E-911

I am in the Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice committee presently which will hear Brad Dee's proposed E-911 bill in a few minutes. H.R. 2898 passed the U.S. House earlier this month and will provide $l00 million a year in matching federal funds for E911 Phase II implementation. Rep. Dee's bill will add a 16 cent fee to fund E-911 at the state level. It also creates a committee that will manage the fund created through collection of these fees. Cathy DuPont drafted the bill and is now discussing changes to the bill to address concerns of the committee.

Rep. Lance Christensen stated his opposition to the bill, stating that he thinks there is a need to explore alternative funding.

When it came time for a vote, Rep. Christensen voted in favor, allowing the bill to pass out unanimously from committee. It will now be forwarded during the 2004 session as a committee bill.

  posted by David @ 10:10 AM

 
Public Utilities and Technology

I am in the Public Utilities and Technology Interim Committee where Wayne Harper is discussing his Internet Privacy bill. Last year, the bill was vetoed. He is arguing that the State should set a standard for privacy and security that can be a model for business and others. The bill focuses on assuring that all state websites provide a privacy notice. The notice should inform citizens on how their information is being utilized by the state. Rep. Allen asked for clarification on why the bill was vetoed. Rep. Harper said that it was a result of concern over security issues. He said that items of concern have been removed from the bill. The bill also applies to local government and education. Rep. Harper thinks it is a good policy statement for the state.

Doug Foxley spoke on behalf of AOL Time Warner, eBay, AT&T, and Comcast. Last year, he vigorously opposed the bill. He said that a similar bill was a huge problem for Minnesota and they have significant concerns (he was referring to the wrong bill). Now,he has no opinion on this bill. So no one else spoke in opposition. Another legislator was wondering if the bill would affect the Wildlife draw on the internet. Rep. Harper answered that it would not. The committee voted to support the bill as a committee bill.

He then spoke about an identity theft bill that he is proposing for this year which is the one that Foxley was opposing.

  posted by David @ 7:54 AM