SB 329 — Relating to judges and justices; to prohibit government agencies, individuals, businesses, and associations from publicly posting or displaying judge's or justice's personal information on the Internet, provided they have received a written request from the judge or justice to refrain from doing so; to prohibit commercial data collectors from knowingly selling, trading, licensing, transferring, or purchasing judges' personal information; to provide for a process for a judge or justice to request their personal information not be made public; to provide for penalties for violations; and in connection therewith would have as its purpose or effect the requirement of a new or increased expenditure of local funds within the meaning of Section 111.05 of the Constitution of Alabama of 2022.

Any written, printed, or electronic document or record that is maintained, controlled, or in possession of a government agency that may be obtained by any individual or entity from the Internet, from the government agency upon request either free of charge or for a fee, or in response to a request under the Freedom of Information Act.

(8) PUBLICLY POST OR DISPLAY.

To communicate to another or otherwise make available to the public.

(a) GovernmentA agenciesgovernment agency shall not publicly post or display publicly availableon contenta thatwebsite includes the personal information of a judicial officer or his or her immediate family, provided that the government agency has received a written request in accordance with Section 6.

(b)(1)(b) AfterWithin a10 governmentbusiness agencydays hasof receivedreceipt aof the written request, the government agency shall remove the judicial officer's and his or her immediate family's personal information from publiclythe availablewebsite. content within five Page 5 SB329 INTRODUCED business days of such receipt.

(2)(c) AfterThe the government agency has removed the judicial officer's and his or her immediate family's personal information fromshall publiclybe availableconfidential content,and thenot governmentalbe agencyconsidered shalla notpublic publiclyrecord postfor orpurposes displayof theArticle personal3 information.of Chapter 12 of Title 36, Code of Alabama 1975.

Additionally,(d) theIf judiciala officer'sgovernment andagency hisfails orto hercomply immediatewith family's personal information shall confidential and not be considered a publicwritten recordrequest forto purposesrefrain offrom Articleposting 3or ofdisplaying Chapterpersonal 11Page of4 TitleSB329 40,Engrossed Codeinformation ofpublicly Alabamaon 1975,a unlesswebsite, the governmentjudicial agencyofficer hasmay receivedbring consentan fromaction theseeking judicialinjunctive officeror todeclaratory makerelief thein personalany informationcourt aof publiccompetent record.jurisdiction.

(c) If a government agency fails to comply with a written request to refrain from disclosing personal information, the judicial officer may bring an action seeking injunctive or declaratory relief in any court of competent jurisdiction.

(1) The display on the Internet of personal information of a judicial officer or the immediate family if the information is relevant to and displayed as part of a news Page 6 SB329 INTRODUCED story, commentary, editorial, or other speech on a matter of public concern.

Page 5 SB329 Engrossed (d) After a person has received a written request from a judicial officer, that person shall ensure that the judicial officer's and his or her immediate family member's personal information is not made available on any website or subsidiary website controlled by that person.

(2) If the court grants injunctive or declaratory relief, the person responsible for the violation shall be Page 7 SB329 INTRODUCED required to pay the judicial officer's court costs and reasonable attorney's fees.

Page 6 SB329 Engrossed Section 6.

Every three months, the Alabama Administrative Office of Courts Page 8 SB329 INTRODUCED shall provide a list to the appropriate officer with supervisory authority for a government agency of all judicial officers who have submitted a written request to it.

(c) A representative from the judicial officer's employer may submit a written request on the judicial officer's behalf if the judicial officer gives written consent to the representative and the representative agrees to furnish Page 7 SB329 Engrossed a copy of that consent when a written request is made.

(e) A judicial officer's written request is valid until Page 9 SB329 INTRODUCED the judicial officer provides the government agency, individual, business, or association with written permission to release private information.

(a) It is unlawful for a person to knowingly publicly post on the Internet the personal information of a judicial officer or the judicial officer's immediate family if the individual knows or should have known that publicly posting the personal information poses an imminent and serious threat to the health and safety of the judicial officer or the judicial officer's immediate family, and the violation is a proximate cause of bodily injury or death of the judicial officer or a member of the judicial officer's immediate Page 8 SB329 Engrossed family.

Section 8.Provided8. that the employee of a government agency has complied with the conditions set forth in Sections 3 through 6, it is not a violation of this section if an employee of a government agency publishes personal information, in good faith, on the website of the government agency in the ordinary course of carrying out public functions.

Provided that the employee of a government agency has complied with the conditions set forth in Sections 3 through 6, it is not a violation of this act if an employee of a government agency publishes personal information, in good faith, on the website of the government agency in the ordinary course of carrying out public functions.

Page 10 SB329 INTRODUCED Section 10.

Page 119 SB329 Engrossed Senate Read for the first time and referred ................16-May-23 to the Senate committee on Judiciary Read for the second time and placed ................24-May-23 on the calendar:

0 amendments Read for the third time and passed ................25-May-23 as amended Yeas 30 Nays 0 Abstains 0 Patrick Harris, Secretary.

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