republic-os/legislation/us/states/ca/20152016/ab-1924.md

---
type: "Bill"
title: "Privacy: electronic communications."
description: "(1) Existing law generally makes it a crime to install or use a pen register or trap and trace device without court approval. Existing law allows a peace officer to make an application to a magistrate for an order authorizing or approving the installation and use of a pen register or trap and trace device and requires a provider of wire or electronic communication service, landlord, custodian, or other person, upon presentation of an order, to provide the peace officer with all information, facilities, and technical assistance necessary to accomplish the installation, as specified, if the assistance is directed by the order. Under existing law, an order or extension order authorizing or approving the installation and use of a pen register or a trap and trace device is required to direct that the order be sealed until otherwise ordered by the magistrate who issued the order, or a judge of the superior court, and that the person owning or leasing the line to which the pen register or trap and trace device is attached, or who has been ordered by the court to provide assistance to the applicant, not disclose the existence of the pen register or trap and trace device or the existence of the investigation to the listed subscriber or to any other person, except as specified."
jurisdiction: "us/states/ca"
legislature: "California Legislature"
session: "20152016"
identifier: "AB 1924"
citation: "California AB 1924 (20152016)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Privacy: electronic communications."]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Low"]
version_count: 8
action_count: 30
vote_count: 7
first_action: "2016-02-11"
last_action: "2016-09-23"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/2c6abfca-2153-4e1c-8389-b50c2d17c182"
source_url: "http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201520160AB1924"
source_hash: "2de680cb06e86697a8100ea3e87d9dd323cb62c34838fabef57870d0b78cd2c5"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-ca"]
---

# California AB 1924 (20152016) — Privacy: electronic communications.

(1) Existing law generally makes it a crime to install or use a pen register or trap and trace device without court approval. Existing law allows a peace officer to make an application to a magistrate for an order authorizing or approving the installation and use of a pen register or trap and trace device and requires a provider of wire or electronic communication service, landlord, custodian, or other person, upon presentation of an order, to provide the peace officer with all information, facilities, and technical assistance necessary to accomplish the installation, as specified, if the assistance is directed by the order. Under existing law, an order or extension order authorizing or approving the installation and use of a pen register or a trap and trace device is required to direct that the order be sealed until otherwise ordered by the magistrate who issued the order, or a judge of the superior court, and that the person owning or leasing the line to which the pen register or trap and trace device is attached, or who has been ordered by the court to provide assistance to the applicant, not disclose the existence of the pen register or trap and trace device or the existence of the investigation to the listed subscriber or to any other person, except as specified.

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **02/11/16 - Introduced** (filed) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=201520160AB1924&version=20150AB192499INT)
2. **04/05/16 - Amended Assembly** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=201520160AB1924&version=20150AB192498AMD)
3. **05/23/16 - Amended Assembly** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=201520160AB1924&version=20150AB192497AMD)
4. **08/01/16 - Amended Senate** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=201520160AB1924&version=20150AB192496AMD)
5. **08/19/16 - Amended Senate** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=201520160AB1924&version=20150AB192495AMD)
6. **09/23/16 - Chaptered** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=201520160AB1924&version=20150AB192493CHP)
7. **AB1924** (committee substitute) — [source](http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201520160AB1924)
8. **08/31/16 - Enrolled** (enrolled) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=201520160AB1924&version=20150AB192494ENR)

## Votes

- Do pass. To Consent Calendar. — **20–0** (pass) · lower
- Do pass as amended, and be re-referred to the Committee on [Privacy and Consumer Protection] with recommendation: To Consent Calendar — **7–0** (pass) · lower
- Do pass and be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations] with recommendation: To Consent Calendar — **11–0** (pass) · lower
- AB 1924 LOW Third Reading Urgency — **72–0** (pass) · lower
- 3rd Reading AB1924 Low By Leno Urgency Clause — **39–0** (pass) · upper
- Do pass, but first be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations] with the recommendation: To Consent Calendar — **7–0** (pass) · upper
- AB 1924 LOW Concurrence in Senate Amendments — **80–0** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Low — primary (person)
- Bigelow — principal coauthor (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2016-02-11** Read first time. To print. `reading-1`
- **2016-02-12** From printer. May be heard in committee March 13.
- **2016-02-25** Referred to Coms. on PUB. S. and P. & C.P. `referral-committee`
- **2016-03-15** In committee: Set, first hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author.
- **2016-04-04** From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on P. & C.P. with recommendation: To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (March 29). `amendment-introduction, committee-passage, amendment-passage`
- **2016-04-05** Read second time and amended. `amendment-passage, reading-2, reading-1`
- **2016-04-06** Re-referred to Com. on P. & C.P. `referral-committee`
- **2016-04-20** From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 11. Noes 0.) (April 19). Re-referred to Com. on APPR. `referral-committee, committee-passage-favorable, committee-passage`
- **2016-05-04** From committee: Do pass. To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 20. Noes 0.) (May 4). `committee-passage-favorable, committee-passage`
- **2016-05-05** Read second time. Ordered to Consent Calendar. `reading-2, reading-1`
- **2016-05-12** From Consent Calendar.
- **2016-05-12** Ordered to third reading.
- **2016-05-23** Read third time and amended. Ordered to third reading. (Page 4887.) `reading-3, amendment-passage, reading-1`
- **2016-05-27** Read third time. Urgency clause adopted. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 72. Noes 0. Page 4953.). `reading-3, passage, reading-1`
- **2016-05-27** In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. `reading-1`
- **2016-06-09** Referred to Com. on PUB. S. `referral-committee`
- **2016-06-29** From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (June 28). Re-referred to Com. on APPR. `referral-committee, committee-passage-favorable, committee-passage`
- **2016-08-01** From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to committee. Read second time, amended, and re-referred to Com. on APPR. `referral-committee, reading-2, amendment-introduction, amendment-passage, reading-1`
- **2016-08-01** From committee: Be placed on second reading file pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8 and ordered to consent calendar. `committee-passage`
- **2016-08-02** Read second time. Ordered to Consent Calendar. `reading-2, reading-1`
- **2016-08-08** From Consent Calendar.
- **2016-08-08** Ordered to third reading.
- **2016-08-19** Read third time and amended. Ordered to second reading. `reading-3, amendment-passage, reading-1`
- **2016-08-22** Read second time. Ordered to third reading. `reading-2, reading-1`
- **2016-08-23** Read third time. Urgency clause adopted. Passed. Ordered to the Assembly. (Ayes 39. Noes 0. Page 5309.). `reading-3, passage, reading-1`
- **2016-08-25** In Assembly. Concurrence in Senate amendments pending. May be considered on or after August 28 pursuant to Assembly Rule 77.
- **2016-08-30** Senate amendments concurred in. To Engrossing and Enrolling. (Ayes 80. Noes 0. Page 6437.). `committee-passage-favorable, amendment-passage`
- **2016-09-08** Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 4 p.m.
- **2016-09-23** Approved by the Governor. `executive-signature`
- **2016-09-23** Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 511, Statutes of 2016.

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/2c6abfca-2153-4e1c-8389-b50c2d17c182`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official California legislature records).