Retailers and California Chamber of Commerce Lobbying Governor to Veto Bill Requiring Them to Act Responsibly in Protecting Cred

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Frank D. Russo

The fate of AB 779 (Jones) lies with Governor Schwarzenegger. It is a commonsense measure that would add retailers and state government to those sharing responsibility under California's data breach notification law for the prevention of these breaches through better protection of consumer information.

It received its final passage in the Assembly 73-0 in September with 47 of 48 Democrats in support and 26 of 32 Republicans voting for it. Before its final amendments it had previously passed the Assembly in June on a 58-2 vote. It passed the California State Senate on a 30 to 6 vote with the support of 22 of 25 Democrats and 8 of those often difficult 15 Republican Senators.

Its author, Assemblymember Dave Jones, worked with a number of groups to make sure that it was a workable law, and the bill won the support of an impressive array of those from consumer, business, and law enforcement fighting identity theft and the abuses of the retail industry that does not comply with contracts they have made with credit card companies. Sponsored by the California Credit Union League, it is supported by Consumers Union, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, the Consumer Federation of California, Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, the California State Employees Association, AFSCME – American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, the California Public Interest Group (CalPIRG), and the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department, to name a few. The LA Times, San Francisco Chronicle, and Riverside Press Enterprise editorialized in support of the bill, recognizing its importance.

Yet its fate is uncertain because of a massive behind the scenes lobbying effort by the California Retailers Association and the California Chamber of Commerce. In today's LA Times, Marc Lifsher has an article, "ID theft victims, retailers split on bill: The legislation, awaiting Gov. Schwarzenegger, would force retailers and financial institutions to adopt national standards to protect shoppers' data they disclose," that provides some of the details of this fight.

A number of bad apples amongst California's retailers have a shoddy, shocking record of performance here--one that cannot withstand the light of day. Here is what Jones told the Governor in his letter asking for a signature so that this bill can become law: