Bills Would Ban Tracking Devices In Driver's Licenses, IDs (Calif)

[Kadie]

Bills Would Ban Tracking Devices In Driver's Licenses, IDs
Legislation About Gays In School Texts Also Going Before Committee

POSTED: 10:54 am PDT June 12, 2006
UPDATED: 10:58 am PDT June 12, 2006


SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Sen. Joe Simitian is trying a new tactic in his year-and-a-half-long campaign to control the use of tracking devices in government-issued identification cards.

snip...
RFID's are tiny chips that provide information by emitting radio signals. They're used in a variety of ways, including keeping track of store inventories, providing access to buildings and automatically assessing toll-road fees.

A decision by a Sutter County school to use RFIDs in student identification cards to track attendance produced a heated protest last year by parents and civil libertarians. The school dropped the program after the company that developed the technology pulled out.

snip...
Here are some of the other bills that face action this week:

GAYS-TEXTBOOKS: Sen. Sheila Kuehl's bill that would require social science textbooks to mention the contributions made by gays to society is before the Assembly Education Committee on Wednesday. But if it gets out of the Assembly it's headed for a veto by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

snip...
HEMP FARMING - California farmers could grow hemp, a distant cousin of marijuana, under a bill by Assemblyman Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, that on the Senate Public Safety Committee's agenda on Tuesday. Supporters say hemp has only a trace of the drug in marijuana and can be used in a variety of products ranging from clothing to food.


more...
http://www.kcra.com/news/9356997/detail.html