BILL NUMBER: S3893

SPONSOR: RANZENHOFER
 
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 envi-
ronmental conservation

 
PURPOSE:

This bill would clarify that personal information submitted on applica-
tions 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 Licens-
ing 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, includ-
ing 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 County2005).  Enactment of this bill would
codify these holdings and reaffirm the protection of personal informa-
tion for sportsmen and women. This bill would further clarify in the ECL
that information submitted in the process of obtaining a hunting, fish-
ing 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 volun-
tary 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:

2006 -- S.8130 -- PASSED SENATE
2007-08 -- S.2759 -- PASSED SENATE/RULES
2009-10 -- S.855 -- ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION
2011-12 -- S.2648/A.7618 -- PASSED SENATE/En Con
2013-14 -- S.292/A.1705 - PASSED SENATE/En Con
2015-16 -- S.2951/A.1918 - PASSED SENATE/En Con
2017-18 - S.3025/A.895 - PASSED SENATE/En Con

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately.