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Utah's Leavitt Kills Internet Privacy Bill
by Maureen Sirhal
Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt has killed a measure that would have created new privacy and security rules for Internet service providers (ISPs) and government agencies.
Leavitt last week vetoed a bill, H.B. 105, that sought to prohibit ISPs from disclosing their customers' personal information unless they were served with warrants or subpoenas or had to release the information to fulfill other legal requirements. The legislation also would have forbidden government organizations from collecting personal information from Internet users unless necessary and unless safeguards were in place.
"I share the sponsor's desire to protect the security and privacy of these transactions," Leavitt said in his veto message. But he added that he decided not to sign the measure because it "mandated a number of restrictions on Internet service providers as well as on state government" and because it would have imposed "impractical" burdens on state agencies and the delivery of online government services that require the collection of consumer data to execute.
"I have a high degree of confidence in the present security of our state system and the privacy of the transactions we now process," he said. "I pledge to engage in further study of this topic and to seek continuous improvements in the privacy and security of e-government."
Meanwhile, Leavitt signed the following technology-related measures into law:
- H.B. 181, which prohibits the display of Social Security numbers on health-insurance cards.
- H.B. 334, which makes it a crime to entice or solicit minors over the Internet.
- S.B. 17, which extends tax exemptions for the sale or lease of semiconductor fabricating or processing materials.
- S.B. 20, which authorizes electronic transactions for more government services.
An Admonition About Online Piracy
The California state Assembly on Tuesday unanimously adopted a resolution that condemns online piracy and encourages education about digital property rights. It is one of the first times a state legislative body has issued a measure on the illegal, online availability of copyright material.
Although the resolution does not have the force of law, it outlines the Assembly's opinion that downloading protected content, such as songs or films, is illegal. It encourages corporations and educational and governmental organizations to try to curb piracy on their private networks. And it calls on parents to educate their children about illegal file sharing over computer networks.
Indiana Anti-Spam Measure Nears Enactment
Indiana's Senate on Monday passed a bill to let consumers sue senders of unsolicited commercial e-mail, or spam.
The measure, H.B. 1083, would require that unsolicited e-mails contain "ADV" in the subject lines to indicate that the messages are advertisements. It also would bans the use of misleading return e-mail addresses and would require that marketers let people opt out of receiving e-mails. Under the measure, individuals could sue spammers for up to $500 for each violation of the law.
The House already had passed the bill. If that chamber agrees to technical changes adopted by the Senate, the bill will go to Gov. Frank O'Bannon for his signature.
Texas Prosecutor Halts Computer Scam
Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott last week won a court order to stop a state resident from operating a scam that lured Hispanic consumers into purchasing personal computers.
The ruling prevents Diego Vargas Orozco and his firm, Interactive Educational Services, from fraudulently claiming that the firm represents state school districts. Abbott's office charged Vargas with violating Texas fraud statutes.
Using state open-records laws, Vargas obtained the names and contact information of Hispanic students in school districts in Dallas and Austin. Once he had the information, Vargas and his firm's salesmen contacted parents via phone, falsely claiming to be representatives of the schools. The lawsuit charged that Vargas and his sales representatives arranged meetings with parents in order to pitch computers that cost about $2,000.
"This scam is particularly offensive given the defendant's calculated efforts to mislead consumers based solely on their ethnicity," Abbott said in a statement. Vargas must pay $33,266.82 in restitution to consumers, investigative costs and legal fees.
More States Receive Federal Security Aid
The federal government is continuing the distribution of grants to help cash-strapped states cover the costs of homeland security, and Colorado is the latest beneficiary of that money.
The state garnered more than $9 million from the Homeland Security Department to increase preparedness of the state's emergency response personnel, Gov. Bill Owens announced last week. "These funds will help prepare front-line responders in the case of a terrorist attack," he said in a statement. "This demonstrates the federal government's commitment to homeland security and will further enhance the protections in place for the people of Colorado."
About $6.6 million will be used to purchase emergency-response equipment or to repair existing equipment. Another $1.6 million will be used to conduct terrorism exercises. and $1.2 million has been earmarked to create programs on chemical, biological, nuclear and explosive weapons at higher education institutions.
Meanwhile, the federal Health and Human Services Department has awarded Connecticut more than $18 million to prepare for bioterrorism threats. Nearly $12 million has been allocated to improve the state's emergency health strategy and protect healthcare workers from diseases. The remaining $6 million will be used to help local hospitals prepare for terrorist-related incidents.
The State University of New York (SUNY) will receive $300,000 in matching funds from the state to help the College of Environmental Science and Forestry create new technologies for the protection of public water supplies. The state funds will accompany a $750,000 federal grant to SUNY and will support the development of technologies to detect biochemical agents in water. The project will create up to an estimated 450 jobs over the next five years.
And in Michigan, state officials last week unveiled an Internet portal with information on homeland security information. The site offers comprehensive data and news on what state agencies are doing in response to incidents or threats. It includes information on the steps schools would take to respond to an emergency, as well as a link to enable Michigan residents to offer their support for servicemen deployed in Iraq.
CIOs Plan Weekend Confab In Pittsburgh
The National Association State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) will convene its annual spring meeting this weekend in Pittsburgh. The conference will address technology funding and homeland security in the states.
The speakers will include: South Dakota CIO Otto Doll; former Michigan Gov. John Engler; Washington state CIO Stuart McKee; and Steve Proctor, communications director of the 2002 Winter Olympics. NASCIO also plans to present its National Technology Champion Award.
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