BILL NUMBER:S292

TITLE OF BILL:
An act
to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to protecting
information on hunting, fishing and trapping license and permit
applications from disclosure outside of the department of environmental
conservation

PURPOSE:
This bill would clarify that personal information submitted
on applications for hunting, fishing and trapping licenses and
permits shall not be disclosed outside of the Department of
Environmental Conservation.

SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section 1 of the bill would amend
subdivision 2 of section 11-0305 of the Environmental Conservation
Law (ECL) to clarify that the Department of Environmental
Conservation (DEC) shall not disclose or release outside of DEC any
information provided to licensing agents or to DEC by persons
applying for hunting, fishing or trapping licenses, permits, stamps,
buttons or tags.

Section 2 would add a new subdivision 6 to ECL § 11-0713 to provide
that all information disclosed to a licensing agent or DEC by a
              

person in furtherance of obtaining a license, permit, stamp, button
or tag, shall not be disclosed or released outside of DEC, except for
law enforcement purposes, or as authorized and required by federal or
state law for child support enforcement purposes. Also, the bill
would require DEC to establish procedures to ensure that such
information is protected from disclosure.

Section 3 provides that the bill would take effect immediately.

EXISTING LAW:
Article 11 of the ECL governs the taking of wildlife and
provides for the issuance of licenses and permits for hunting,
trapping and fishing, but it contains no express restrictions on the
release of information pertaining to holders of licenses, permits,
stamps, buttons or tags.

JUSTIFICATION:
The right of hunters, trappers and anglers to maintain
their personal privacy and security entails an obligation of
government to protect personal information submitted to an agency for
the limited purpose of obtaining a license, permit, stamp, button or
tag from unwarranted disclosures. At a time of growing private and
governmental recognition and concern about identify theft and its
serious impact on the personal and financial lives of individuals
across the country, releasing an individual's personal information
poses a substantial risk that such person's identity may be
appropriated for illegal purposes and illicit financial gain.

DEC recently installed a new database system, the DEC Automated
Licensing System (known as "DECALS") which maintains information on


sporting licenses
and permits. The personal details entered into the database include
the following:

- individual's first name; - individual's last name;
- individual's middle name or initials;
- suffix;
- gender;
- height;
- eye color;
- date of birth;
- driver's license number;
- customer identification number;
- whether the licensee is a New York resident;
- whether the licensee is legally blind;
- residency proof type;
- whether the licensee served in the military;
- whether the licensee is permanent 40% military disabled;
- fulfillment information;
- preference points;
- e-mail address;
- residential and mailing address information; and
- telephone number.

Clearly, this database contains sensitive personal information,
including the intimate details relating to personal matters (such as
medical conditions and physical attributes), the release of which
would be an unwarranted intrusion into an individual's personal
privacy. Moreover, the computerized nature of this database and the
release in that format provides for ease of dissemination and
exchange of such information, heightening the danger or invasion of
personal privacy and the potential for identity theft.

Based upon these considerations, DEC has determined that the contents
of this database should not be disclosed outside of the agency
because it is protected by the personal privacy provisions in the
State Freedom of Information Law. DEC's position that such
information is protected from disclosure "is supported by case law,
and was vindicated by the recent decision of the State Supreme Court
in the case of GOVER V. DEC, No. 2869-05 (Sup. Ct. Albany County
2005). Enactment of this bill would codify these holdings and
reaffirm the protection of personal information for sportsmen and
women. This bill would further clarify in the ECL that information
submitted in the process of obtaining a hunting, fishing or trapping
license or permit shall not be disclosed outside the agency, except
for law enforcement purposes, or as required by federal or state law
or regulation for child support enforcement purposes. The information
in the DECALS database relates to and arises from a voluntary
recreational activity, and not from the permitting or operation of a
regulated business or commercial activity. Sporting license and
permit applicants do not anticipate that the information they provide
to a licensing agent or DEC for recreational sport activities
will be distributed or otherwise shared with outside sources.

This bill, by making it explicit in the ECL that such information is
protected from disclosure outside of DEC, will ensure that DEC may


continue to protect sporting license applicants' just expectation
that personal information will be kept private.

PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
S.8130 of 2006; Passed Senate
S.2759 of 2007/08; Passed Senate in 2007
S.855 of  2009/10; Referred to Environmental Conservation
S.2648 of 2011/2012; Passed Senate

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.

EFFECTIVE DATE:
This bill shall take effect immediately.