Legislature(2011 - 2012)BUTROVICH 205
03/15/2011 09:00 AM Senate STATE AFFAIRS
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SB98 | |
| SB89 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| *+ | SB 98 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | SB 89 | TELECONFERENCED | |
SB 98-BIOMETRIC INFORMATION FOR ID
9:02:13 AM
CHAIR WIELECHOWSKI announced the first order of business would
be SB 98. It is similar to a bill introduced last session, which
the legislature did not have time to fully consider. It would
protect Alaskans from inappropriate use of their fingerprints,
retinal patterns, voice patterns, facial characteristics, and
other biometric information.
SENATOR PASKVAN moved to adopt the committee substitute for SB
98, labeled 27-LS0661\M, as the working document of the
committee.
CHAIR WIELECHOWSKI objected for discussion purposes.
9:05:32 AM
MICHAEL CAULFIELD, staff to Senator Bill Wielechowski, said that
SB 98 proposed to update a law already on the books, to protect
our privacy rights from emerging new technologies. Senate Bill
217, which passed in 2004, outlaws the collection, analysis, or
storage of a law-abiding person's DNA without their written
consent. Advances in DNA technology have proven to be of great
benefit to society. But DNA science also holds the potential for
abuse, including obtaining information that people have a right
to keep private.
DNA is only one form of biometric information. Physiologic
characteristics can also be used, such as facial recognition
technology. Through this technology, an individual can be
tracked anywhere they go without their knowledge. Another form
is the fingerprint. SB 98 will insure that no organization or
person takes biometric information from another without their
consent. It allows for the use of other identification, such as
a passport or state ID card. There are exceptions for some
purposes, and the bill does not ban the consensual contribution
of biometric information.
Alaskans cherish their privacy; the right to privacy is even
written into the state constitution. On the most basic level,
this should include a right not to have their biometric
information collected and disseminated to third parties. SB 98
has broad support from Alaskans.
SENATOR COGHILL joined the meeting.
CHAIR WIELECHOWSKI asked Mr. Caulfield to describe the changes
from the initial bill to the CS.
MR. CAULFIELD said on page 1, line 13, the "and" after passport
has been changed to "or." On page 2, line 21, the phrase
"biometric information" has been added for clarification. Page
2, line 22 - 25, added exemptions to clarify that the Department
of Administration would not be breaking any laws by taking
pictures for ID cards. It also added facial images not used in a
biometric system. On page 2, lines 30, more types of biometric
information were added. Page 30, line 1, they removed the word
"palm" from "palm vein recognition" because of new types of vein
recognition.
CHAIR WIELECHOWSKI noted one concern is the idea that there are
cameras literally everywhere and they watch you and know exactly
where you are. Most Alaskans instinctively don't like that.
9:09:17 AM
SENATOR PASKVAN asked on page 4, line 22, should the words "palm
print" be changed.
MR. CAULFIELD agreed that should be fixed.
9:10:02 AM
JASON GIAIMO, Co-chair, Citizens for Privacy in Alaska, and
President, Net Gain Business Consultants of Alaska, Anchorage,
said he brought this issue to the attention of several senators
two years ago. Data mining and biometrics collection is a big
business; it is estimated that industry revenues will exceed
$7.5 billion for 2012 alone. Corporate revenues from
fingerprints, iris, vein scanning and facial recognition and
surveillance make up about 49 percent of that total. Data broker
ChoicePoint sells to 7,000 private and government customers,
including the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
This is about protecting all Alaskans' privacy in an environment
that is increasingly hostile toward privacy protection. This was
a good bill last session. It is now an urgent bill, because of
the remarkably rapid deterioration in the privacy environment in
the last 12 months. There is a bill proposed in Washington, DC
right now that is a cornerstone of an immigration reform
proposal, and includes a mandatory fingerprinting of Americans
for a biometric workers' ID card.
9:18:31 AM
This has been proposed by two key senators from the East Coast.
This type of proposal makes biometric information an urgent
issue in Alaska. All workers would be enrolled in this federal
ID card program.
