SACRAMENTO, Calif. - A data security bill supported by the California Credit Union League has been vetoed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Last week's defeat marked the second consecutive year CCUL-backed legislation was terminated by the governor after passing both state legislative bodies by wide margins. After the 2007 version was shot down, the league worked with the governor's staff to make changes that would make it more acceptable to the Golden State's merchants, who vigorously opposed it.
Bob Arnould, SVP-government affairs for the California CU League, told Credit Union Journal consumer notification was a sticking point in this year's bill. The CCUL was told because there is a notification bill waiting in the wings to be introduced in 2009, even the revised version of the legislation was not good enough for the governor's signature.
"We made every effort to meet the veto message from last year, but once again it was politics over policy," mused Arnould. "They had to stretch pretty far to write a veto message."
In his veto message, Gov. Schwarzenegger said in part, "I am returning Assembly Bill 1656 without my signature. As I stated in last year's veto of a similar bill, this bill attempts to legislate in an area where the marketplace has already assigned responsibilities and liabilities that provide for the protection of consumers. Clearly, the need to protect personal information is increasingly critical as routine commercial transactions are more and more exclusively accomplished through electronic means. However, by requiring notification even where no information was obtained improperly, this bill would likely result in significant costs to businesses and to the state."
Responded the CCUL's Arnould: "This veto is another victory for unregulated corporations and criminals who prey on them, to the demise of consumers. It is an example of a marketplace where the greed of big corporations gets to supersede consumers and our members-and our members' private information-is for sale on websites.Profit motive takes precedence over people."
Not Backing Down
The California CU League has "no intention of backing down until the problem is solved," Arnould continued. He said the league hopes Congress eventually will adopt a strong national standard on data security.
"But since Congress has not shown a propensity for moving quickly, that was part of the motivation for trying to push for this legislation in California," he explained. "In this new climate which Congress is heading into, there are industries that need stronger regulations in several areas, and safeguarding personal information is one of them. The problem is bigger than the retailers, who clearly are not able to handle it because millions of peoples' personal information is spilled every year."
The CCUL's push to get the 2008 data security bill signed into law included a letter and telephone call drive, as well as an aggressive media campaign. The latter included print advertisements placed in the Sacramento Bee and the Los Angeles Times last month that reminded Gov. Schwarzenegger he had stated, "Protecting the personal information of every Californian is very important to me and I am committed to strong laws that safeguard every individual's privacy and prevent identity theft."
"It's not over yet; you never say never in the political world. There are a lot of routes, including legal and [ballot] initiatives, so we are looking for the right spot," said Arnould, adding that if nothing else Schwarzenegger will be term limited out by 2010.(c) 2008 The Credit Union Journal and SourceMedia, Inc. All Rights Reserved.http://www.cujournal.com/ http://www.sourcemedia.com/
