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Sponsors
Senator · Senate District 5
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to rules
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Prohibits persons or business entities from filing unnecessary personal identifying information with an agency
In Senate Committee · Consumer Protection · Sponsor Steven Englebright
Full text
The text isn't available here yet. Check nysenate.gov.
Sponsor's memo
BILL NUMBER:S7819
Title of bill
An act to amend the general business law, in relation to personal infor- mation restrictions for public records
Purpose
The purpose of this bill is to protect the privacy of New York State residents, by prohibiting the filing of unnecessary identifying informa- tion with government entities.
Summary of provisions
This bill would prohibit any person or business entity from filing with the State or any political subdivision or any division or department thereof, any personal identifying information which is not relevant and necessary to accomplish the purpose of the filing, or not required by state or federal law, rule or regulation, or by court rule, without the consent of the individual.
The bill would also require agencies that receive instruments for filing to post a prominent notice describing the above prohibition. Lastly, the bill would authorize the Attorney General to enforce the provisions of this section by seeking an injunction against a violator.
Justification
This bill would protect the privacy of New York State residents by prohibiting the filing of unnecessary personal identifying information with government entities. Such filings are records to which the general public may obtain access. Often documents such as mortgages and judg- ments are filed with government entities for public purpose and contain personal information not required by the statutory filing requirements. While rare, there have been instances when copies of a person's drivers license and credit card were submitted as part of a filing. This sensi- tive information should not be publicly available. Furthermore, as more and more localities implement systems allowing for public access of records via the Internet, the need to ensure that vulnerable personal information in not included in such records is critical.
As the incidence of identity theft continues to rise, it is essential that precautions are implemented to ensure that personal identifying information does not become available to unauthorized persons.
Legislative history
2011: A.980 (Pheffer) - Passed Assembly 2009-2010: A.1819A (Pheffer) - Passed Assembly 2007-2008: A.275A (Pheffer) - Passed Assembly
Fiscal implications
None.
Effective date
This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have become law.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.