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Copyrighted by SANTA CLARA COUNTY CODE & Municipal Code Corporation, 1998.

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Sec. A16-3. Definitions.

As used in this division:

(a) The term "confidential information" means any of the following:

(1) Any information in any record, maintained by a County agency or component thereof which performs as its principal function efforts to prevent, control or reduce crime or to apprehend criminals, if the information is:

(i) Compiled for the purpose of identifying individual criminal offenders and alleged offenders and consists only of identifying data and notations of arrests, the nature and disposition of criminal charges, sentencing, confinement, release and parole and probation status; or

(ii) Compiled for the purpose of a criminal investigation of suspected criminal activities, including reports of informants and investigators, and associated with an identifiable individual; or

(iii) Contained in any record which could identify an individual and which is compiled at any stage of the process of enforcement of the criminal law, from the arrest or indictment stage through release from supervision.

(2) Information consisting solely of written testing or examination material, or scoring keys used solely to determine individual qualifications for appointment or promotion in public service, or used to administer a licensing examination, or academic examination, the disclosure of which would compromise the objectivity or fairness of the testing or examination process.

(3) Any information concerning medical, psychiatric, rehabilitation, drug abuse, alcoholism, social services or psychological material, if the holder of the record determines that disclosure of the information would be medically or psychologically detrimental to the individual.

(4) Information, other than that maintained by any County agency or component thereof, which performs as its principal function any activity pertaining to the enforcement of criminal law, consisting solely of investigative materials maintained by an agency for the purpose of investigating a specific violation of law, but only so long as an investigation is in progress and such investigative information has not been maintained for a period longer than is necessary to complete a criminal, civil or administrative prosecution or initiate other remedial action. An agency may keep the source or sources of information used for an investigation under this section confidential so long as it determines that confidentiality is necessary to protect its law enforcement activities.

(5) Any information which is required by federal or state statute to be withheld from the individual to whom it pertains.

(b) The term "personal information" means any of the following:

(1) Any information in any record about an individual that is maintained by an agency, including but not limited to his or her education, financial transactions, medical or employment history, including verification of participation in any program as specified in Subdivision (a)(3) of this section. It does not mean information found to be confidential or nonpersonal under Subdivision (a) or (c) of this section.

(2) Records consisting of information used solely for the purpose of verifying and paying government health care service claims made pursuant to Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code (Welfare and Institutions Code § 10000 et seq.).

(3) Any information which is required by statute to be given to the individual to whom it pertains.

(4) Any information to which access by the individual is not expressly prohibited by law.

(c) The term "nonpersonal information" means all of the following:

(1) Information consisting only of names, addresses, publicly listed telephone numbers and other limited factual data which could not, in any reasonable way:

(i) Reflect or convey anything detrimental, disparaging or threatening to an individual's reputation, rights, benefits, privileges or qualifications; or

(ii) Be used by an agency to make a determination that would affect an individual's rights, benefits, privileges or qualifications.

(2) An agency telephone book or directory which is used exclusively for telephone and directory information.

(3) Any book/card catalog of any library or the contents of any book listed within such book/card catalog.

(4) Any mailing list which is used exclusively for the purpose of mailing agency information.

(5) Records required by law to be maintained and used solely as a system of statistical records, but only if such records are maintained for statistical research or reporting purposes only and are not used in whole or in part in making any determination about an identifiable individual.

(6) Records to which an individual has the right of examination pursuant to Article 5 of Chapter 1 of Title 1 of Part 4 of the Penal Code (Penal Code § 11120 et seq.).

(d) The term "agency" means every County office, officer, department, division, bureau, board, commission, task force, subcontractor or other County agency, except that the term "agency" shall not include:

(1) The Board of Supervisors;

(2) Any agency established under Article VI of the California Constitution;

(3) County Counsel's office.

(e) The term "disclose" means to disclose, release, transfer, disseminate or otherwise communicate all or any part of any record orally, in writing, or by electronic or any other means to any person or entity other than the one to whom the record pertains.

(f) The term "individual" means a natural person.

(g) The term "maintain" includes maintain, acquire, use or disclose.

(h) The term "person" means any natural person, corporation, partnership, firm or association.

(i) The term "record" means any file or grouping of information about an individual that is maintained by agency, including but not limited to his or her education, financial transactions, medical or employment history, and that contains his or her name, identifying number, symbol or other identifying particular assigned to the individual, including but not limited to a finger or voice print or photograph, and is maintained by reference to such an identifying particular.

(j) The term "system of records" means one or more records, which pertain to one or more individuals, which is maintained by an agency from which information is retrieved by the name of an individual or by some identifying number, symbol or other identifying particular assigned to the individual.

(k) The term "governmental entity" means any branch of the federal government, state government or County government.

(l) The term "informed consent" means knowingly and willingly giving permission to disclose specific personal information to a specific person, agency or governmental entity for a specific purpose covering a stated period of time in writing, obtained not more than 30 days before the disclosure or in the time limit specified by the individual.

(m) The term "authorized representative" means the duly appointed guardian or conservator of an individual, or a person representing the individual; providing, that it can be proven with reasonable certainty through the possession of agency forms, documents or correspondence that such person is the authorized representative of the individual.

(Ord. No. NS-300.288, § 1, 6-12-77)

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