The State Controller's Office (SCO) values and protects the public's privacy and places strict controls on the gathering and use of personally identifiable data. Personal information is not disclosed, made available, or otherwise used for purposes other than those specified at the time of collection, except with your consent or as authorized by law or regulation. Privacy concerns specific to SCO are as follows:

• The SCO gathers information through lawful means. Any subsequent use of the information is limited to purposes consistent with the purpose(s) given at the time of collection. California law states that some information submitted or accessed by you may become public records under the Public Records Act. However, there are limitations that protect your personal information from inclusion with public records.



• E-mail is considered a communication tool; any data you send via e-mail is not secured or encrypted by SCO. If you fill out a survey or send the Department an e-mail message, your e-mail address and the information submitted will be collected and may be provided to other State agencies to better serve your needs. Do not send any confidential or personal data via e-mail such as your social security number, account number, credit card number, or other data that could be compromised.



• You are responsible for protecting the confidentiality of your user ID, password, and PIN. If you give your user ID, password, or PIN to anyone else, they will be able to access your confidential information.



• When you view information on this Web Site, some non-confidential data may be collected, such as the time and date of access and where you went during your visit. The Web site may place and subsequently retrieve simple text files called "cookies" that identify you and your computer to our Internet site. Cookies do not contain personal or confidential information about you and will only be used to monitor activity on this Web site.



• All personal information submitted to SCO is secured against loss, damage, modification, unauthorized access, or disclosure as required by federal and California Law, and the State Administrative Manual policy. Appropriate computer, network, and Internet technical security controls at the employee and departmental level prevent unauthorized access to information voluntarily provided by you. Some of these security controls are: password and user identification verification, data encryption, confidential transmissions, secure storage areas, and audit trails. The SCO's employees are educated regarding the requirements of working with confidential and personally identifiable information as well as the consequences of misuse.



• The SCO does not sell or distribute your information to any non-governmental third party without your consent or as authorized by law or regulation. The SCO's employees will only use personal information submitted by you on a need-to-know basis in order to provide information or services.



• The SCO stores or uses personal information submitted by you only for the time necessary. Personally identifiable information is destroyed via purging, magnetic degaussing/erasing, shredding and/or other means of authorized confidential destruction when no longer required and in order to prevent unauthorized access or use of the data. Regularly scheduled archiving, purging, and proper disposal of records and information is a standard practice throughout the organization.



• Information on this Web Site is public Domain and may be copied and used as permitted by law, with the exception of pictures and official symbols. While SCO attempts to maintain a high degree of accuracy, we will not be held liable for errors or omissions that may occur. If you visit another Web Site using a link from SCO's Web site, you become subject to the privacy policy and conditions of that Web site. The SCO will not be held liable for information or practices observed by other Web sites that provide access links from this Web site.

As a public agency, SCO understands the importance of maintaining your privacy and will make every attempt to maintain your trust and confidence regarding the collection and use of your personal information.

This policy has been developed and is maintained in accordance with the Information Practices Act of 1977 (Title 1.8 [commencing with Section 1798] of Part 4 of Division 3 of the Civil Code), Sections 11015.5 and 11019.9 of the Government Code.

If you have questions or concerns regarding this Policy, please contact SCO's Privacy Officer: