| Entities | Texas (8) |
| Topics and Issues | Public Records (25) |
In late-2020, media outlets, including Fox 26 in Houston reported that “…nearly 28 million Texas drivers may have had their personal information breached when an insurance software company called Vertafore, with access to driver’s license data, says it was hacked.” This breach, which started as a snowball, turned into an avalanche of legislation, letters, and hearings by legislators criticizing the sale of all public records in Texas.
On or about Feb. 10, 2021, the sale of public records was the subject of a spirited discussion at a hearing of the Senate Finance Committee. Following that hearing, Sen. Jane Nelson (R-Grapevine), who chairs Finance, sent a letter to Jerry McGinty, the director of the Legislative Budget Board seeking more information about where the sale of public records resides in the state budget.
There are a number of bills pending in the Texas legislature in reaction to the Vertafore breach, which is now a putative class action. This issue came up, and not in a good way, at a recent, in-person hearing of the Senate Finance Committee. Testifying not on the breach specifically, but on budget matters generally, was Jerry McGinty, the Legislative Budget Board head.
As an example, two bills were introduced, S.B. 15 and S.B. 16. Both of these bills were endorsed by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R). Senate Bill 15 was sponsored by Sen. Robert Nichols (R-Nagadoches Co.) and S.B. 16 was sponsored by Sen. Jane Nelson (R-Grapevine). Sen. Nichols is the chair of Transporation and the Vice Chair of Business & Commerce. Sen. Nelson is the chair of Finance.
In March 2021, CDIA sent letters to Sens. Nichols and Nelson, and to Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.