Senate Bill S4672

                                BILL NUMBER:S4672

TITLE OF BILL:

An act
to amend the public officers law, in relation to limiting the use of
social security numbers for identification of employees

PURPOSE:

The purpose of this bill is to combat the unauthorized use of social
security numbers and prevent identity theft by limiting the use of
social security numbers as a means of employee identification.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section one of this bill would prohibit agencies from using Social
Security numbers as a means of identifying employees unless
specifically authorized or required by law. In addition, this bill
would require agencies to:

* notify employees, in writing, if disclosure of a Social Security
number is mandatory or voluntary;

* advise employees, when a Social Security number is voluntarily
disclosed, of the uses of such number;
              

* advise employees, when a Social Security number is mandated to be
disclosed, of the statute or authority for which the number is
required, as well as the uses of such number.

EFFECTS OF PRESENT LAW WHICH THIS BILL WOULD ALTER:

Under current law, New York State is not prohibited from using Social
Security numbers (SSNs) as a means to identify State employees. This
bill would amend the Public Officers Law to provide that, unless
authorized or required by law, no state agency shall use Social
Security numbers (SSNs) of its employees for identification purposes.

The bill further provides that an agency which requests or requires an
employee to disclose his or her SSN must inform the employee in
writing whether such disclosure is voluntary or mandatory. If the
disclosure is voluntary, the agency must advise the employee of what
uses will be made of the SSN. If the disclosure is mandatory and the
agency is statutorily authorized to require the SSN, the agency must
(i) advise the employee of the statutory or other authority
under which the SSN is required; and (ii) advise the employee of what
uses will be made of the SSN.

JUSTIFICATION:

Identity theft is a pervasive crime that is financially devastating.
People whose identities have been stolen can spend months or years
and thousands of dollars cleaning up the mess the thieves have made
of a good name and credit record. In the meantime, victims of
identity theft may lose job opportunities, be refused loans for


education, housing, or cars. Identity thieves thrive on harvesting
personal information in order to assume a person's identity. The
Social Security number is a key piece of information as it is linked
to credit reports and a number of other financial documents. The
misappropriation of SSNs can result in unscrupulous. individuals
gaining access to financial accounts, opening new accounts, and
making purchases of unsuspecting victims, thereby resulting in
"identity theft" that can cause years of substantial financial
problems.

This bill seeks to limit possibility of SSN misappropriation by
prohibiting the State from using the SSN as an employee identifier.
The United States General Accounting Office provided testimony at a
September 2005 Assembly hearing stating "Although government agencies
told us of various steps they take to safeguard the SSNs they use, we
found that those key protections are not uniformly in place."

In 2002, a similar bill passed both houses and was vetoed by the
Governor. The Governor's veto message (Veto
19) stated "a thorough
analysis by an appropriate Task Force of the many complex issues the
bill presents should precede the enactment of statutory changes.
Accordingly, I am issuing an Executive Order establishing such a Task
Force to study the State's use of SSNs as personal identifiers and
recommend what steps should be taken to safeguard public employees
from the unnecessary dissemination and Unlawful misappropriation
of SSNs." The Task Force created by Executive Order 122 never
convened. This bill will take significant steps in protecting State
employees in the fight against identity theft.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2002:    Similar to S.6707-A/A.10040-A - Veto Message
19
2007:    Passed Assembly/Passed Senate - Veto No. 78
2009-10: S.4186 Investigations & Government Operations

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

Some costs would be associated with creating new employee identifiers.

EFFECTIVE DATE:

One hundred and eighty days after enactment.