MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Alabama House Democrats recently unveiled three bills recently designed to protect personal identifiable information, or PII, and improve government efficiency.
The first bill, sponsored by Rep. Prince Chestnut, D-Valley Grande, would impose strict regulations around the state government’s use of PII, dubbed the Government Information Privacy Protection Act, or GIPPA Act.
“We can all get behind efforts to improve government efficiency, but we must also do it in a smart way that protects the people we serve,” Chestnut said at the press conference.
“That’s why I believe our foremost priority in this effort should be an ironclad guarantee to our voters that your personal data will not be used without your permission, or for purposes that could leave you or your families vulnerable to abuse, scams or fraud.”
According to a draft of the bill obtained by Alabama Daily News, Alabama state agencies would be required to, before sharing PII with federal agencies, be provided with the intended use of the data, any plans for sharing the data with third parties, the retention period for holding the data, and the security measures for data protection. Such information would also become public record under the bill.
To receive PII from Alabama state agencies, federal agencies must agree to provide written notice to the relevant state agency before sharing PII with third parties, and must notify affected individuals.
Third parties would be prohibited from contracting with state agencies that manage PII if they have been found in violation of data protection laws within the past five years and if they do not disclose their lifetime and annual security ratings as generated by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, a federal government agency under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Severe civil and criminal penalties would also be established under the bill, including fines of up to $50,000 per violation.
Other bills in the package include the Dynamic Oversight and Government Efficiency Act, or DOGE Act, mirroring in name President Donald Trump’s newly created Department of Government Efficiency, headed by Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk.
Sponsored by Rep. Phillip Ensler, D-Montgomery, the DOGE Act would require regular fiscal analyses of government programs exceeding $50 million in projected or actual costs as a means to track and account for government spending.
“A dynamic fiscal analysis is a proven method that evaluates long-term macroeconomic effects of proposed or existing programs, including projected impacts of unemployment, economic growth and government revenues,” Ensler said. “Taking this approach will help lawmakers make better decisions regarding costs and benefits upfront rather than taking a wait-and-see approach.”
The last of the three bills, the Government Efficiency Commission Act, would establish an independent commission to review state government operations, and to make recommendations as to how to eliminate redundant or underperforming programs.
Sponsored by Rep. Kelvin Lawrence, D-Hayneville, the bill would also see the commission review state regulations and recommend repeals if necessary, and to assess state-owned assets for potential sale or lease.
The three bills have yet to be filed, though ADN has obtained drafts.