The California General Assembly, mired in debate over Gov. Gray Davis’s proposed $100 billion state budget, has postponed a planned vote on a move that would breath new life into a controversial financial privacy bill indefinitely.
The vote was scheduled for Thursday, but put off as lawmakers haggle over various appropriations in the proposed budget.
Although a vote on a motion by Assemblywoman Hannah Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara) continues to be listed on the Assembly’s daily calendar for action, Speaker Herb Wesson (D-Culver City) was unable to say just when it might happen.
While there was no immediate comment from Jackson, a staunch support of the bill, sponsored by Sen. Jackie Speier (D-Hillsborough), her spokesman indicated that the vote “could come at any time.”
Jackson has been pressing for a new vote on the Senate-approved measure (S-773) since last year when the Assembly voted 32-26 against it.
The bill, which the Senate passed in a 25-13 vote last year, would require financial institutions in the state to obtain a customer’s permission before shearing their personal financial information with affiliates and third parties for marketing purposes.
The California bill contrasts sharply with the federal Financial Service’s Modernization Act, (FSMA) generally known as Gramm-Leach-Bliley after the names of its authors, Sen. Phil Gramm (R-TX), and Reps. Jim Leach (R-IA) and Thomas Bliley (R-VA).
While Gramm-Leach-Bliley allows banks, financial institutions and insurance companies to merge and offer competing products, it requires that they give consumers a chance to opt out from allowing their personal information to be shared with third parties for marketing purposes.
But there is a bill pending before the House Finance Committee to amend the FSMA by replacing its opt-out provision with an opt in provision. The measure, (HR-2720) is sponsored by Reps. Edward Markey (D-MA) and Joe Barton (R-TX). So far there has been no movement on the bill and Committee Chairman Michael Oxely (R-OH) has not indicated when or if it will be considered by the panel.
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