(a) (1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the commissioner shall at the time of issuance or renewal of any license under this chapter or Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 1760), Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 1800), or Chapter 8 (commencing with Section 1831) require that any license applicant or licensee provide its federal employer identification number if the license applicant or licensee is a partnership, or the social security number of the license applicant or licensee for all others, except as provided in paragraph (2).

(2) The commissioner shall require either a social security number or an individual taxpayer identification number if the license applicant or licensee is an individual applying for or renewing a license under this chapter.

(b) A license applicant or licensee failing to provide the federal identification number, social security number, or individual taxpayer identification number shall be reported by the commissioner 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) (1) The commissioner shall, upon request of the Franchise Tax Board, furnish to the board all of the following information with respect to every license applicant or licensee:

(A) License applicant’s or licensee’s name.

(B) Address or addresses of record.

(C) Federal employer identification number if the entity is a partnership or owner’s name and social security number for all others.

(D) Type of license.

(E) Effective date of license or renewal.

(F) Expiration date of license.

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

(H) Whether license is new or a renewal.

(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the commissioner shall, upon request of the Franchise Tax Board, furnish to the board either a social security number or an individual taxpayer identification number for individuals licensed under this chapter.

(d) For the purposes of this section:

(1) “License” includes a certificate, registration, or any other authorization needed to engage in the insurance business regulated by this code.

(2) “License applicant” means any individual or entity, other than a corporation, in the process of obtaining a license, certificate, registration, or other means to engage in the insurance business regulated by this code.

(3) “Licensee” means any individual or entity, other than a corporation, authorized by a license, certificate, registration, or other means to engage in the insurance business regulated by this code.

(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 commissioner shall begin providing to the Franchise Tax Board the information required by this section as soon as economically feasible, but no later than July 1, 1987. The information shall be furnished 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 information furnished pursuant to subdivision (a) and subparagraph (C) of paragraph (1) of, and paragraph (2) of, subdivision (c) shall not be deemed to be a public record and shall not be open to the public for inspection.

(h) A deputy, agent, clerk, officer, or employee of the commissioner, or any former officer or employee or other individual, hereinafter “employees,” who in the course of the employees’ employment or duty has or has had access to the information required to be furnished under this section, shall not disclose or make known in any manner that information, except as provided in this section.

(1) This section shall not prevent an agency from disclosing or making known in any manner that information when the transfer is necessary for the transferee agency to perform its constitutional or statutory duties, and the use is compatible with a purpose for which the information was collected and the use or transfer is accounted for in accordance with § 1798.25 of the Civil Code.

(2) With respect to information transferred from a law enforcement or regulatory agency, or information transferred to another law enforcement or regulatory agency, a use is compatible if the use of the information requested is needed in an investigation of unlawful activity under the jurisdiction of the requesting agency or for licensing, certification, or regulatory purposes by that agency and on the condition that the law enforcement or regulatory agency requesting the information needed agrees to keep that information confidential in accordance with § 1798.25 of the Civil Code.

(3) A law enforcement or regulatory agency that requests information from the commissioner shall, upon request, identify for the commissioner the intended use for the information. The commissioner shall have the discretion to determine whether to transfer the information to the law enforcement or regulatory agency and shall not transfer the information if the commissioner determines that the information will be used for an improper purpose.

(i) It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this section to utilize the social security account number, individual taxpayer identification number, or federal employer identification number for the purpose of establishing the identification of persons affected by state tax laws and, to that end, the information furnished pursuant to this section shall be used exclusively for an agency to perform its constitutional or statutory duties.

(j) This section shall become operative on July 1, 2018.

(Amended by Stats. 2022, Ch. 28, Sec. 118. (SB 1380) Effective January 1, 2023.)