SB 149-PROTECTION OF PERSONAL INFORMATION  CHAIR CON BUNDE announced SSSB 149 to be up for consideration. He recapped that he had asked Senator Ellis and Senator Guess to develop a single bill on identity theft, which is now SB 149. SENATOR GUESS, sponsor, explained that the first two sections of SB 148 were similar to the first two sections of SB 149 and therefore she is still referring to SB 149, version \Y. She informed the committee that there had been three more public security breaches since the last hearing. 1:36:27 PM SENATOR GUESS said there were three concerns at the last meeting. One was federal legislation that Diane Feinstein introduced that has had one hearing, hasn't moved and doesn't have any co-sponsors. It insures what is in Article 1 of SB 149, which says if you have a security breach, you have to tell people about it. She did not believe the Alaska legislature would be treading on something the federal government is addressing right now. Second - the Choice Point letter - She talked to Linda Hall, Division of Insurance, and it is not her opinion that anything in this bill would lead to increased insurance premiums, which is in disagreement with the letter. Third, Senator Seekins was concerned about consumers needing to have access to their credit reports within 24 hours to make a purchase. This resulted in Amendment 1, labeled Y.2, which is also supported by Progressive Insurance. The amendment allows immediate unfreezing of a security report by E-mail or phone. If it's by mail, three days are still required, because you never know where a letter goes in the mail system of a big corporation. CHAIR BUNDE noted that the committee received an indeterminate fiscal note from the Department of Community & Economic Development (DCED) because it wouldn't know what would happen without an actual breach of security of state records. He asked Senator Guess if she referred earlier to security breaches in the private sector. SENATOR GUESS replied yes. 1:39:02 PM CHAIR BUNDE asked if notifying one million people of a breach in the state security system was a worst-case scenario. SENATOR GUESS replied that is a worst-case scenario and for a large population, you don't need to use an individual letter and that would make the fiscal note almost zero. Notification is easier than having to notify 1,000 people. 1:40:52 PM CHAIR BUNDE moved Amendment 1, \Y.2, dated 4/18, and objected for discussion purposes. 24-LS0809\Y.2 Bannister 11/10/05 A M E N D M E N T 1 OFFERED IN THE SENATE BY SENATOR GUESS TO: SSSB 149 Page 5, line 1: Delete "or (2)" Page 5, lines 1 - 2: Delete "within three business days after receiving a request under (a)(3) of this section" Insert "immediately after receiving a request under (a)(2) or (3) of this section" Page 5, lines 28 - 29: Delete "within three business days after receiving the request" Insert "immediately after receiving the request by telephone or electronic mail or within three business days after receiving the request by certified mail" Page 6, line 31, through page 7, line 1: Delete "within three business days" Insert "immediately" Page 8, line 18 - 19: Delete "not later than three business days after receiving your request" Insert "immediately after receiving your request if you make the request by telephone or electronic mail, or within three business days after receiving your request if you make the request by certified mail" SENATOR GUESS said the amendment addresses the immediacy concern expressed by Senator Seekins. CHAIR BUNDE removed his objections and Amendment 1 was adopted. 1:42:34 PM BARBARA HUFF-TUCKNESS, Director, Governmental and Legislative Affairs, Teamsters Local 959, supported SB 149 with the additional amendments. Prior to 911, many of her members worked for employers that conducted background checks and gathering of personal information. Since 911 more and more information is being gathered on behalf of employees and she is working with the sponsor to make sure that information is duly protected through things like the proper chain of custody and how information is disposed of. She pointed out that this is a major new industry with a lot of companies getting into the business. CHAIR BUNDE asked the director of the Division of Occupational Licensing if his information could be breached to the point that it would be a security risk for the individuals and how would that impact the division. RICK URION, Director, Division of Occupational Licensing, Department of Community & Economic Development (DCED), responded that he is not an expert in that field, but he said a lawsuit was filed yesterday about information that was obtained on-line from the division's system. 1:46:07 PM SENATOR RALPH SEEKINS joined the committee. 1:46:18 PM SENATOR BEN STEVENS moved CSSSSB 149(L&C) from committee with individual recommendations and attached fiscal notes. Senators Davis, Seekins, Ben Stevens, Ellis and Chair Bunde voted yea; and CSSSSB 149(L&C) moved from committee.