MINUTES
SENATE COMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Monday, May 15, 2000
10:00 a.m.
Senate Chamber
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Pursuant to a notice posted in accordance with Senate Rule
11.18, a public hearing of the Senate Committee on Economic
Development was held on Monday, May 15, 2000, in the Senate
Chamber at Austin, Texas.
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MEMBERS PRESENT: MEMBERS ABSENT:
Senator David Sibley Senator John Whitmire
Senator Kenneth Armbrister
Senator John Carona
Senator Troy Fraser
Senator Mike Jackson
Senator Frank Madla
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The Senate Economic Development Committee held a joint hearing
with the Senate Health Committee to consider issues surrounding
privacy. The hearing was chaired jointly by Senator Sibley and
Senator Nelson. The chairs called the meeting to order at 10:10
a.m. There being a quorum present, the following business was
transacted.
Senator Nelson welcomed everyone attending the hearing, and
thanked Senator Sibley and the Economic Development Committee
members for their willingness to jointly investigate and offer
recommendations to ensure that privacy protections are adequate
and consistent in Texas.
Senator Sibley advised that he and Senator Nelson had previously
discussed the issue of privacy in general and realized that both
committees were faced with privacy issues. Senator Sibley
thanked Senator Nelson and stated that although the committees
would not accomplish everything in one hearing, he looked
forward to a beginning.
Senator Nelson then called the first panel of invited witnesses
to present their testimony on privacy overview. The panelists
were as follows:
John Ryan, Conference of State Bank Supervisors,
Washington, D.C., Overview of Privacy Provisions
Pertaining to the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act.
Elizabeth Rogers, Vinson & Elkins, Austin, Texas, Overview
of Privacy Provisions
Pertaining to the Health Insurance Portability and
Accountability Act.
Carolyn Purcell, Executive Director, Department of
Information Resources, Overview
of E-Commerce Privacy.
Rebecca L. Payne, Chief, Open Records Division, Attorney
General's Office, Overview
of Texas' Privacy Statutes.
Upon completion of the first panel members' testimony and
response to committee members' questions, Senator Nelson called
Panel II to present testimony on privacy of health information.
The panelists were:
Will D. Davis, representing Texas Association of Life and
Health Insurers, Austin, Texas.
Esther Nicole Cooper, MD, representing the Texas Medical
Association, Dallas, Texas.
A.G. Breitenstein, representing herself, Somerville,
Massachusetts.
Steven Palmer, representing Pharmaceutical Research and
Manufacturers of America,
Denver, Colorado.
Lisa McGiffert, representing Consumers Union, Austin,
Texas.
Following testimony by Panel II and the panelists' response to
members' questions, Senator Nelson called Panel III - Industry
and Commerce, to present testimony on privacy of financial
information. The panelists were as follows:
J. Bradley Johnston, representing Temple-Inland Financial
Services, Inc., Austin, Texas.
Karen Neeley, General Counsel, Independent Bankers
Association of Texas, Austin.
Rob Schneider, representing Consumers Union, Austin, Texas.
Jeff Clark, representing Alliance for Responsible
Information Practices, Austin, Texas.
There being no further business, at 2:20 p.m. Senator Sibley
moved that the Committee stand recessed subject to the call of
the chair. Without objection, it was so ordered.
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Senator David Sibley, Chairman
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Barbara Henderson, Clerk