HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 599        FILED ON: 1/13/2015

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 225

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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PRESENTED BY:

Ronald Mariano

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To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:

An Act updating chapter 93H data security protections to include biometric information.

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PETITION OF:

HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 599        FILED ON: 1/13/2015

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 225

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the One Hundred and Eighty-Ninth General Court
(2015-2016)

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An Act updating chapter 93H data security protections to include biometric information.

Whereas, The deferred operation of this act would tend to defeat its purpose, which is to protect the privacy and security of residents’ biometric information, therefore it is hereby declared to be an emergency law, necessary for the immediate preservation of the public convenience.
 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

SECTION 1. Section 1 of chapter 93H of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2012 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after the definition of “Agency” the following definition:-

“Biometric indicator”, any unique biological attribute or measurement that can be used to authenticate the identity of an individual, including but not limited to fingerprints, genetic information, iris or retina patterns, facial characteristics, or hand geometry.

SECTION 2. Said section 1 of said chapter 93H, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking the word “or” in line 44 and inserting after the word “account;” in line 48 the following:-

or (d) a biometric indicator