MR. GIAIMO said that two and one-half years ago he went to take
the last two parts of the CPA exam in Anchorage. It was January
of 2008, the security policy had changed, and they wanted his
fingerprints. They would not accept a passport, driver's
license, or birth certificate as identification. He had never
been fingerprinted before. He refused, which was very hard, but
he felt it was important to retain his integrity.
Because he is also a certified internal auditor, he was able to
follow the money trail. He learned that a company called
Prometric Corporation, which is a global company with offices in
Anchorage, was collecting the fingerprints. They receive a fee
for collecting the fingerprints, and they sell them to an
international data mining company called ChoicePoint. This
company received the largest fine in the history of the Federal
Trade Commission for bad privacy policies. This company is being
trusted with Alaskans' private information. In the end it is
about money, not identification. Many other exams are now
requiring fingerprints as ID. A city in Arizona is trying to
pass a city ordinance for fingerprinting requirements to receive
medicine at a local pharmacy.
9:23:02 AM
The Superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District is
considering mandatory fingerprinting of all low-income school
children or they will be denied subsidized lunches. These sorts
of things are being pushed by biometrics industry lobbyists. It
is about money. Passage of SB 98 will hurt their ability to
collect and traffic our personal data.
9:23:59 AM
HORST POEPPERL, CEO, Borealis Broadband, Anchorage, testified in
support of SB 98. He said in today's world we face an onslaught
of organizations determined to extract every piece of personal
information possible. This situation is out of hand, and is
becoming more and more dangerous for the average citizen.
Companies buy and sell this data, and it can also be lost or
stolen. The best defense is not giving up the information in the
first place.
9:26:11 AM
CHAIR WIELECHOWSKI noted the committee also has a letter from
the ACLU. He closed public testimony and announced that SB 98
would be held over.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| SB 89 Backup NCSL Links to States' Legislative Ethics Codes.pdf |
SSTA 3/15/2011 9:00:00 AM |
SB 89 |
| SB 89 Committee Substitute Version D.pdf |
SSTA 3/15/2011 9:00:00 AM |
SB 89 |
| SB 89 Sponsor Statement Version D.pdf |
SSTA 3/15/2011 9:00:00 AM |
SB 89 |
| SB 89 Backup Ethics Committee Advisory Opinions.pdf |
SSTA 3/15/2011 9:00:00 AM |
SB 89 |
| SB 89 Backup Ethics Committee Minutes Relevant.pdf |
SSTA 3/15/2011 9:00:00 AM |
SB 89 |
| SB 89 Sectional Analysis Version D.pdf |
SSTA 3/15/2011 9:00:00 AM |
SB 89 |
| SB 98 sponsor statement.pdf |
HJUD 4/13/2012 1:00:00 PM SSTA 3/15/2011 9:00:00 AM |
SB 98 |
| SB 98 Sectional Summary.pdf |
HJUD 4/13/2012 1:00:00 PM SSTA 3/15/2011 9:00:00 AM |
SB 98 |
| SB 98 FAQ.pdf |
SSTA 3/15/2011 9:00:00 AM |
SB 98 |
| SB 98 Changes from Original to Version M.pdf |
SSTA 3/15/2011 9:00:00 AM |
SB 98 |
| SB 98 Biometrics Fact Sheet.pdf |
SSTA 3/15/2011 9:00:00 AM |
SB 98 |
| SB 98 Biometric textbook.pdf |
SSTA 3/15/2011 9:00:00 AM |
SB 98 |
| SB 98 Other states statutes.pdf |
SSTA 3/15/2011 9:00:00 AM |
SB 98 |
| SB 98 supporters.pdf |
SSTA 3/15/2011 9:00:00 AM |
SB 98 |
| SB 98 ACLU Support Letter.pdf |
SSTA 3/15/2011 9:00:00 AM |
SB 98 |
| SB 98 EFF background.pdf |
SSTA 3/15/2011 9:00:00 AM |
SB 98 |
| SB 98 Choicepoint Article.pdf |
SSTA 3/15/2011 9:00:00 AM |
SB 98 |