RFID Update Reports that "Washington RFID Bill Expected to Become Law Today"
Earlier today, RFID Update reported being tipped off by Washington State House of Representatives Speaker Pro Tempore Jeff Morris that Governor Chris Gregoire is expected to sign House Bill 1031 in law today. RFID Update’s article can be found here.
Considering that Representative Morris's effort to regulate RFID began with a much more onerous proposal to mandate certain security features and to ban certain RFID applications, this outcome should be considered a success for those interested in the future of RFID. The most important thing, I think, was changing the terms of the debate away from 'how do we regulate the product' to 'how do we regulate the behavior of those seeking to abuse the product'. That's a significant shift in the public policy world. Dan Mullen at AIM is right that, technically, the law is making illegal something that is already illegal - data theft. But this is by far the more desirable outcome than the other option, which looked likely only a year or so ago.
Visit our “State Legislation” section of the blog for more information about this subject.