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Colorado Group Seeks Privacy
The Colorado Information Privacy Task Force will meet Friday to discuss how the group will accomplish its legislative mandate and will discuss the results of a survey of state agencies on how they collect personally identifiable information.
The 21-member task force was created under legislation enacted last year. It is housed in the secretary of state's office and is commissioned to: identify the types of personal information that is collected, used, disseminated or sold by the state; examine state statutes and rules on sharing of personal information among nonprofit and for-profit entities; assess the impact of evolving technologies on the collection and use of personal data by state government and private entities; identify the pros and cons of sharing such information; and recommend steps to encrypt and secure information transmitted to, by or from state agencies in electronic format.
The task force also is required to study and make recommendations on the appropriate collection, storage and transfer of data and report its findings to the General Assembly by Dec. 1.
In January, Democratic Gov. Bill Owens sent a questionnaire to elected Cabinet members and agency executive directors, directing them to assess their privacy-related efforts and to report on the impact evolving technologies have on their practices.
At its February meeting — which consists of state legislators, attorneys, representatives from the financial services, business and medical industries, county clerks, and officials from the telecommunications and data-collection industries — the task force focused on a 1999 federal law that gives states flexibility in enforcing financial privacy guidelines.
Nevada To Tackle Net Gambling
The Nevada legislature is scheduled to begin debate Friday on a bill that would govern the licensing and operation of online gambling. Sponsored by Assemblywoman Merle Berman, R, the legislation would authorize the Nevada Gaming Commission to adopt regulations governing operations and licensing activities of interactive gaming.
Under the bill, the licenses could be issued only to resort hotels, or casinos, and the gross revenue from online gambling would be subject to the same taxation as other games. The state Senate Judiciary Committee will debate the measure at 11 a.m. ET, and the debate will be webcast through the legislature's Web site.
Connecticut Tackles Labor Shortage
The Connecticut Economic Resource Center (CERC) and the state Office for Workforce Competitiveness (OWC) have developed a statewide information-technology workforce development strategy that is currently before the state legislature.
The bill encompassing the plan would implement the Employment and Training Commission's recommendations on Connecticut's IT workforce development needs. It seeks to strengthen the OWC's role by designating it as the liaison between the governor and all local, state and federal stakeholders in strategic workforce matters.
The measure also would establish an autonomous state organization to provide support to the Connecticut Employment and Training Commission (CETS) in its policymaking efforts, oversee all workforce development activities, and coordinate support efforts among both state departments and workforce development boards throughout the state.
"We need to ensure that effective and consistent workforce development strategic plans are developed throughout the state," Thomas Phillips, interim director for the Capital Region Workforce Development Board, said at the March 13 legislative hearing.
The bill is the crux of a OWC report that noted that Connecticut has 26 percent more of its workforce involved in IT than the national average and has IT-producing industries growing faster than the national average. The number of IT-related graduates from the state's universities and community colleges also declined during the late 1990s.
According to the draft plan, the challenge is to integrate IT skills development "in a practical manner across the full knowledge supply chain" of K-12 schools, colleges, and providers of public and private workforce training and retraining. Addressing the digital divide in the state is also viewed as a critical priority to protect IT competition, according to the report.
Under the proposal, a new business-led Connecticut Digital Compact would oversee most of the plan's implementation, and a new Digital Strategic Fund, which would be managed by the compact, would provide the funding.
Part I of the draft also compares Connecticut's competitive position in IT workforce development with efforts in six other states: Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York and Virginia.
Rhode Island Gets Friendly With Biotech
Eliminating all state taxes on long-term capital gains and providing incentives to encourage biotechnology startups and investments are among the recommendations made in the first report from the Tax Competitiveness Committee of the Rhode Island Economic Policy Council (RIEPC).
The RIEPC, which consists of business leaders of emerging and established industries, and economic and labor representatives from the public sector, dubbed the report "The Competitive Edge: Rethinking Rhode Island Tax Policy for Success in the New Economy." Gov. Lincoln Almond, R, requested the creation of the group in an effort to review the state's tax policy and recommend ways to keep it competitive in the new economy.
The RIEPC's recommendations include phasing out the capital-gains tax to help the state begin producing entrepreneurs and investors who serve as magnets for new-economy businesses. It also suggests changing the rules for net operating loss (NOL) for startup biotech firms. "Biotech companies — a unique cluster of which are forming in and around Providence — can ultimately become economic engines for the state," the report says.
In addition, the report recommends modifying exemptions to sales and use taxes to benefit the state's biotech industry cluster. It said the state should amend the exemption for research and development equipment to include consumables, which would benefit biotech firms that have extensive R&D operations.
Arkansas Passes Clicks-and-Mortar Law
Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, R, has signed legislation aimed at making e-commerce companies collect sales taxes on sales in that state. The new law, which takes effect in January 2002, would force online companies to collect taxes if they are affiliated with Arkansas retailers.
The law reportedly is similar to a bill that California Gov. Gray Davis, D, vetoed last year. Assemblywoman Carole Migden has introduced that measure again this year. It is scheduled for an April 2 hearing before the state Assembly's Revenue and Tax Committee.
Arizonans Get Techie
There are nearly 1 million available jobs in information technology, according to Ed Denison, president of the Arizona Software and Internet Association, a cosponsor of an upcoming free workshop. Helping Arizonans land some of them is the aim of "Transitioning Into High-Paying Software and Internet Careers," reports The Arizona Republic.
The timing of the workshop is good given a recent job-satisfaction survey by CareerBuilder.com, which reports that nearly four in 10 American workers will seek new positions this year. A panel discussion dealing with opportunities, training and finances is planned, and counselors from private and public colleges will be on hand.
Western Governors Give Energy Updates
The Western Governors' Association has created a Web site to serve as a central information source on the current energy crisis ravaging California and spreading to other Western states' power grids.
The site also can be used to track public and private actions taken in response to the crisis. It chronicles both short-term steps that all levels of government and the private sector could take to remedy the immediate electricity crisis and long-term measures that could ensure reliable and secure energy supplies the governors discussed at their energy roundtable meeting in February.
- by Liza Porteus
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