St. Paul – Today, a bipartisan group of lawmakers led by state Rep. John Lesch (DFL-St. Paul) announced a renewed legislative focus advancing the issue of student, employee and personal data privacy. The announcement in Minnesota was one of 16 taking place simultaneously in other states as advocates rolled-out a package of six bills.
“I rise in solidarity today with legislators in states across the country in standing up to affirm our state and nation’s commitment to protecting Americans’ privacy,” Lesch said. “The bills my colleagues and I are introducing are common sense measures protecting the privacy of students, employees and all Minnesotans. The citizens of this state should feel that government is working to protect their privacy, not violate it.”
The bipartisan actions at the state level come in the wake of a recent poll conducted by Anzalone Liszt Grove Research which found that 90 percent of Americans believed (73 percent of them strongly) that the next president should “make protecting privacy so we have more control over our personal information” a policy priority.
“My colleagues and I agree with the vast majority of respondents to this poll, but we are not prepared to wait for Congress or the next President to act,” Lesch said. “The right to privacy is a fundamental American value and, if need be, the states are willing to take the lead in protecting that right.”
The multi-state effort is using the Twitter hashtag #TakeCTRL. The bills included that will be officially introduced in the 2016 legislative session include:
Rep. Lesch serves as the DFL-lead on the Minnesota House Civil Law and Data Practices Committee. The 2016 legislative session gets underway March 8.