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October 13, 2002
With the advent of the Internet and the global economic infrastructure,
information has become one of the most valuable commodities to individuals,
firms, groups and governments. The consolidated Napa County offices of Assessor,
Recorder, County Clerk and Registrar of Voters maintain and make available a
great deal of information about individuals, financial transactions and property
characteristics and values. With very few exceptions, California is an "open
records" state which means that birth, marriage and death certificates;
documents relating to property transfers, financing and liens, property
ownership and property characteristics; and value data are public record.
The current major exceptions are: the county assessor is permitted to keep
information obtained from property owners in the valuation process confidential;
certain information on birth and death certificates remains confidential;
certain birth records are subject to being sealed in cases of adoption; marriage
information under certain very limited conditions is treated confidentially and
voter registration and voting participation data is restricted to use for
election purposes only and only upon written application.
While each of us as individuals want our privacy respected, we also want to be
able to have information about others to determine their creditworthiness; to
find out if they belong on our family tree; to contact them to complain about
their barking dogs or to sell them something; and, if we are a candidate, to
know if they are registered to vote in case we want to influence them. Many
times we want organizations to be able to find out about us: our marital status
for Social Security or pension purposes; our birth data for a passport or little
league; death certificates for clearing title to property or obtaining benefits
payable on death.
As custodian of these records, the assessor-recorder/county clerk/registrar is
neutral on whether the information is public or confidential since that decision
is left to the legislature and the courts. However, in making decisions about
the electronic dissemination of records, the custodian is in the middle of the
conflict between the goal of an open society based on easy communication and the
concern of individuals to protect their privacy.
To ensure that assessments are equitable, the assessed value of property and the
amount of property tax are public record. Deeds and liens are placed on public
record so that anyone can check the ownership of property or the financial
status of a person or corporation. The fact that property owner names and
addresses are public information also means that they can become targets of junk
mail. Precinct lists contain registered voters' name, address and party
affiliation so that candidates can knock on their doors or send them mail, but
it also means that they may receive more mail and attempts to influence them
than they want.
With modern technology many of these public records can be made available over
the Internet so that documents such as deeds, liens, birth, marriage and death
certificates can be read and certified copies ordered electronically. Assessment
records are now made widely available by firms that specialize in providing
information to realtors, mortgage companies and others.
The easy access to information that many of us need and enjoy can conflict with
our desire for personal privacy. We must keep these competing goals in mind as
we participate in creating the groundrules for the coming electronic information
age.
Should you have any questions, please contact Napa County Assessor John Tuteur
at 707.253.4459 or by e-mail jtuteur@co.napa.ca.us
Author's note: This column was originally published four years ago but is still
timely.
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