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Dear friends and neighbors,
We are in the fourth week of this 60-day session, which means all the bills not voted out of policy committees by today will be considered dead.
The ones in fiscal committees still have another week to be heard and voted on. So, as you can imagine, everybody is in high gear and bills are moving really fast.
I’ll give you an update on how my bills fare after this week’s cutoff in my next newsletter.
I want to let you know that Sen. Annette Cleveland, Rep. Monica Stonier and I will have a telephone town hall in a couple of weeks, on Wednesday, February 26 at 6 p.m. I’ll send you a reminder including all the details on the call as we get closer to the date. For now, I hope you can mark your calendar so you can join us.
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Privacy and Technology: a balancing act
As Americans, our most fundamental right is the right to privacy. Artificial Intelligence and Facial Recognition will have huge implications for our right to private lives.
As companies, governments, and law enforcement agencies rush ahead with developing these new technologies, we have no rules or standards governing its use and no safeguards to correct their failures.
The CEO of Alphabet (Google’s parent company), Sundar Pichai, recently supported an EU moratorium on facial recognition technology because of the vast possibilities for its misuse. In a recent test using Amazon’s facial recognition technology, nine members of the Denver City Council were falsely identified as sex offenders. Facial recognition technology could have even greater impacts for people of color. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) found that many facial recognition apps were 10 to 100 times more likely to inaccurately identify people of color.
To address these and other privacy issues, this session we’re looking at several bills, including:
HB 2856 places a three-year moratorium on the use of facial recognition technology by government agencies and private companies in Washington state. It was voted out of the Innovation, Technology & Economic Development Committee a couple of days ago.
HB 2401 requires employers that use Artificial Intelligence in hiring decisions to inform potential applicants of those technologies and obtain consent. The Labor and Workforce Standards Committee passed this bill on Monday.
HB 2742, this measure, known as the “Washington Privacy Act” is a comprehensive consumer privacy statute. The companion bill, SB 6281, was voted out of the Senate Ways and Means Committee yesterday.
HB 2363 declares that people have an absolute privacy right in their biometric identifiers. It convenes a task force to examine issues related to infringement of these rights by biometric surveillance technology and make recommendations to the Legislature. It was voted out of the Innovation, Technology & Economic Development Committee this past Tuesday.
HB 2365 creates a sticker to notify Washington consumers of products that transmit their user data to the manufacturer or to other businesses. It is in the Rules Committee.
HB 2396 bans the use of a bot to incentivize a commercial transaction or engage in political advertising without disclosing that it is a bot. It also calls for an online platform for users to report suspected violations for investigation. The measure was heard in the Appropriations Committee yesterday.
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Watch my video update on how I work with colleagues across the aisle
Securing Washington’s election system
Did you know hackers are constantly targeting Washington’s election system? And it’s not just within our borders, many of the attacks are coming from abroad. The Russian hackers that targeted Washington state prior to the 2016 election were not successful. But hackers are getting better at their crimes and we must get better at protecting our electoral system from foreign actors who aim to undermine its integrity.
The House passed election security legislation with overwhelming bipartisan support last week. The bill requires the Secretary of State, the Attorney General, and the Chief Information Officer to consult with county auditors to identify instances of security breaches in elections systems and determine whether they are foreign or domestic. It also requires the Secretary of State to report to the Legislature when security breaches happen and give options to increase the security of our elections systems.
We know that our election networks and data are under constant threat of being hacked. It is crucial that Washington’s election officials and the Legislature have the capacity to protect our infrastructure and thwart these attacks.
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Washingtonians deserve a clean environment
A bill to implement a clean fuels program, which would create jobs and strengthen our economy, passed the House last year but stalled in the Senate. We passed it again last week and this time around we’re hoping it reaches the governor’s desk.
Nearly half of our greenhouse gas emissions are from the transportation sector, and this bill helps cut those emissions by incentivizing cleaner fuels. This would increase our demand for biofuels, which we’re already making in Washington, but right now they’re being sold to neighboring states. This legislation makes sure that the benefits of the clean fuels we’re making stay in Washington.
It also makes a huge difference for air quality, especially in neighborhoods close to major roads and highways. For people living with respiratory conditions this could be, literally, a breath of fresh air.
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Ask Sharon
My office is receiving many calls and emails inquiring about the car tab initiative, watch my video response by clicking on the image below and keep sending me your questions!
Thank you for reading my newsletter. If you need more information on any of the issues discussed here, or on any other legislative matter, please don’t hesitate to contact my office anytime.
Sincerely,
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