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3 Reasons for Veto of Data Security Bill that Tech Companies Opposed. 4 Steps to a Successful Bill in Veto Statement.

Georgia Governor Deal vetoed  SB315 (2018 | GA)  because:

  • the bill could undermined national security
  •  harmed private businesses’ efforts to stop hackers
  • Georgia needs more discussion on this bill

A future data security bill should:

  • develop a comprehensive policy
  • promoting national security
  • protecting online information
  • continuing to advance Georgia’s position as a leader in the technology industry

Veto Statement on SB 315 May 8, 2018 Georgia Governor Deal

Politically Georgia | Computer…

4 Ways Election Integrity = Hacker Proof in the rhododendron state

West Virigina is securing its voting maschines from hackers by:

  • West Virginia Air National Guard, with top secret clearance, actively tracks hackers
  • West Virigina Secretary of State is prioritizing data security
  • Intelligence Fusion Center, a nexus of state and federal law-enforcement and intelligence officials who handle threats ranging from floods to cyberattacks.
  • State law requires that hand-countable paper ballots be used in every election

New York Times | How West Virginia Is Trying to…

Lege TREND. Colorado Bill Supporting Blockchain. What you Need to know. Agencies Impacted. Data Impacted.

Colorado Legislature passes SB18-086 to require 3 governmental entities:

  • governor’s office of information technology (OIT)
  • department of state
  • department of regulatory agencies

to consider using encryption techniques and blockchain tech in order to protect:

confidential state records.

The bill also requires Colorado to accept business filings in distirbuted ledger (blockchain).

Colorado SB18-086

Cointelegraph | Colorado Passes Bill Advocating Blockchain For Gov’t Data Protection And…

Campaign TREND begets Regulatory TREND. An Ethics Commission + Campaign Contributions in Bitcoin = Regulations

State: Wisconsin

What did Wisconsin’s Ethics Commission do about bitcoin campaign contributions? The Ethics Commission Administrator asked the Legislature to make a determination on how to handle bitcoin contributions

What 2 policy reasons did the Ethics Commission give to the Legislature? 

  • “provide clarity to candidates and committees as to whether they may accept contributions of cryptocurrency.”
  • concern over the anonimity of bitcoin contributions

What prompted bitcoin as campaign…

3 Reasons Tech Companies Want a Data Security Bill Vetoed in the Cherokee Rose State

A group of tech companies, including:

  • Google
  • Microsoft
  • + 50 academics, researchers, cybersecurity experts and technologists

are asking Georgia Governor Deal to veto a bill that makes unauthorized cyber access a crime punishable with up to 1 year in jail because the bill will:

  • chill security research
  • harm the state’s cybersecurity industry
  • Why is that a big deal? Because the bill for the first time would “create new liabilities for security researchers who identify and disclose weaknesses…

3 Touted Benefits of Wyoming's Novel Blockchain Law

Wyoming this year sought to stake out territory as a leader in luring blockchain technology to the state.

These are the benefits that are touted:

  • economic (new businesses moving to WY)
  • elections- blockchain can streamline voting & make it more secure
  • no cost to the state

The concern:

  • Wyoming needs a tax structure that encourages technology companies to move there

Casper Star Tribune | Editorial board: Blockchain could be a boon for Wyoming 

Lege Trend. 4 Pieces of Personal Information a Lawmaker wants Protected from State Disclosure in the Bluebonnet State

State: Texas

The pieces of information that State Representative Giovanni Capriglione wants to prohibit from being sold by the State of Texas:

  • A person’s precise geographic location
  • A person’s internet browsing history
  • A person’s application usage history
  • Teh functional equivalent of this information

What information is the State of Texas selling?

  • Voting records
  • Driver’s records

Houston Chronicle | Facebook may not sell the data it collects, but the state of Texas sure does

+1 State Suing Over Equifax Breach. The Facts:

State: West Virginia

The lawsuit by the West Virginia Attorney General:  Violation of the the state’s Consumer Credit and Protection Act  

The potential penalty: $150,000 for each security breach and $5,000 for each violation of each of the 730,000 West Virginians affected by the Equifax breach

The statement from the WV Attorney General:

“Equifax’s failure to secure consumers’ personal information constitutes a shocking betrayal of public trust and an egregious violation of West Virginia…

Regulatory TREND. State Secretary of State Imposes Voting Machine Requirements in the Mountain Laurel Flower State

Pennsylvania Secretary of State imposed a 12/31/2019 deadline for:

  • each county in Pennsylvania
  • to order new voting machines
  • that keep a paper trail of each ballot

The total estimated cost for all counties: Between $95 million and $153 million

Penn Live | Pa. says counties must have new voting machines – with paper trails – for next presidential election