Rep. Norm Thurston — Voting Record

Bill

Number

H.B. 345 First Substitute (2022GS)

Sponsor

Rep. Wilcox, R.

Final action

Governor Signed 3/24/2022

Outcome

Became law — signed by Gov. Spencer J. Cox

Summary

What it does

• This bill:
• creates and modifies definitions;
• modifies requirements and prohibitions relating to protection of personal information of certain public safety employees; and
• makes technical and conforming changes.

Every vote on this bill

Bill text

PUBLIC SAFETY EMPLOYEE PERSONAL DATA
AMENDMENTS
GENERAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH
Chief Sponsor: Ryan D. Wilcox
Senate Sponsor: 
John D. Johnson
LONG TITLE
General Description:
This bill modifies provisions relating to protection of personal information of certain
public safety employees.
Highlighted Provisions:
This bill:
▸ creates and modifies definitions;
▸ modifies requirements and prohibitions relating to protection of personal
information of certain public safety employees; and
▸ makes technical and conforming changes.
Money Appropriated in this Bill:
None
Other Special Clauses:
None
Utah Code Sections Affected:
AMENDS:
53-18-102
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2019, Chapter 402
53-18-103
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2019, Chapter 402
REPEALS:
53-18-101
, 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:
CHAPTER 18. PROTECTION OF PERSONAL INFORMATION OF PUBLIC
SAFETY EMPLOYEES
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) "Correctional facility" means the same as that term is defined in Section
77-16b-102
.
(3) "Dispatcher" means the same as that term is defined in Section 
53-6-102
.
[
(2)
] 
(4)
 "Immediate family member" means a [
law enforcement officer's
] 
public safety
employee's
 spouse, child, parent, or grandparent who resides with the [
officer
] 
public safety
employee
.
[
(3)
] 
(5)
 "Interactive computer service" means the same as that term is defined in
Subsection 47 U.S.C. 230(f).
[
(4)
] 
(6)
 "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)
] 
(7) (a)
 "Personal information"[
: (a) means a law enforcement officer's or law
enforcement officer's
] 
means a public safety employee's or a public safety employee's
immediate family member's home address, home telephone number, personal mobile telephone
number, personal pager number, personal email address, 
or
 personal photograph, directions to
locate the [
law enforcement officer's
] 
public safety employee's
 home, or photographs of the
[
law enforcement officer's or the officer's
] 
public safety employee's or the public safety
employee's
 immediate family member's home or vehicle[
; and
]
.
(b) 
"Personal information"
 includes a record or a part of a record that:
(i) a [
law enforcement officer
] 
public safety employee who qualifies as an at-risk
government employee under Section 
63G-2-303
 requests to be classified as private under
Subsection 
63G-2-302
(1)(h); and
(ii) is classified as private under Title 63G, Chapter 2, Government Records Access
and Management Act.
(8) "Public safety employee" means:
(a) a law enforcement officer;
(b) a dispatcher; or
(c) a current or retired employee or contractor of:
(i) a law enforcement agency; or
(ii) a correctional facility.
[
(6)
] 
(9)
 "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 public safety employees --
Prohibitions.
(1) (a) A state or local governmental agency that [
has received
] 
receives
 the form
described in Subsection (1)(b) from a [
law enforcement officer
] 
public safety employee
 may
not publicly post on the Internet the personal information of [
any law enforcement officer
] 
the
public safety employee
 employed by the state or [
any political subdivision
] 
local governmental
agency
.
(b) Each state or local government agency employing [
law enforcement officers
] 
a
public safety employee
 shall:
(i) provide a form for [
an officer
] 
a public safety employee
 to request the removal or
concealment of the [
officer's
] 
public safety employee's
 personal information from the state or
local government agencies' publicly accessible websites and databases;
(ii) inform the [
officer
] 
public safety employee
 how to submit a form under this
section;
(iii) upon request, assist [
an officer
] 
a public safety employee
 in completing the form;
(iv) include on the form a disclaimer informing the [
officer
] 
public safety employee
that by submitting a completed form the [
officer
] 
public safety employee
 may not receive
official announcements affecting the [
officer's
] 
public safety employee's
 property, including
notices about proposed annexations, incorporation, or zoning modifications; and
(v) require a form submitted by a [
law enforcement officer
] 
public safety employee
 to
be signed by
:
(A) for a public safety employee who is a law enforcement officer,
 the highest ranking
elected or appointed official in the officer's chain of command certifying that the individual
requesting removal or concealment is a law enforcement officer[
.
]
; or
(B) for a public safety employee who is not a law enforcement officer, the public safety
employee's supervisor.
(2) A county clerk, upon receipt of the form described in Subsection (1)(b) from a [
law
enforcement officer
] 
public safety employee
, completed and submitted under this section, shall:
(a) classify the [
law enforcement officer's
] 
public safety employee'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
] 
public safety employee'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
] 
public safety employee
,
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
] 
public safety employee's
 personal
information; and
(b) provide to the [
law enforcement officer
] 
public safety employee
 who submits the
form a written disclaimer informing the [
officer
] 
public safety employee
 that the [
officer
]
public safety employee
 may not receive official announcements affecting the [
officer's
] 
public
safety employee'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
] 
public safety
employee
, regardless of whether the [
officer's
] 
