Privacy Task Force

Denver, CO

November 9, 2010

Welcome

Introduction of PTF Organizers Opening Remarks Introduction of Attendees PRIA, PREP and PTF

Contact InformationChristopher BroekemaNational Director Property Information Systemschristopher.broekema@redvision.com303-801-9802

David FloydPresident SKLD Information Services, LLCdfloyd@skld.com 303-695-3896

Nancy SotomayorDouglas County Recording ManagerNSotomay@douglas.co.us303-663-7644

Sherrie SwisherLarimer County Recording ManagerSSwisher@larimer.org970-498-7864

Jeff WolffVice President Security Title Guarantee Cojswolff@stgco.com 970-226-1901

What is PRIA?

PRIA = Property Records Industry Association

“PRIA is the bridge that crosses the boundary between two interdependent segments of the American

economy.  PRIA’s success depends on the mutual commitment of business and government leaders to achieve their common goal of keeping the nation’s

property records industry sound.” (PRIA website www.pria.us October 2010)

PRIA’s Goal

“To provide a forum for the identification, research, discussion, development, drafting, and implementation of national standards, best practices, and new technology solutions  to promote the integrity of the public records system, the efficiency of industry operations, and the effectiveness of interfaces between the two.”

How does PRIA work?

PRIA has established important alliances with various industry partners including ALTA (American Land Title Association) and MISMO (Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization).

PRIA is comprised of volunteers from the public and private sector.

Committees and sub-committees have been created and each is co-chaired by both a business sector and government sector representative

The committees work together toward reaching PRIA’s goal. To make the work relevant on the local level, the PREP

program was developed.

What is PREP?

PREP = Property Records Education Partners

PREP provides:- A local structured forum for stakeholders of the property records industry to meet and work together more effectively

- A way to share perspectives and information

between national and local industry participants

The PREP Difference

PREP Chapters are local and some states have a chapter in each region – Colorado currently has one for the entire state.

Interested parties do not have to belong to PRIA to belong to PREP or vice versa.

While PRIA holds 2 large yearly conferences, PREP chapters meet more often and not always in person.

PRIA committee work typically encompasses projects/tasks that have impact on a national level. PREP work is focused on the local level.

From PRIA to PREP to PTF

Timeline of Events: August 2008- IRS notifies Colorado County Clerk’s

of a Federal requirement to display SSN's on Federal Tax Liens as presented, regardless of state and local law

September 2008- Colorado County Clerks Association (CCCA) receives a letter from the Attorney General strongly encouraging them to remove any online documents displaying SSN or sensitive information while his office considers a legislative fix CCCA Attorney, Willis Carpenter, emails an opinion to

county clerks agreeing with the AG  Jack Arrowsmith (Douglas County Clerk and Recorder)

reaches out to the AG's Office and requests an opportunity for clerk representatives to meet with the AG and his staff

Starting Down the Road to PTF

September 2008 (continued) Clerk representatives meet with the AG and staff.

Discussed are the AG's plans and intentions for possible legislation, definitions of redaction considerations, the clerk's processes, costs associated with redaction, and a go forward plan that the AG would like to utilize.

The AG indicates he would like to see a working group involving the SOS and clerks.  He asks clerk representatives to provide names from the clerk’s organization and specifically requests small counties be involved.

The Road to PTF

January 2009- The CCCA President provides a letter to the AG identifying county representation and offering several points for consideration in development of the Privacy Task Force

February 2009- The AG sends a letter to the Secretary of State requesting they take the lead in carrying out the work of the Task Force.  The AG offers to actively participate through a representative   Six days later CCCA President receives a request from

the SOS Office, requesting a copy of the January 2009 letter from the CCCA to the AG

Still on the Road to PTF

April 2009- Douglas County Clerk emails the SOS in regard to SB 09-283 and requests the PTF move quickly in an effort to be ready for the 2010 legislative session

May 2009- Clerk representatives meet with representatives from the SOS Office.  Attendees explore the recent redaction effort of the

SOS Office for UCC's as well as the direction of the PTF.  

