special Clauses:
None
Utah Code Sections Affected:
AMENDS:
53-18-102
, as enacted by Laws of Utah 2017, Chapter 266
53-18-103
, as enacted by Laws of Utah 2017, Chapter 266
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
Section 1. Section 
53-18-102
 is amended to read:
53-18-102.
Definitions.
As used in this chapter:
(1) "Access software provider" means a provider of software, including client or server
software, or enabling tools that do any one or more of the following:
(a) filter, screen, allow, or disallow content;
(b) pick, choose, analyze, or digest content; or
(c) transmit, receive, display, forward, cache, search, subset, organize, reorganize, or
translate content.
(2) "Immediate family member" means a law enforcement officer's spouse, child [
or
spouse of a child, sibling or spouse of a sibling, or
]
,
 parent
, or grandparent who resides with
the officer
.
(3) "Interactive computer service" means the same as that term is defined in Subsection
47 U.S.C. 230(f).
(4) "Law enforcement officer" or "officer":
(a) means the same as that term is defined in Section 
53-13-103
;
(b) includes "correctional officers" as defined in Section 
53-13-104
; and
(c) refers only to officers who are currently employed by, retired from, or were killed in
the line of duty while in the employ of a state or local governmental law enforcement agency.
(5) "Personal information" means a law enforcement officer's or law enforcement
officer's immediate family member's address, telephone number, personal mobile telephone
number, pager number, personal email address, personal photograph, directions to locate the
law enforcement officer's home, or photographs of the law enforcement officer's or the officer's
immediate family member's home or vehicle.
(6) "Publicly post" or "publicly display" means to intentionally communicate or
otherwise make available to the general public.
Section 2. Section 
53-18-103
 is amended to read:
53-18-103.
Internet posting of personal information of law enforcement officers --
Prohibitions.
(1) 
(a)
 A state or local governmental agency 
that has received the form described in
Subsection (1)(b) from a law enforcement officer
 may not 
publicly
 post 
on the Internet
 the
personal information of any law enforcement officer employed by the state or any political
subdivision [
on the Internet unless the agency has obtained written permission from the officer
and has the written permission in the agency's possession
].
(b) Each state or local government agency employing law enforcement officers shall:
(i) provide a form for an officer to request the removal or concealment of the officer's
personal information from the state or local government agencies' publicly accessible websites
and databases;
(ii) inform the officer how to submit a form under this section;
(iii) upon request, assist an officer in completing the form; and
(iv) include on any form a disclaimer informing the officer that by submitting a
completed form the officer may not receive official announcements affecting the officer's
property, including notices about proposed annexations, incorporation, or zoning
modifications.
(2) A county clerk, upon receipt of the form described in Subsection (1)(b) from a law
enforcement officer, completed and submitted under this section, shall:
(a) classify the law enforcement officer's voter registration record in the lieutenant
governor's statewide voter registration database developed under Section 
20A-2-109
 as a
private record; and
(b) classify the law enforcement officer's marriage licenses and marriage license
applications, if any, as private records.
(3) A county recorder, treasurer, auditor, or tax assessor, upon receipt of the form
described in Subsection (1)(b) from a law enforcement officer, completed and submitted under
this section, shall:
(a) provide a method for the assessment roll and index and the tax roll and index that
will block public access to the law enforcement officer's personal information; and
(b) provide to the law enforcement officer who submits the form a written disclaimer
informing the officer that the officer may not receive official announcements affecting the
officer's property, including notices about proposed annexations, incorporations, or zoning
modifications.
(4) A form submitted under this section remains in effect for the shorter of:
(a) four years from the date on which the form was signed by the officer, regardless of
whether the officer's qualifying employment is terminated during the four years; or
(b) one year after official notice of the law enforcement officer's death is transmitted by
the officer's immediate family or the officer's employing agency to all state and local
government agencies that are reasonably expected to have records containing personal
information of the deceased officer.
(5) Notwithstanding Subsection (4), the law enforcement officer, or the officer's
immediate family if the officer is deceased, may rescind the form at any time.
[
(2)
] 
(6)
 An individual may not [
knowingly
]
, with intent to frighten or harass a law
enforcement officer, publicly
 post on the Internet the personal information of any law
enforcement officer [
or of the officer's immediate family members
] knowing the person is a
law enforcement officer [
or that the person is the immediate family member of a law
enforcement officer
].
(a) A violation of this Subsection [
(2)
] 
(6)
 is a class B misdemeanor.