public safety employee's
 qualifying employment
is terminated during the four years; or
(b) one year after official notice of the [
law enforcement officer's
] 
public safety
employee's
 death is transmitted by the [
officer's
] 
public safety employee's
 immediate family or
the [
officer's
] 
public safety employee's
 employing agency to all state and local government
agencies that are reasonably expected to have records containing personal information of the
deceased [
officer
] 
public safety employee
.
(5) Notwithstanding Subsection (4), the [
law enforcement officer
] 
public safety
employee
, or the [
officer's
] 
public safety employee's
 immediate family if the [
officer
] 
public
safety employee
 is deceased, may rescind the form at any time.
(6) 
(a)
 An individual may not, with intent to frighten or harass [
a law enforcement
officer
] 
a public safety employee
, publicly post on the Internet the personal information of [
any
law enforcement officer
] 
a public safety employee
 knowing the [
person
] 
public safety
employee
 is a [
law enforcement officer
] 
public safety employee
.
[
(a)
] 
(b)
 [
A violation of this
] 
Except as provided in Subsection (6)(c), a violation of
Subsection (6)
(a)
 is a class B misdemeanor.
[
(b)
] 
(c)
 A violation of [
this
] Subsection (6)
(a)
 that results in bodily injury to the
[
officer
] 
public safety employee
, or a member of the [
officer's
] 
public safety employee's
immediate family, is a class A misdemeanor.
[
(c)
] 
(d) (i)
 Each act against a separate individual in violation of [
this
] Subsection
(6)
(a)
 is a separate offense.
(ii)
 [
The
] 
A
 defendant may also be charged separately with the commission of any
other criminal conduct related to the commission of an offense under [
this
] Subsection (6)
(a)
.
(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
] 
a public safety
employee if the public safety employee
 has, either directly or through an agent designated
under Subsection (7)(c), provided to that business or association a written demand to not
disclose the [
officer's
] 
public safety employee's
 personal information.
(b) A written demand made under [
this
] Subsection (7)
(a)
 by a [
law enforcement
officer
] 
public safety employee
 is effective for four years beginning on the day the demand is
delivered, regardless of whether [
or not the law enforcement officer's
] 
the public safety
employee's
 employment as [
an officer
] 
a public safety employee
 has terminated during the four
years.
(c) A [
law enforcement officer
] 
public safety employee
 may designate in writing the
[
officer's
] 
public safety employee's
 employer or
, for a public safety employee who is a law
enforcement officer,
 a representative of [
any
] 
a
 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
] 
under
 this chapter.
(d) (i) A business or association that receives a written demand from a [
law
enforcement officer
] 
public safety employee
 under Subsection (7)(a) shall remove the
[
officer's
] 
public safety employee'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 
over which
 the recipient of the
written demand maintains or exercises control [
over
].
(ii) After receiving the [
law enforcement officer's
] 
public safety employee'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
] 
public safety employee
.
(iii) This Subsection (7)(d) does not prohibit a telephone corporation, as defined in
Section 
54-2-1
, or [
its
] 
the telephone corporation's
 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
] 
public safety employee'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
] 
public safety employee
 to the telephone
corporation or its affiliate.
(iv) This Subsection (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
] 
extent
 the entity offers a
nonpublished listing option.
(8) (a) A [
law enforcement officer
] 
public safety employee
 whose personal information
is made public as a result of a violation of Subsection (7) may bring an action seeking
injunctive or declarative relief in [
any
] 
a
 court of competent jurisdiction.
(b) If a court finds that a violation has occurred, [
it
] 
the court
 may grant injunctive or
declarative relief and shall award the [
law enforcement officer
] 
public safety employee
 court
costs and reasonable attorney fees.
(c) If the defendant fails to comply with an order of the court issued under [
this
]
Subsection (8)
(b)
, 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.
(9) (a) A person, business, or association may not solicit, sell, or trade on the Internet
the personal information of a [
law enforcement officer
] 
public safety employee
, if
:
(i)
 the dissemination of the personal information poses an imminent and serious threat
to the [
law enforcement officer's
] 
public safety employee's
 safety or the safety of the [
law
enforcement officer's
] 
public safety employee's
 immediate family
;
 and
(ii)
 the person making the information available on the Internet knows or reasonably
should know of the imminent and serious threat.
(b) 
(i)
 [
A law enforcement officer
] 
A public safety employee
 whose personal
information is knowingly publicly posted or publicly displayed on the Internet may bring an
action in [
any
] 
a
 court of competent jurisdiction.
(ii)
 If a jury or court finds that a defendant has committed a violation of Subsection
(9)(a), the jury or court shall award damages to the [
officer
] 
public safety employee
 in the
amount of triple the cost of actual damages or $4,000, whichever is greater.
(10) An interactive computer service or access software is not liable under Subsections
(7)(d)(i) and (9) for information or content provided by another information content provider.
(11) Unless a state or local government agency receives a completed form directly from
[
the law enforcement officer
] 
a public safety employee
 in accordance with Subsection (1), a
state or local government official who makes information available for public inspection in
accordance with state law is not in violation of this chapter.
Section 3. 
Repealer.
This bill repeals:
Section 
53-18-101
,
Title.