(a) Except where a specific provision of law prohibits the disclosure of records or information or provides for confidentiality, all records of the department relating to the registration of vehicles, other information contained on an application for a driver‘s license, abstracts of convictions, and abstracts of accident reports required to be sent to the department in Sacramento, except for abstracts of accidents where, in the opinion of a reporting officer, another individual was at fault, shall be open to public inspection during office hours. All abstracts of accident reports shall be available to law enforcement agencies and courts of competent jurisdiction.

(b) The department shall make available or disclose abstracts of convictions and abstracts of accident reports required to be sent to the department in Sacramento, as described in subdivision (a), if the date of the occurrence is not later than the following:

(1) Ten years for a violation pursuant to Section 23140, 23152, or 23153.

(2) Seven years for a violation designated as two points pursuant to Section 12810, except as provided in paragraph (1) of this subdivision.

(3) Three years for accidents and all other violations.

(c) The department shall make available or disclose suspensions and revocations of the driving privilege while the suspension or revocation is in effect and for three years following termination of the action or reinstatement of the privilege, except that driver’s license suspension actions taken pursuant to former Sections 13202.6 and 13202.7, § 17520 of the Family Code, or Section 256 or former § 11350.6 of the Welfare and Institutions Code shall be disclosed only during the actual time period in which the suspension is in effect.

(d) The department shall not make available or disclose a suspension or revocation that has been judicially set aside or stayed.

(e) The department shall not make available or disclose personal information about a person unless the disclosure is in compliance with the Driver’s Privacy Protection Act of 1994 (18 U.S.C. § 2721 et seq.). However, a disclosure is subject to the prohibition in paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 12800.5.

(f) The department shall make available or disclose to the courts and law enforcement agencies a conviction of Section 23103, as specified in Section 23103.5, or a conviction of Section 23140, 23152, or 23153, or § 655 of the Harbors and Navigation Code, or paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) of § 192 of the Penal Code for a period of 10 years from the date of the offense for the purpose of imposing penalties mandated by this code, or by other applicable provisions of California law.

(g) The department shall make available or disclose to the courts and law enforcement agencies a conviction of Section 191.5, or subdivision (a) of § 192.5 of the Penal Code, punished as a felony, for the purpose of imposing penalties mandated by Section 23550.5, or by other applicable provisions of California law.

(Amended by Stats. 2019, Ch. 505, Sec. 8. (SB 485) Effective January 1, 2020.)