1-1 By: Nelson, Sibley S.B. No. 867 1-2 (In the Senate - Filed February 22, 2001; February 26, 2001, 1-3 read first time and referred to Committee on Business and Commerce; 1-4 March 8, 2001, reported favorably, as amended, by the following 1-5 vote: Yeas 7, Nays 0; March 8, 2001, sent to printer.) 1-6 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT NO. 1 By: Shapleigh 1-7 Amend S.B. No. 867 as follows: 1-8 (1) In SECTION 1, in Subsection (b) (page 1, lines 29-30, 1-9 strike "The lieutenant governor and the speaker of the house of 1-10 representatives shall each appoint five members to the task force" 1-11 and substitute: "The lieutenant governor shall appoint five 1-12 senators and the speaker of the house of representatives shall 1-13 appoint five members of the house of representatives to the task 1-14 force". 1-15 (2) In SECTION 2, in Subsection (b) (page 1, line 55), 1-16 between "auditor," and "the Department", add "the Texas Department 1-17 of Insurance,". 1-18 (3) In SECTION 2, in Subsection (b) (page 1, line 59), 1-19 between "medicine," and "and information", add "consumer affairs,". 1-20 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1-21 AN ACT 1-22 relating to the creation, operation, and duties of a joint interim 1-23 task force to study various issues affecting personal privacy. 1-24 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: 1-25 SECTION 1. TASK FORCE ON PERSONAL PRIVACY. (a) The 1-26 lieutenant governor and the speaker of the house of representatives 1-27 shall establish a joint interim task force to study issues 1-28 identified by this Act that affect personal privacy. 1-29 (b) The lieutenant governor and the speaker of the house of 1-30 representatives shall each appoint five members to the task force. 1-31 (c) The task force shall elect a presiding officer and 1-32 assistant presiding officer from among its members. 1-33 (d) The task force shall meet at the times and places within 1-34 the state that the task force designates. The task force shall 1-35 develop and implement policies that provide the public with a 1-36 reasonable opportunity to appear before the task force and to speak 1-37 on any issue being studied by the task force. 1-38 (e) A legislative entity shall assist the task force at the 1-39 request of the lieutenant governor or the speaker of the house of 1-40 representatives, and a state agency in the executive branch of 1-41 state government shall assist the task force at the request of the 1-42 task force. 1-43 (f) Chapter 2110, Government Code, does not apply to the 1-44 size or composition of the task force or of the advisory committee 1-45 created under Section 2 of this Act. 1-46 SECTION 2. ADVISORY COMMITTEE. (a) The task force shall 1-47 appoint an advisory committee to assist it in performing its 1-48 duties. 1-49 (b) The advisory committee consists of the number of members 1-50 that the task force considers advisable. The task force shall 1-51 appoint an approximately equal number of members from the public 1-52 and private sectors. Public-sector appointments must include 1-53 representatives from state agencies such as the office of the 1-54 comptroller of public accounts, the office of the governor, the 1-55 office of the attorney general, the office of the state auditor, 1-56 the Department of Information Resources, the Texas Department of 1-57 Banking, and the Health and Human Services Commission. 1-58 Private-sector appointments must include individuals involved in 1-59 fields such as banking, marketing, the news media, medicine, and 1-60 information technology. The advisory committee must include 1-61 members who understand the implications that advances in 1-62 information technology have for personal privacy. 1-63 SECTION 3. ANALYSIS OF EXISTING AND PROPOSED LAW. (a) The 2-1 task force shall identify and analyze existing and proposed privacy 2-2 statutes and rules of this state, other states, and the federal 2-3 government. In performing an analysis under this subsection, the 2-4 task force shall address the extent to which the existing or 2-5 proposed privacy statutes and rules: 2-6 (1) benefit individuals; 2-7 (2) impose financial, efficiency, or lost opportunity 2-8 costs on governmental entities or private businesses; and 2-9 (3) benefit commerce or benefit governmental 2-10 effectiveness or efficiency by creating an environment in which 2-11 individuals are more likely to willingly divulge information about 2-12 themselves. 2-13 (b) The task force shall identify and analyze other existing 2-14 and proposed statutes and rules of this state, other states, and 2-15 the federal government with respect to the manner in which the 2-16 statutes and rules affect individual privacy. In performing an 2-17 analysis under this subsection, the task force shall address the 2-18 extent to which existing or proposed statutes and rules that affect 2-19 individual privacy: 2-20 (1) impose burdens on individuals, adversely affect 2-21 individuals' lives, or contravene commonly held expectations of 2-22 individual privacy; 2-23 (2) benefit governmental entities or private 2-24 businesses with respect to increased revenues or financial gain, 2-25 increased efficiency, or increased opportunities; and 2-26 (3) affect commerce or affect governmental 2-27 effectiveness or efficiency by creating an environment in which 2-28 individuals become less likely to willingly divulge information 2-29 about themselves. 2-30 (c) The office of the attorney general shall coordinate with 2-31 and assist the task force in performing legal analyses under this 2-32 section. 2-33 SECTION 4. STUDY REGARDING CONSENT TO DISCLOSURE. (a) In 2-34 this section, "personal information" means information about an 2-35 individual such as: 2-36 (1) the individual's address, telephone number, social 2-37 security number, date of birth, physical characteristics, and 2-38 similar information about the individual; 2-39 (2) information about an individual's marital status 2-40 or history, whether the individual has family members, and 2-41 information about the individual's family members; and 2-42 (3) personally identifiable information about the 2-43 individual's health or health history, finances or financial 2-44 history, and consumer history. 2-45 (b) The task force shall conduct a study regarding the 2-46 advantages, disadvantages, and feasibility of requiring by law in 2-47 various circumstances that certain personal information may be 2-48 released by a governmental entity or a private business only with 2-49 the prior informed consent of the individual. 2-50 SECTION 5. REPORT. The task force shall report the results 2-51 of its study and its recommendations to the lieutenant governor and 2-52 the speaker of the house of representatives by not later than 2-53 November 1, 2002. The task force shall include in its report its 2-54 conclusions regarding the advisability of enacting legislation with 2-55 respect to each of the topics that the task force studied. 2-56 SECTION 6. EXPIRATION DATE. The task force and advisory 2-57 committee are abolished and this Act expires September 1, 2003. 2-58 SECTION 7. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Act takes effect 2-59 immediately if it receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members 2-60 elected to each house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, 2-61 Texas Constitution. If this Act does not receive the vote 2-62 necessary for immediate effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2-63 2001. 2-64 * * * * *