(a) Any person required to be registered as a sex offender under Section 290 of the Penal Code shall disclose this fact to the licensee of a community care facility before becoming a client of that facility. A community care facility client who fails to disclose to the licensee his or her status as a registered sex offender shall be guilty of a misdemeanor punishable pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 1540. The community care facility licensee shall not be liable if the client who is required to register as a sex offender fails to disclose this fact to the community care facility licensee. However, this immunity does not apply if the community care facility licensee knew that the client was required to register as a sex offender.
(b) Any person or persons operating, pursuant to this chapter, a community care facility that accepts as a client an individual who is required to be registered as a sex offender under Section 290 of the Penal Code shall confirm or deny whether any client of the facility is a registered sex offender in response to any person who inquires whether any client of the facility is a registered sex offender and who meets any of the following criteria:
(1) The person is the parent, family member, or guardian of a child residing within a one-mile radius of the facility.
(2) The person occupies a personal residence within a one-mile radius of the facility.
(3) The person operates a business within a one-mile radius of the facility.
(4) The person is currently a client within the facility or a family member of a client within the facility.
(5) The person is applying for placement in the facility, or placement of a family member in the facility.
(6) The person is arranging for a client to be placed in the facility.
(7) The person is a law enforcement officer.
If the community care facility licensee indicates a client is a registered sex offender, the interested person may describe physical characteristics of a client and the facility shall disclose that client’s name upon request, if the physical description matches the client. The facility shall also advise the interested person that information about registered sex offenders is available to the public via the Internet Web site maintained by the Department of Justice pursuant to Section 290.46 of the Penal Code.
(c) Any person who uses information disclosed pursuant to this section to commit a felony shall be punished, in addition and consecutive to, any other punishment, by a five-year term of imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 of the Penal Code.
(d) Any person who uses information disclosed pursuant to this section to commit a misdemeanor shall be subject to, in addition to any other penalty or fine imposed, a fine of not less than five hundred dollars ($500) and not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000).
(e) Except as authorized under another provision of law, or to protect a child, use of any of the information disclosed pursuant to this section for the purpose of applying for, obtaining, or denying any of the following, is prohibited:
(1) Health insurance.
(2) Insurance.
(3) Loans.
(4) Credit.
(5) Employment.
(6) Education, scholarships, or fellowships.
(7) Benefits, privileges, or services provided by any business establishment.
(8) Housing or accommodations.
(f) Any use of information disclosed pursuant to this section for purposes other than those provided by subdivisions (a) and (b) shall make the user liable for the actual damages, and any amount that may be determined by a jury or a court sitting without a jury, not exceeding three times the amount of actual damage, and not less than two hundred fifty dollars ($250), and attorney’s fees, exemplary damages, or a civil penalty not exceeding twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000).
(g) Whenever there is reasonable cause to believe that any person or group of persons is engaged in a pattern or practice of misuse of the information disclosed pursuant to this section, the Attorney General, any district attorney, or city attorney, or any person aggrieved by the misuse of that information is authorized to bring a civil action in the appropriate court requesting preventive relief, including an application for a permanent or temporary injunction, restraining order, or other order against the person or group of persons responsible for the pattern or practice of misuse. The foregoing remedies shall be independent of any other remedies or procedures that may be available to an aggrieved party under other provisions of law, including Part 2 (commencing with Section 43) of Division 1 of the Civil Code.
(h) The civil and criminal penalty moneys collected pursuant to this section shall be transferred to the Community Care Licensing Division of the State Department of Social Services, upon appropriation by the Legislature.
(Amended by Stats. 2011, Ch. 15, Sec. 139. (AB 109) Effective April 4, 2011. Operative October 1, 2011, by Sec. 636 of Ch. 15, as amended by Stats. 2011, Ch. 39, Sec. 68.)