There’s talk in Montpelier (or among its denizens, now widely distributed) that it might be time to revive the idea of creating a chief privacy officer position for the state.
The suggestion, which came up after the giant Equifax breach of 2017, has been revived in the wake of a state Department of Labor misfire that sent thousands of 1099-G tax forms, including Social Security numbers, to the wrong recipients.
Rep. Mike Marcotte, R-Coventry, said Thursday that ideally the chief security officer would work with state agencies and the Legislature to ensure “ that everybody knows what to do and how to deal with it right away, and not scramble.”
Charity Clark, chief of staff to Attorney General TJ Donovan, suggested the idea Thursday at a meeting with the House Committee on Commerce and Economic Development, even though she said it didn’t get much traction last time.
Marcotte, who is chair of the committee, said he hoped lawmakers would give data security serious consideration when legislators meet in person again.
“I just find things like that are really deep subjects, and to try to do it over Zoom is really tough,” Marcotte said.
—Anne Wallace Allen
Senate Judiciary Committee members took time during a break in hearings Thursday to talk about the ongoing impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump and speculation that in the future he may face criminal charges for his conduct while in office.
“If he were to go to jail would he have Secret Service protection?” Sen. Dick Sears, D-Bennington, who chairs the committee, asked his colleagues.
“I think he’s entitled to it unless the Congress says otherwise,” replied Sen. Joe Benning, R-Caledonia.
“They would put him in, basically, a prison that wasn’t so different from Mar-o-Lago,” added Sen. Phil Baruth, D/P-Chittenden, referring to Trump’s Florida club and residence.
“Maybe they would turn it into a prison,” chimed in Sen. Jeanette White, D-Windham.
—Alan Keays
Lawmakers discussed a bill Thursday that would establish a task force to consider the creation of a “truth and reconciliation” commission for Vermont.
Rep. Hal Colston, D-Winooski, who testified about H.96 in the House Committee on General, Housing, and Military Affairs on Thursday afternoon, said the panel would “examine and begin the process of dismantling” hundreds of years of structural discrimination in Vermont.
“I truly believe that if we’re going to handle these really large issues of systemic and structural racism and reparations, it’s really incumbent on us to have a process so that as many Vermonters as possible can understand why this is important,” Colston said.
Several weeks ago, Colston, Rep. Tom Stevens, D-Waterbury, and Rep. Kevin Christie, D-White River Junction, asked UVM Legislative Research Service for a report on how to best conduct the process.
In particular, Colston said the group discussed the need for a public/private partnership that would include statewide organizations with the capacity to bring in philanthropic dollars.
Colston said the commission work would likely take place “a couple of years down the road” when the group could meet in person.
“I think that’s a more effective way of understanding people’s experiences, and their pain in terms of understanding these historic discriminations,” he said.
—Ellie French
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