AB966: Bill Text

AB966,,48 (g) “Publicly available content” means any written, printed, or electronic document or record that provides information or that serves as a document or record maintained, controlled, or in the possession of a government agency that may be obtained by any person or entity, from the Internet, from the government agency upon request either free of charge or for a fee, or in response to a public records request under ch. 19.

AB966,,49 (h) “Publicly post or display” means to intentionally communicate or otherwise make available to the general public.

AB966,,50 (i) “Transfer” means to sell, license, trade, or exchange for consideration the personal information of a judicial officer or a judicial officer’s immediate family member.

AB966,,51 (j) “Written request” means written notice signed by a judicial officer or a representative of the judicial officer’s employer requesting a government agency, business, association, or other person to refrain from publicly posting or displaying publicly available content that includes the personal information of the judicial officer or judicial officer’s immediate family.

AB966,,52 (2) Publicly posting or displaying a judicial officer’s personal information by a government agency. (a) A government agency may not publicly post or display publicly available content that includes a judicial officer’s personal information, provided that the government agency has received a written request in accordance with sub. (4) that it refrain from disclosing the judicial officer’s personal information. After a government agency has received a written request, that agency shall remove the judicial officer’s personal information from publicly available content within 5 business days. After the government agency has removed the judicial officer’s personal information from publicly available content, the agency may not publicly post or display the information, and the judicial officer’s personal information shall be exempt from inspection and copying under s. 19.35 unless the government agency has received consent from the judicial officer to make the personal information available to the public.

AB966,,53 (b) Nothing in this subsection prohibits a government agency from providing access to records containing the personal information of a judicial officer to a 3rd party if the 3rd party meets any of the following criteria:

AB966,,54 1. Possesses a signed release from the judicial officer.

AB966,,55 2. Is subject to the requirements of 15 USC 6801, et seq.

AB966,,56 3. Executes a confidentiality agreement with the government agency.

AB966,,57 (3) Data brokers and other persons and businesses. (a) No data broker may knowingly sell, license, trade, purchase, or otherwise make available for consideration the personal information of a judicial officer or a judicial officer’s immediate family.

AB966,,58 (b) 1. No person, business, or association may publicly post or display on the Internet publicly available content that includes the personal information of a judicial officer or the judicial officer’s immediate family, provided that the judicial officer has made a written request to the person, business, or association that it refrain from disclosing or acquiring the personal information.

AB966,,59 2. Subdivision 1. does not apply to any of the following:

AB966,,60 a. Personal information that the judicial officer or an immediate family member of the judicial officer voluntarily publishes on the Internet after the effective date of this subd. 2. a. .... [LRB inserts date].

AB966,,61 b. Personal information lawfully received from a state or federal government source, including from an employee or agent of the state or federal government.

AB966,,62 (c) 1. After a person, business, or association has received a written request from a judicial officer to protect the privacy of the personal information of the judicial officer and the judicial officer’s immediate family, the person, business, or association shall remove from the Internet, within 72 hours, the personal information identified in the request; ensure that the information is not made available on any website or subsidiary website controlled by that person, business, or association; and identify any other instances of the identified information that should also be removed.

AB966,,63 2. After receiving a judicial officer’s written request, no person, business, or association may transfer the judicial officer’s personal information to any other person, business, or association through any medium, except as follows:

AB966,,64 a. The person, business, or association may transfer personal information that the judicial officer or an immediate family member of the judicial officer voluntarily publishes on the Internet after the effective date of this subd. 2. a. .... [LRB inserts date].

AB966,,65 b. The person, business, or association may transfer the judicial officer’s personal information at the request of the judicial officer if the transfer is necessary to effectuate a request to the person, business, or association from the judicial officer.

AB966,,66 (4) Procedure for completing a written request for protection of personal information. (a) No government agency, person, business, or association may be found to have violated any provision of this section if the judicial officer fails to submit a written request calling for the protection of the personal information of the judicial officer or the judicial officer’s immediate family.

AB966,,67 (b) A written request under this subsection is valid if all of the following are true:

AB966,,68 1. The judicial officer sends a written request directly to a government agency, person, business, or association.

AB966,,69 2. If the director of state courts has a policy and procedure for a judicial officer to file the written request with the director of state court’s office to notify government agencies, the judicial officer may send the written request to the director of state courts. In each quarter of a calendar year, the director of state courts shall provide to the appropriate officer with ultimate supervisory authority for a government agency a list of all judicial officers who have submitted the written request under this subsection. The officer shall promptly provide a copy of the list to the government agencies under his or her supervision. Receipt of the written request list compiled by the director of state courts office by a government agency shall constitute a written request to that agency for purposes of this subsection.

AB966,,70 (c) A representative from the judicial officer’s employer may submit a written request on the judicial officer’s behalf, provided that the judicial officer has given written consent to the representative and provided that the representative agrees to furnish a copy of that consent when the written request is made. The representative shall submit the written request as provided under par. (b).

AB966,,71 (d) A judicial officer’s written request shall specify what personal information shall be maintained as private. If a judicial officer wishes to identify a secondary residence as a home address, the designation shall be made in the written request. A judicial officer’s written request shall disclose the identity of the officer’s immediate family and indicate that the personal information of these family members shall also be excluded to the extent that it could reasonably be expected to reveal personal information of the judicial officer.

AB966,,72 (e) A judicial officer’s written request is valid until one of the following occurs:

AB966,,73 1. The judicial officer provides the government agency, person, business, or association with written permission to release the personal information.

AB966,,74 2. The death of the judicial officer.

AB966,,75 (5) (a) A judicial officer whose personal information is made public as a result of a violation of this section may bring an action seeking injunctive or declaratory relief in any court of competent jurisdiction. Notwithstanding s. 814.04, if the court grants injunctive or declaratory relief, the governmental agency, business, association, data broker, or other person responsible for the violation shall be required to pay the judicial officer’s costs and reasonable attorney fees.

AB966,,76 (b) Provided that an employee of a government agency has complied with the conditions set forth in sub. (2), it is not a violation of this section if an employee of a government agency publishes personal information, in good faith, on the website of the government agency in the ordinary course of carrying out public functions.

AB966,,77 (c) It is unlawful for any person to knowingly publicly post or display on the Internet the personal information of a judicial officer or of the judicial officer’s immediate family if the person intends the public posting or display of the personal information to create or increase a threat to the health and safety of the judicial officer or the judicial officer’s immediate family and, under the circumstances, bodily injury or death of the judicial officer or a member of the judicial officer’s immediate family is a natural and probable consequence of the posting or display. A person who violates this paragraph is guilty of a Class G felony.

AB966,,78 (6) This section shall be construed broadly to favor the protection of the personal information of judicial officers and the immediate family of judicial officers.

AB966,6 Section 6. Effective date.

AB966,,80 (1) This act takes effect on the first day of the 7th month beginning after publication.

AB966,,81 (end)