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January 29, 2009
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Senator Pileggi Introduces Bill to Strengthen Reporting Requirement of Personal Data Breaches

State agencies would be required to notify the public of data breaches involving personal information within one week under legislation introduced by Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi (R-9).

Senator Pileggi said the legislation, Senate Bill 155, was drafted after reports surfaced about three separate thefts of state-owned computers containing personal information in the last half of 2007. Those computers included at least 17,800 Social Security numbers.

"Citizens rightly expect the government to do everything possible to protect their sensitive personal information," said Senator Pileggi. "The public was not notified of these thefts until two or three weeks after the fact, and that is not acceptable. Potentially affected residents deserve to be notified promptly so that they can take steps to protect themselves from identity theft."

In the first two thefts, computers containing the personal information of about 375,000 individuals were stolen from Department of Public Welfare offices in Harrisburg and Philadelphia. In the third incident, a laptop computer issued to a Department of Aging employee was stolen from a private residence. That computer contained the personal information of more than 20,000 individuals.

Current law requires the public to be notified of such incidents "without unreasonable delay." Senate Bill 155 would put a specific one-week notification requirement in place for breaches involving state agencies.

Senator Pileggi's legislation, developed with Attorney General Tom Corbett's office, would also require that agencies report breaches to the Attorney General within three business days. It would also authorize the Attorney General to investigate every breach involving state agencies.

This legislation was introduced last session as Senate Bill 1266. It passed the Senate unanimously, but was not considered by the House.

More information about state issues can be found on Sen. Pileggi's web site, www.senatorpileggi.com.

Contact:

Erik Arneson
(717) 787-4712