The SOS Office announces their preference to serve on the PTF in an advisory, rather than directive, role. 

Next Stop - PTF

June 2009- The CCCA asks their representatives in the Colorado PREP Chapter to make a formal request for PREP to build and facilitate the PTF

July 2009- The Colorado PREP Chapter meets and determines they will facilitate the start-up of the PTF

The PTF

October 2009 to present A subcommittee of the Colorado PREP Chapter began

meeting to develop a foundation for the creation of the formal Colorado Privacy Task Force

Redaction information from across the nation was researched and analyzed

A synopsis of positive and negative legislative impacts and attributes were condensed into a key points summary  

This group also identified those entities who utilize or are impacted by the public records.  And here you are!

PTF Representatives

Statement from the Attorney General’s Office

Statement from the Secretary of State’s Office

What’s Out There Now?

Colorado Statute or Not? "Personal information'' means first name or first initial and last

name in combination with any one or more of the following data elements when the data elements are not encrypted, redacted, or secured by any other method rendering the name or the element unreadable or unusable: Social security number Driver's license number or identification card number Account number or credit or debit card number, in combination

with any required security code, access code, or password that would permit access to a resident's financial account.

C.R.S 6-1-716

Colorado Statute or Not? Colorado Statute or Not?

A person or entity may not Publicly post or publicly display in any manner an individual's

social security number. Print an individual's social security number on any card

required for the individual to access products or services provided by the person or entity.

Require an individual to transmit his or her social security number over the internet, unless the connection is secure or the social security number is encrypted.

Require the use of a social security number to access an internet web site, unless a password or unique personal identification number or other authentication device is also required to access the internet web site.

Print an individual's social security number on any materials that are mailed to the individual, unless state or federal law requires, permits, or authorizes the social security number to be on the document to be mailed.

C.R.S. 6-1-715

Colorado Statute or Not?

A register of deeds may remove from an image or copy of an official record placed on a register of deeds' Internet Web site available to the general public or an Internet Web site available to the general public used by a register of deeds to display public records by the register of deeds, a person's social security, employer taxpayer identification, drivers license, state identification, passport, checking account, savings account, credit card, debit card number, date of birth, or personal identification (PIN) code or passwords contained in that official record

Proposed Legislation in North Carolina

Colorado Statute or Not?

It is unlawful for a person to knowingly make available on the internet personal information about a law enforcement official or the official's immediate family member, if the dissemination of the personal information poses an imminent and serious threat to the law enforcement official's safety or the safety of the law enforcement official's immediate family and the person making the information available on the internet knows or reasonably should know of the imminent and serious threat.

C.R.S 18-9-313

Colorado Statute or Not?

An agency may withhold access to a record if disclosure of the record would constitute a “clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy”. To withhold a record, the agency must show an individual has a significant privacy interest in the information and the significant privacy interest is not outweighed by the public interest in the disclosure. “Significant privacy information” includes SSNs, medical history,

and financial information.

Any judgment, order or decree for real property recorded shall only contain the last 4 digits of the individual’s SSN

Hawaii 92-F and HB3170

Colorado Statute or Not? The custodian shall deny the right of inspection of the following

records, unless otherwise provided by law: except that any of the following records, shall be available to the person in interest under this subsection Military records filed with a county clerk and recorder's office

concerning a member of the military's separation from military service, including the form DD214 issued to a member of the military upon separation from service. If the member of the military about whom the record concerns is deceased, the custodian shall allow the right of inspection to the member's parents, siblings, widow or widower, and children.

Applications for a marriage license submitted. These records may be inspected by immediate family members. “Immediate family member" means a person who is related by blood, marriage, or adoption.

C.R.S 24-72-204 and 5 U.S.C. sec. 552 (b) (6)

Break Time

Coming up after the break: Stories from the Front Line

Primary Goals Initial Group

To fully understand the role of personally identifiable information (PII) within the public records.

