(a) Notwithstanding any other law, the program shall at the time of application, issuance, or renewal of a nursing home administrator license require that the applicant or licensee provide the federal employer identification number or social security number of the applicant or licensee.

(b) Any applicant or licensee failing to provide a federal identification number or social security number shall be reported by the program to the Franchise Tax Board and, if failing to provide after notification pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of § 19528 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, shall be subject to the penalty provided in paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of § 19528 of the Revenue and Taxation Code.

(c) In addition to the penalty specified in subdivision (b), the program may not process any application, original license, or renewal of a license unless the applicant or licensee provides a federal employer identification number or social security number where requested on the application.

(d)  The program shall, upon request of the Franchise Tax Board, furnish to the Franchise Tax Board the following information with respect to every licensee:

(1) Name.

(2) Address or addresses of record.

(3) Federal employer identification number or social security number.

(4) Type of license.

(5) Effective date of license or renewal.

(6) Expiration date of license.

(7) Whether license is active or inactive, if known.

(8) Whether license is new or a renewal.

(e) The reports required under this section shall be filed on magnetic media or in other machine-readable form, according to standards furnished by the Franchise Tax Board.

(f) The program shall provide to the Franchise Tax Board the information required by this section at a time that the Franchise Tax Board may require.

(g) Notwithstanding Division 10 (commencing with Section 7920.000) of Title 1 of the Government Code, the social security number and federal employer identification number furnished pursuant to this section shall not be deemed to be a public record and shall not be open to the public for inspection.

(h) Any deputy, agent, clerk, officer, or employee of the program described in this chapter, any former officer or employee, or other individual who in the course of employment or duty has or has had access to the information required to be furnished under this chapter, may not disclose or make known in any manner that information, except as provided in this section to the Franchise Tax Board or as provided in subdivision (j).

(i) It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this section to utilize the social security account number or federal employer identification number for the purpose of establishing the identification of persons affected by state tax laws and for purposes of compliance with § 17520 of the Family Code and, to that end, the information furnished pursuant to this section shall be used exclusively for those purposes.

(j) If the program utilizes a national examination to issue a license, and if a reciprocity agreement or comity exists between California and the state requesting release of the social security number, any deputy, agent, clerk, officer, or employee of the program described in this chapter may release a social security number to an examination or licensing entity, only for the purpose of verification of licensure or examination status.

(Amended by Stats. 2021, Ch. 615, Sec. 232. (AB 474) Effective January 1, 2022. Operative January 1, 2023, pursuant to Sec. 463 of Stats. 2021, Ch. 615.)