Personal Information: Definition and Requirement to Obtain Lawfully

The California Coastal Commission may collect and maintain personal information only through lawful means. All agency employees who collect and/or maintain personal information must comply with the provisions of the Information Practices Act.  Personal information includes, but is not limited to, any information that identifies or describes an individual, including his or her name, social security number, physical description, home address, home telephone number, education, financial matters, and medical or employment history.  Personal information also includes statements made by, or attributed to, the individual. Specifically it includes information acquired through job applications and employee personnel files, grant applications, contracts for services from individuals, and public comments or questions via mail or electronic mail.  

Restrictions on Collection and Use of Personal Information

The purposes for which the California Coastal Commission may collect personal information shall be specified at or prior to the time such information is collected.  The personal information collected shall be relevant to the purpose for which it is needed.  Any subsequent use of the information shall be limited to and consistent with the fulfillment of those purposes previously specified.

The California Coastal Commission shall not sell, disclose, use for any purpose other than as specified at the time it was collected, or make available the personal information collected, except with the consent of the subject of the information or as otherwise permitted by law or regulation. 

Website Information

During a person’s visit to our website, the following transaction log information in collected on the web server in order to help us manage and improve our website: a person’s Internet Protocol address, type of computer used, type and version of browser software used, the request submitted to our server, whether the request was successful or not, the amount of data transferred, user name if provided, the date and time the website was accessed or “hit,” and the website from which our website was accessed via hyperlink.  This information is used only for internal purposes, allowing our staff to measure the number of visitors to the different sections of our web site and help improve our website for future visitors. Only the information listed here is collected on our website.   

Protection of Personal Information

Personal information must be protected against loss, unauthorized access, use, disclosure, modification or transfer.  The California Coastal Commission employees responsible for the collection, use, maintenance, and/or dissemination of records containing personal information must take appropriate precautions to ensure that proper administrative, technical, and physical safeguards are established and followed in order to protect the confidentiality of such information. Employees shall assure that personal information is removed or redacted in appropriate circumstances where it is contained in materials otherwise subject to release.

Responsible Official

The Deputy Director for Information Services for the California Coastal Commission is responsible for the overall implementation and enforcement of this policy.