(b) A violation of this Subsection [
(2)
] 
(6)
 that results in bodily injury to the officer, or
a member of the officer's immediate family, is a class A misdemeanor.
(c) Each act against a separate individual in violation of this Subsection [
(2)
] 
(6)
 is a
separate offense. The defendant may also be charged separately with the commission of any
other criminal conduct related to the commission of an offense under this Subsection [
(2)
] 
(6)
.
[
(3)
] 
(7)
 (a) A business or association may not publicly post or publicly display on the
Internet the personal information of any law enforcement officer if that officer has, either
directly or through an agent designated under Subsection [
(3)
] 
(7)
(c), provided to that business
or association a written demand to not disclose the officer's personal information.
(b) A written demand made under this Subsection [
(3)
] 
(7)
 by a law enforcement
officer is effective for four years beginning on the day the demand is delivered, regardless of
whether or not the law enforcement officer's employment as an officer has terminated during
the four years.
(c) A law enforcement officer may designate in writing the officer's employer or a
representative of any voluntary professional association of law enforcement officers to act on
behalf of the officer and as the officer's agent to make a written demand pursuant to this
chapter.
(d) (i) A business or association that receives a written demand from a law enforcement
officer under Subsection [
(3)
] 
(7)
(a) shall remove the officer's personal information from
public display on the Internet, including the removal of information provided to cellular
telephone applications, within 24 hours of the delivery of the written demand, and shall ensure
that the information is not posted again on the same Internet website or any other Internet
website the recipient of the written demand maintains or exercises control over.
(ii) After receiving the law enforcement officer's written demand, the person, business,
or association may not publicly post or publicly display on the Internet, the personal
information of the law enforcement officer.
(iii) This Subsection [
(3)
] 
(7)
(d) does not prohibit a telephone corporation, as defined
in Section 
54-2-1
, or its affiliate or other voice service provider, including providers of
interconnected voice over Internet protocol service as defined in 47 C.F.R. 9.3, from
transferring the law enforcement officer's personal information to any person, business, or
association, if the transfer is authorized by federal or state law, regulation, order, terms of
service, or tariff, or is necessary in the event of an emergency, or to collect a debt owed by the
officer to the telephone corporation or its affiliate.
(iv) This Subsection [
(3)
] 
(7)
(d) does not apply to a telephone corporation or other
voice service provider, including providers of interconnected voice over Internet protocol
service, with respect to directories or directories listings to the extend the entity offers a
nonpublished listing option.
[
(4)
] 
(8)
 (a) A law enforcement officer whose personal information is made public as a
result of a violation of Subsection [
(3)
] 
(7)
 may bring an action seeking injunctive or
declarative relief in any court of competent jurisdiction.
(b) If a court finds that a violation has occurred, it may grant injunctive or declarative
relief and shall award the law enforcement officer court costs and reasonable attorney fees.
(c) If the defendant fails to comply with an order of the court issued under this
Subsection [
(4)
] 
(8)
, the court may impose a civil penalty of not more than $1,000 for the
defendant's failure to comply with the court's order.
[
(5)
] 
(9)
 (a) A person, business, or association may not solicit, sell, or trade on the
Internet the personal information of a law enforcement officer, if the dissemination of the
personal information poses an imminent and serious threat to the law enforcement officer's
safety or the safety of the law enforcement officer's immediate family and the person making
the information available on the Internet knows or reasonably should know of the imminent
and serious threat.
(b) A law enforcement officer whose personal information is knowingly publicly
posted or publicly displayed on the Internet may bring an action in any court of competent
jurisdiction. If a jury or court finds that a defendant has committed a violation of Subsection
[
(5)
] 
(9)
(a), the jury or court shall award damages to the officer in the amount of triple the cost
of actual damages or $4,000, whichever is greater.
[
(6)
] 
(10)
 An interactive computer service or access software is not liable under
Subsections [
(3)
] 
(7)
(d)(i) and [
(5)
] 
(9)
 for information or content provided by another
information content provider.
[
(7)
] 
(11)
 Unless a 
state or local government agency receives a completed form directly
from the
 law enforcement officer [
requests that certain information be removed or protected
from disclosure in accordance with Section 
63G-2-302
, a county recorder
] 
in accordance with
Subsection (1), a state or local government official
 who makes information available for public
inspection in accordance with [
Section 
17-21-19
] 
state law
 is not in violation of this chapter.