Das Texan
02-26-2007, 05:26 PM
AG's privacy ruling puts onus on county clerks
http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/metro/stories/MYSA022407.05B.privacy_ruling.1032097.html
Web Posted: 02/23/2007 10:29 PM CST
Polly Ross Hughes
Austin Bureau
AUSTIN — County clerks could spend six months in jail and be fined $1,000 for releasing records historically accessible to the public that contain Social Security numbers, according to the state attorney general.
Representatives of county officials statewide called the ruling "huge" in its implications, saying compliance could cost local taxpayers millions of dollars, including countless extra hours of labor.
Some even predicted possible lending delays for home buyers and those trying to close commercial real estate deals as public servants scurry to ensure records comply with state and federal privacy laws.
Attorney General Greg Abbott, responding to questions raised by Fort Bend County officials, said it is mandatory for county clerks and other government officials to remove Social Security numbers before distributing public documents.
The question arose because state public information law was amended two years ago to say county clerks "may" remove Social Security numbers on documents they archive and distribute to the public.
Abbott, citing other portions of state law and federal law, said Texans have a right to keep their Social Security numbers private. Therefore, county officials are required to delete them before releasing documents to the public.
For county clerks, these documents largely involve real estate titles and liens but also include birth and death certificates and marriage licenses.
County clerks, much like librarians or archivists, are the repository for many records the public files, said Elna Christopher, spokeswoman for the Texas Association of Counties.
Abbott's opinion could require combing through public records going back all the way to the 1930s, she said, when the Social Security system was created.
"No one knows what it's going to cost to do this," Christopher said. "It becomes another unfunded mandate."
Bexar County Clerk Gerry Rickhoff said his office met last week to discuss how to comply.
"We will honor what the attorney general has to say," he said, by redacting Social Security numbers by hand on documents requested in person, and by using a software filter to block numbers on public documents that are available online.
He said he doesn't yet have a cost estimate, "but we don't expect to have to go to taxpayers" or county commissioners to pay for the changes.
Abbott's opinion warns that disclosure of confidential information such as Social Security numbers is a criminal offense under the Texas Public Information Act.
Clerks are not required to redact Social Security numbers from original, certified documents, but they are required to remove the numbers and note they have done so when releasing them to the public, the opinion says.
"This opinion disrupts the whole real property transfer system we have," said Don Lee, executive director of the Texas Conference of Urban Counties. "There's a real possibility you won't be able to close on a house."
Harris County doesn't post records on the Internet, but it does offer public-access terminals with electronic images of original records, said David Beirne, a spokesman for the county clerk's office. Beirne estimated the cost there to comply would be at least $17.4 million for new software and servers to remove Social Security numbers from the electronic documents.
[email protected]
Express-News Staff Writer Tracy Idell Hamilton contributed to this report from San Antonio.
Fuck you Abbott. Fuck you to hell. Fuck you for enacting something like this overnight in an idiotic non realistic way. Fucker.
http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/metro/stories/MYSA022407.05B.privacy_ruling.1032097.html
Web Posted: 02/23/2007 10:29 PM CST
Polly Ross Hughes
Austin Bureau
AUSTIN — County clerks could spend six months in jail and be fined $1,000 for releasing records historically accessible to the public that contain Social Security numbers, according to the state attorney general.
Representatives of county officials statewide called the ruling "huge" in its implications, saying compliance could cost local taxpayers millions of dollars, including countless extra hours of labor.
Some even predicted possible lending delays for home buyers and those trying to close commercial real estate deals as public servants scurry to ensure records comply with state and federal privacy laws.
Attorney General Greg Abbott, responding to questions raised by Fort Bend County officials, said it is mandatory for county clerks and other government officials to remove Social Security numbers before distributing public documents.
The question arose because state public information law was amended two years ago to say county clerks "may" remove Social Security numbers on documents they archive and distribute to the public.
Abbott, citing other portions of state law and federal law, said Texans have a right to keep their Social Security numbers private. Therefore, county officials are required to delete them before releasing documents to the public.
For county clerks, these documents largely involve real estate titles and liens but also include birth and death certificates and marriage licenses.
County clerks, much like librarians or archivists, are the repository for many records the public files, said Elna Christopher, spokeswoman for the Texas Association of Counties.
Abbott's opinion could require combing through public records going back all the way to the 1930s, she said, when the Social Security system was created.
"No one knows what it's going to cost to do this," Christopher said. "It becomes another unfunded mandate."
Bexar County Clerk Gerry Rickhoff said his office met last week to discuss how to comply.
"We will honor what the attorney general has to say," he said, by redacting Social Security numbers by hand on documents requested in person, and by using a software filter to block numbers on public documents that are available online.
He said he doesn't yet have a cost estimate, "but we don't expect to have to go to taxpayers" or county commissioners to pay for the changes.
Abbott's opinion warns that disclosure of confidential information such as Social Security numbers is a criminal offense under the Texas Public Information Act.
Clerks are not required to redact Social Security numbers from original, certified documents, but they are required to remove the numbers and note they have done so when releasing them to the public, the opinion says.
"This opinion disrupts the whole real property transfer system we have," said Don Lee, executive director of the Texas Conference of Urban Counties. "There's a real possibility you won't be able to close on a house."
Harris County doesn't post records on the Internet, but it does offer public-access terminals with electronic images of original records, said David Beirne, a spokesman for the county clerk's office. Beirne estimated the cost there to comply would be at least $17.4 million for new software and servers to remove Social Security numbers from the electronic documents.
[email protected]
Express-News Staff Writer Tracy Idell Hamilton contributed to this report from San Antonio.
Fuck you Abbott. Fuck you to hell. Fuck you for enacting something like this overnight in an idiotic non realistic way. Fucker.