SB 647: Access to Criminal Records

Senate Bill 647 by Sen. Steven Bradford (D-Los Angeles) was amended recently to add Government Code Section 69846.3 to require the clerk of a superior court to allow access to public information that identifies criminal defendants and permit the clerk of the court to audit persons who have accessed public record information.

This new section of the Government Code would require a superior court clerk to allow access to public record information that identifies criminal defendants to a person who certifies under penalty of perjury that the person is reviewing or obtaining the information for the preparation of a consumer report by a consumer reporting agency, and that the person who is the subject of the report has consented to the preparation of the consumer report.

In addition, this bill would specify that a person receiving information pursuant to this section would not be considered to have received local summary criminal history information. Finally, the superior court clerk would be authorized to audit persons who have accessed public record information pursuant to this section upon reasonable written notice given at least 10 business days in advance.