Thank you for visiting the California State Legislature web site. We want you to know about the collection, use, security, and access to information that may result from your use of this site. By visiting this web site, you consent to the policies and practices described in this notice, including the collection and use of information as described below. This web site is maintained for the California State Legislature by the Legislative Counsel Bureau.
Our web site has links to sites we feel might be useful to you. When you link to another site, you are no longer on our site and are subject to the privacy policy of the new site. Each of those web sites, and the sites to which they link in turn, may have different privacy and use policies. For example, links are provided to the sites of departments within California state government, local government entities, and agencies of the federal government, each of which may be subject to different restrictions of state and federal law with respect to the collection and use of personal information. Be sure to review those policies as you access additional web sites.
Please note that this policy is subject to change without notice, and that it reflects our current business practices. This policy is dated December 5, 2003.
This Notice covers the following topics:
Information Automatically Collected
Information You Voluntarily Submit to Us
Public Disclosure
Security
Limitation of Liability
Ownership
Information Automatically Collected
If you do nothing during your visit to this web site but browse, or download information, we automatically collect and store certain information about your visit. This information does not identify you by name, and we make no attempt to link other web sites with the persons who browse this web site.
This automatic collection of information is used only to help us understand how people are using the web site, and to improve its content and design. The information automatically collected about your visit is as follows:
• The Internet Protocol Address and domain name used, but not the e-mail address. The Internet Protocol Address is a numerical identifier assigned either to your Internet service provider or directly to your computer. We use your Internet Protocol Address to generate statistics used in the management of this site.
• The type of web browser and operating system you used.
• The date and time you visited this site.
• The web pages or services you accessed at this site, including the first and last web pages you visited.
• If you downloaded a form, the form that was downloaded.
When cookies, which are small pieces of information that are stored by your browser on your computer's hard drive, are needed to maintain the functionality of an application, we make use of them only during the session in which you access our interactive applications. You can refuse the cookie or delete the cookie file from your computer by using one of several widely available methods. However, if you turn your cookie option off, you may not be able to access some of the features in our interactive applications.
Section 11015.5 of the Government Code prohibits any state agency, including the Legislative Counsel Bureau, from distributing or selling any "electronically collected personal information" about users to any third party without prior written permission from the user, with limited exceptions. We do not sell any electronically collected personal information. The only data that we collect that qualifies as electronically collected personal information is your Internet Protocol Address, which we discard without reuse or distribution. Electronically collected personal information does not include information that you submit to us.
Information You Voluntarily Submit to Us
If you voluntarily participate in an activity on this web site that asks for specific information (for example, completing a request for assistance, personalizing the content of the web site, sending an e-mail, or participating in a survey), we will collect the information you provide. We may also maintain the information you provide, in order to give you future updates on the issue or issues about which you have expressed concern. If you choose not to participate in these activities, your choice will not affect your ability to use any other feature of the web site.
If you choose to provide us with personal information, as in e-mail with a comment or question, we will ordinarily use the information to respond to you, to address issues you identify, or to improve our web site. Alternatively, as appropriate, we may forward your e-mail to an appropriate local, state, or federal agency that may be better able to help you.
If you choose to submit information to us, the information will be transmitted through secure lines to our database. Except as provided by law or for such uses as are necessary to protect the integrity of our computer system, any private information will be used only for the purposes for which it was provided and for related purposes and, other than as described above, will not be shared with any other entity. Information you provide may be included with other visitors' information to be used for statistical reporting and trending data.
The information collected is not limited to text characters, and may include audio, video, and graphic information you send us.
Public Disclosure
In the State of California, laws exist to ensure that government is open and that the public has a right to access appropriate records and information possessed by state government. At the same time, state and federal laws provide exceptions to the public's right to access public records, designed to serve various needs including maintaining the privacy of individuals.
Information collected through this site may be deemed a public record that is subject to inspection and copying by the public, unless an exemption in law exists. In the event of a conflict between this policy and the Legislative Open Records Act, or other law governing the disclosure of records, the Legislative Open Records Act or other applicable law will control.
Security
The developer and manager of this web site has taken several steps to safeguard the integrity of its telecommunications and computing infrastructure, including but not limited to authentication, monitoring, auditing, and encryption. Security measures have been integrated into the design, implementation, and day-to-day practices of our operating environment as part of our continuing commitment to risk management. This information should not be construed in any way as giving business, legal, or other advice, or warranting, as fail-proof, the security of information provided via this web site.
This web site and the information it contains are provided as a public service by the California State Legislature. The web site is monitored to ensure its proper operation, to verify the functioning of applicable security features, and for related purposes. Anyone using this web site expressly consents to such monitoring. Unauthorized attempts to upload or change any information in this web site, to defeat or circumvent security features, or to utilize this site for other than its intended purposes are prohibited and may result in criminal prosecution.
Limitation of Liability
We attempt to maintain the highest accuracy of content on this web site. Any errors or omissions should be reported for investigation.
We make no claims, promises, or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the contents of this web site, and expressly disclaim liability for errors and omissions in the contents of this site. No warranty of any kind, implied, expressed, or statutory, including but not limited to the warranties of non-infringement of third party rights, title, merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and freedom from computer virus, is given with respect to the contents of this web site or its hyperlinks to other Internet resources. Reference in this web site to any specific commercial products, processes, or services, or the use of any trade, firm, or corporation name is for the information and convenience of the public, and does not constitute endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the State of California, or its employees or agents.
Ownership
Some of the information presented on this web site may be protected by copyright. Permission to use that material must be obtained in advance from the California State Assembly, the California State Senate, or the Legislative Counsel Bureau, as applicable. In addition, we have the unlimited right to use for any purpose, free of any charge, all information submitted via this site except those submissions made under separate legal contract.