NEW PRIVACY RIGHTS?

• Position: Financial information protection: AB 2246, SB 1724 - Brief Article

AB 2246 (Wayne) and SB 1724 (Dunn) give clients greater privacy protections and may impact the way California banks, businesses and CPAs protect and use client information. At press time, both bills awaited Gov. Davis' signature.

AB 2246 requires that electronic records, docments or recordings of a customer's personal information be shredded, erased or otherwise obliterated before disposal. Failure to do so could result in civil liability including actual damages. Personal information includes phone numbers; address; signature; identification numbers including passport, social security, credit card, and drivers license; any physical description; education; income; or other personal information. Directories in which individuals have voluntarily consented to distribution of names, addresses and phone numbers are exempt.

SB 1724 would require that tax preparers, including CPAs and financial institutions or businesses that obtain tax information from clients, be required to obtain client...