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Texas Scrambles To Undo Data Privacy Rules
by Michael Martinez
Texas lawmakers this week scrambled to pass emergency legislation to allow court clerks to release Social Security numbers under the state's public information law.
A bill passed by the state House on Monday counters an order released by state Attorney General Greg Abbott last month requiring clerks to remove such information from all public documents.
Under the measure, H.B. 2061, court clerks would not be criminally or civilly liable for disclosing Social Security information in compliance with the public information law. But the legislation would require public officials to redact all but the last four digits of someone's Social Security number upon their request.
Texas Gov. Rick Perry is expected to sign the legislation. The state Senate must first pass its own version of the bill.
Abbott's stance on the issue was immediately attacked by those who say that curtailing access to public records would slow down commerce dependent on such information, particularly the real estate, oil and gas industries. About two dozen county clerk offices shut down following the issuance of the order, citing their inability to comply with it. Some expressed concerns that it would cost millions of dollars to hire outside firms to help them remove confidential information.
Abbott, who wrote the order with the aim of preventing identity theft, gave lawmakers a 60-day reprieve from its requirements to come up with a legislative solution. Under the order, clerks would have been subject to fines up to $1,000 and jail sentences up to six months for releasing confidential information.
State Rep. Jim Keffer, the author of H.B. 2061, said in a statement that the state needs court clerks to be able to work at the speed that business requires. He said his bill provided clerks with a "safe harbor" from civil and criminal liability.
"With this legislation, we are allowing our clerks to get back to business as usual and allow access to those businesses that depend on the records recorded by the clerk," Keffer said.
State Information Officers Cite Progress On Web Use
State governments have made significant progress during the past six years in building useful Web portals for their constituents, according to a report released this week from the National Association of State Chief Information Officers.
The group found that states are now providing their citizens with more streamlined access to relevant information online and that they also have made their sites easier to find by adopting more identifiable Internet addresses, also known as domain names.
According to the report, 46 states, the District of Columbia and the Territory of Guam now operate .gov Web portals. The General Services Administration opened the domain to state and local governments in March 2003.
NASCIO found that collective use of the .gov domain has helped states establish confidence in their sites, which are made distinguishable from spoof sites where identity theft, "phishing" scams, and other types of fraudulent crimes can occur. Phishing involves using fraudulent e-mails and Web sites to bait people into providing personal information.
"While the financial services sector is by far the most targeted sector by those perpetrating phishing attacks, there are concerns that as the financial and other sectors begin to implement enhanced security measures, phishing attacks may increasingly focus on the government sector," NASCIO said.
It is particularly important for states to build dependable and secure Web sites given that so many citizens have become distrustful of government, the report said. It found that the harmonization of domain names for Web sites used by all states can help to restore public confidence in the system.
"In a day when citizens' trust in government is low, providing meaningful services and increased transparency can counteract this sentiment," the report said. "By allowing technology to serve citizens and provide them with information on a basis that is intentions-based, technology can actually be used to rejuvenate citizen trust in government."
Ohio Reaches Settlement With AOL-Time Warner
Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann this week announced that America Online-Time Warner has agreed to pay the state's Bureau of Workers' Compensation and five pension funds $144 million to settle accusations of securities fraud.
The state alleged AOL inflated its stock prices before its 2001 merger with Time Warner. Former Ohio Attorney General Jim Petro filed the case more than three years ago after opting out of a federal class action lawsuit on behalf of investors who said they lost millions because the company misrepresented its value.
According to Dann, Petro was wise to decide against taking the class action route.
"If you abuse the public trust and steal from the taxpayers, you will pay the price," Dann said, in a statement. "In this instance, the price AOL-Time Warner is paying for their misdeeds is very high indeed."
Under the terms of the deal, the state's employee, highway patrol, police and fire, and teacher's retirement systems will receive payments, along with the Bureau of Workers' Compensation, after the settlement is approved by AOL-Time Warner's board.
In other news, West Virginia Attorney General Darrell McGraw announced this week a settlement with a Delaware-based company that sells products through television infomercials, as well as over the Internet.
IGIA has agreed to pay the state more than $175, 000 to settle a complaint filed about its alleged failure to deliver on deals for vacuum cleaners. The state's Consumer Protection Division accused the company of overcharging customers for the appliances and, in some cases, disconnecting consumers from an automated telephone payment system before they could correct their purchases.
Alabama Governor Says Competitiveness Is Top Priority
Alabama Gov. Bob Riley this week told lawmakers that increasing the competitiveness of the state's education system is one of his top budget priorities.
In his State of the State address, Riley, a Republican, told the legislature that distance learning and other innovative approaches can help improve student performance. He boasted that his budget includes an $11 million funding increase for the state's math, science and technology initiative.
He also said the state's ACCESS distance learning program would be expanded to 26 more high schools this year. He set a goal for deploying distance learning labs in every high school in the state by 2010.
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