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California E-Mail Privacy Bill Approved
by Chloe Albanesius
A California Assembly committee on Wednesday approved a bill that would require employers to notify employees if they plan to monitor e-mails or Internet usage.
The Assembly Appropriations Committee approved the measure, S.B. 1841, by a vote of 14-5. Only Republicans voted against the bill, which would require employers to provide workers with a one-time written notice of the intent to read e-mails or monitor usage of the Web or other electronic devices. Employers that violate the law would face a $500 fine and up to six months in jail.
"Just because your boss owns the computers and pays for the Internet access doesn't mean he should have the right to spy on you without telling you, anymore than owning the telephone and paying the phone bill should allow him to eavesdrop on your personal phone conversations without letting you know," bill sponsor Sen. Debra Bowen, a Democrat, said in a release.
A committee analysis notes that the California Constitution gives every resident a right to privacy, but state employees with Internet access consent that all activity is the property of the state and not private. However, the California Public Utilities Commission requires employers to notify employees if their telephone conversations are being monitored, and Bowen wants the same requirements to apply to the Internet and e-mail.
The legislation now heads to the full Assembly for a vote. Bowen has authored three similar privacy bills since 1999, but they were vetoed.
U.S. Governors, Mexican Officials Talk Security
The governors of Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas convened in Santa Fe, N.M., on Monday for a two-day conference with Mexican officials regarding border security.
The U.S. governors and governors from six Mexican states agreed to create liaison units for criminal-justice agencies from border states to have contacts for helping with policing efforts. In addition, they agreed to conduct joint exercises along the border to improve response time to emergencies. The border territories also have been testing the ability of their radios to communicate across jurisdictions, according to New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson.
"One of the best ways to secure our individual homelands is by working together-- sharing information, technology and personnel, with the common goal of preparedness, security and the smooth and continued flow of goods, services and people," Richardson said in a release.
In other news, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., on Tuesday penned a letter to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) questioning whether increased security at New York heliports would create security gaps elsewhere. She expressed concern that security officers would be reassigned to heliports, possibly leaving their former posts vulnerable to attack. Clinton called for "more TSA screeners and resources, not simply a reassignment."
She also said New York needs more funds within the fiscal 2005 homeland security spending bill. "Congress has instituted a 45,000 cap on full-time, equivalent screeners, and I would like to know if TSA believes that cap is hindering the federal government's ability to meet all the demands of screening passengers and baggage," she wrote to TSA Assistant Secretary David Stone. "I do not believe the president's budget meets all the needs of New York."
Meanwhile, Homeland Security Department Undersecretary Charles McQueary will be in Tennessee Friday to discuss a regional technology integration initiative in the Memphis area.
Virginia Gets Federal Broadband Grant
The Economic Business Development Administration has invested $140,000 to promote high-speed Internet use by businesses in southern Virginia, Gov. Mark Warner announced Wednesday.
The money will allow companies in the region "to keep pace with the increasing demands of a global technology economy," Warner said in a release. "Our ability to create high-wage jobs in rural areas is still greatly assisted by targeted government investments."
The two-year grant was matched by $60,000 from Virginia's Center for Innovative Technology. The money will allow the center to expand its program of hands-on seminars in e-commerce techniques. "Educating business customers about the benefits of using high-speed telecommunications generates increased demand for service, which accelerates the attraction of service providers into underserved rural markets," center President Peter Jobse said.
On Friday, Warner announced that 12 state fire departments were awarded more than $1.7 million in federal security grants. Alberta County received the largest sum, with $198,000 for a new firefighting vehicle.
Also in Virginia, CVS Pharmacies will distribute 100,000 DNA kits to 235 stores in order to help parents identify their children in case of abductions. The company worked with the state's computer-crimes unit and the office of Attorney General Jerry Kilgore to develop the kits.
They include cards to list biographical information, spaces for recent photographs and ink stripes for fingerprints. They also include cotton swabs for taking DNA samples from inside children's mouths. Kilgore's office also will receive 10,000 kits to distribute to parents who request them.
Immigration System Goes Online In Pennsylvania
Immigration officials last week officially opened an Internet-based appointment system to citizens of Pennsylvania.
InfoPass debuted last year in Miami and enables people to make appointments with immigration officials via the Web rather than standing in line. The service is offered in 12 languages, and the citizenship and immigration services office plans to offer additional languages in the future.
InfoPass will assure convenient aid for people who visit offices in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, said Donald Monica, district director of the Philadelphia office.
N.H. Looks To Revamp Corrections System
The New Hampshire Corrections Department is moving to revamp its troubled financial systems for criminal offenders, Computerworld reports.
After a failed attempt in 2002 by Computer Associates International to build an electronic system to handle financial transactions, the state turned to a more basic processing system that bumped its 90-day turnaround time for restitution checks to 30 days. That, however, "doesn't fulfill our needs," said state Rep. David Welch.
As a result, the department requested proposals in order to replace the current system with a single, faster application and is currently awaiting the governor's approval. Ideally, the planned, Internet-based system will support the payment of fines, parole management and support for prison facilities, and management processes associated with handling inmates and parolees.
In other news, AP reports that the sheriff of Clinton, Ill., is using his Web site to solicit help from residents in solving a string of bank robberies that authorities believe is the work of one man. The site features photos of the robberies, a profile of the suspect and links to provide tips.
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