To identify the national and local legislative trends and conditions that relate to consumer privacy and access to public records.

Primary Goals Initial Group

To provide guidelines and recommendations for public policy, including any future legislation, which work to protect the privacy of consumers’ Personally Identifiable Information (PII), while preserving access to public records and minimizing potential impacts on commerce.

Real World Examples

Florida – Carol Foglesong, Assistant Comptroller, Orange County Comptroller’s Office Property Records Industry Association National Association of County Recorders,

Election Officials, and Clerks Central Florida PREP Electronic Documents and Records

Management Professionals

Florida called it in 2002

In 2001, passed law requiring: In the public’s interest All index data back to at least 1990 to be

online by 7/2002 All images back to at least 1990 to be

online by 7/2006 Then 9/11/01 happened

May 2002 law changes

Certain documents too confidential to show on publicly available internet Death certificates, military discharges, and

court documents from juvenile, probate, mental health, and family/domestic relations divisions

Redact (cover up) the FL 5: Social security numbers, bank account

numbers, credit card numbers, debit card numbers, and charge card numbers

Costs

Put out RFP; selected firm Had to define which numbers were to

be redacted or not (e.g., Fed ID #) Cost per image/page = $0.0235 Total number of images reviewed =

over 34 million Total cost = just over $800,000

Results

Total pages with one of FL 5 to be redacted = 2.82%

Total documents with one of FL 5 to be redacted = 6.6%

Remember: every final judgment or order in each and every court case recorded into land records in FL

Lessons learned

Make law that document preparer is not to put pii onto documents which are going to be recorded

Do not require redaction of 1st 5 digits of SSN, leaving last 4 viewable

Find/create way to specifically fund redaction

Redaction software doesn’t work on paper or microfilm

Questions

Real World Examples

Texas – Jay Sibley, President and CEO of Title Data, Inco Texas Land Title Association Legislative

Committee Membero Freedom of Information Foundation of

Texas Board Membero Chair, American Land Title Association’s

Real Property Records Committee

Texas

Senate Bill 1485 was signed into Texas Law and became effective in September 2005

This 60 word bill added the following to the Texas Public Information Act (TPIA): “The social security number of a living person is

exempt from the disclosure requirements of the TPIA and a governmental body may redact a social security number without the necessity of requesting a decision from the Attorney General”

Real World Implications

While this bill was intended to clarify whether and how SSNs could be disclosed… it had the opposite effect A county clerk inquired November 2005 as to

the effect of this bill The attorney general rendered a decision

November 2007 stating that SSNs could not be disclosed by a county clerk, and if disclosed he or she could be incarcerated in the county jail

Fixing the Issue

In reaction to the attorney general’s opinion most county clerks immediately shut down access to their records, including land records, which nearly shut down the title and oil-gas industries

The Attorney General abated this process in order for the legislature to fix the problem

The new law states that a county or district clerk may disclose a SSN in the ordinary course of business and such disclosure is not official misconduct nor is the clerk criminally liable

Questions

PRIA – Groundwork a Solid Foundation

Social Security Number and Privacy Protection Act

Legislative summary

PRIA – Groundwork a Solid Foundation

PRIA Summary all State redaction laws at:http://www.pria.us/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3368

Link to Standards and Publications: http://www.pria.us/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageID=3281

What’s Next?

In our review of national privacy legislation, two primary issues surfaced: 1) What information is made available via the

internet and 2) What, if any, information should be redacted

from the public record. This review lead to the creation of the Key

Points Summary which will be discussed at our next meeting

Word on the Street

What’s Happening in your World?

Next Meeting

December 7, 2010

9 a.m. – 11 a.m.

Colorado Secretary of State’s Office

Contact Information

David FloydPresident SKLD Information Services

303-695-3896 dfloyd@skld.com

Sherrie SwisherLarimer County Recording Manager

970-498-7864sswisher@larimer.org