Assembly Committee Holds Bill on Use of Identification Chips in Health Insurance Cards, Other Documents
The Assembly Appropriations Committee on Thursday tabled for the year a bill (SB 682) that would limit public agencies' use of radio frequency identification devices, including use in state health benefits cards, the San Jose Mercury News reports. The bill was intended to address threats to personal privacy and tracking if RFID chips were implanted in driver's licenses, school IDs, government health benefit cards and public library cards.
The bill would prohibit theft of information on RFID devices, require the state to include strong security protection and encryption of personal data in any future use of the technology, and establish a three-year moratorium for expanding the technology, the Mercury News reports. The legislation, which the Senate has approved, is supported by the American Civil Liberties Union, the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse.
Sen. Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto), who introduced the bill, has said he would try to revive it before the Legislature adjourns on Sept. 9 (Gladstone, San Jose Mercury News, 8/26).