“As we have throughout history, Texas must lead the way…”
Texas Insider Report: AUSTIN, Texas – “Ongoing revelations of the NSA’s domestic spying, and increasingly frequent news of online security breaches, have Texans appropriately on edge,” said Lt. Governor David Dewhurst, while instructing the Senate Committee on State Affairs to study the growing concern of privacy protection and ways to make Texas government even more transparent.
“More and more of people’s private information is stored and shared online, increasing the opportunities for both theft and violations of the essential right to privacy,” Dewhurst said, speaking with reporters after a freewheeling conversation with a group of Rackspace employees at the company’s San Antonio headquarters.
Dewhurst expressed his concerns about the threats to civil liberties facing Texans in an increasingly connected, digital age.
“Our essential American freedoms include the right to live without warrantless searches of our private information or snooping on essential rights like gun ownership.
“As we have done throughout our history, Texas must lead the way in defending individual freedom.”
Lt. Governor Dewhurst instructed Committee leadership to focus on improving personal privacy and maximizing government transparency in the following areas:
SURVEILLANCE.
Dewhurst charged the committee with examining options to protect Texas residents from a variety of governmental and commercial surveillance threats. He also asked the committee to study related measures that have been passed or proposed in other states.
DATA COLLECTION AND AGGREGATION.
Dewhurst instructed the committee to review the depth of personal data collected by governmental and commercial entities, make recommendations on how to minimize the collection of this data on citizens, and examine whether sufficient protections exist for DNA samples and information, including whether there should be a prohibition on the creation of DNA databases, except for felons and sex offenders.
He also asked the committee to study related measures that have been passed or proposed in other states.
TRANSPARENCY AND CONSENT.
Dewhurst directed the committee to identify potential reforms that would increase the ability of citizens to understand the data being collected about them and with whom that data is being shared. He also asked the committee to study related measures that have been passed or proposed in other states.
USING TECHNOLOGY TO INCREASE GOVERNMENT TRANSPARENCY.
The Lieutenant Governor also directed the committee to study the online legislative resources available to the public from Texas Senate Committee websites and compare resources to those provided by other state legislative committees in Texas and other states. The overriding goal is to determine how Texas Senate websites can be improved to provide a more interactive and transparent government.
“In a functioning republic, the right to personal privacy is balanced by the obligation to maximum transparency in the conduct of government business,” concluded Dewhurst.
“Limited government and ample personal freedom are the linchpins of our state’s success and, by fortifying them, we will make Texas even stronger.”
Dewhurst said he will continue to release additional Interim Charges in the coming weeks.
