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DPS wants criminal sanctions included
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Posted on Sep 15 2000
Public Safety Commissioner Charles W. Ingram Jr. has asked the House Committee on Public Utilities, Transportation and Communications to provide criminal sanctions and fines in the proposed Electronic Records and Signatures Act of 2000.
In a letter to Rep. Rosiky F. Camacho, chair of the committee, the DPS chief recommended that such funds from electronic tax or regulated fees shall be earmarked for the creation and training of the Fraud Unit under the department that will handle the investigation and regulation of all fraudulent acts.
HB 12-226 is a comprehensive proposal which deals with various types of business transactions conducted through the creation of electronic records and signatures frequently referred to in the bill as “electronic commerce and online government.”
The bill has been modeled to some extent after the Uniform Electronics Transactions Act, which was prepared by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws.
Several states including Hawaii and California have adopted the provisions of the UETA.
Mr. Ingram said the proposed measure must provide exemption to the activities of DPS so that the records and statutory functions under police custody are safeguarded and not exposed to external scrutiny or interceptions via the electronic information superhighway.
However, such exemptions under the Open Government Act shall be recognized and that requests for any and all information shall be made in writing.
Mr. Ingram said disclosure of personal information and related records electronically should be excluded to retain their legal integrity. Such information must not be limited to bank account records and other electronic transactions that may adversely affect the owner.
To safeguard the citizen’s right to privacy, the bill must likewise ensure that parties to transactions clearly and willfully agree to participate in such electronic transactions and that they fully understand the consequences of such agreement.
