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April 12, 2000
Member of Congress/Senate
United States House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515
RE: S.761 / H.R. 1714 - Conference Committee on Digital Signatures
Dear Representative/Senator:
As you meet to reconcile the differences between H.R. 1714 and S. 761, with regard to digital signatures and records, I respectfully request on behalf of the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) that you support S. 761, which received unanimous approval in the Senate. My colleagues across the country would greatly appreciate that any conference agreement guarantees your states' abilities to protect the public interest and consumer safety.
NCSL has unanimously approved a policy statement endorsing the engrossed Senate version, S. 761. We believe that S. 761 would create a realistic national standard for the acceptance of electronic signatures and records, preempting only those state laws not allowing the use of digital signatures, and providing all states the opportunity to enact the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act. The House version however, would seriously and unnecessarily undermine consumer safety and state sovereignty.
Let me be clear, NCSL prefers the language in the unanimously approved S. 761. Unfortunately, it is our understanding that the House version, H.R. 1714, will serve as the basis for the Conference Committee deliberations. NCSL's primary concern with the House bill is the preemption of the regulatory authority of state agencies, such as state Insurance Department or Banking Departments, by stripping their authority to designate the format in which they are to receive financial filings from the institutions they regulate. The cost for states to accommodate these electronic records in unlimited formats would amount to an unfunded mandate. NCSL is disappointed that Congress would attack states' regulatory authority and impose major financial costs on each state at the same time.
As you know, states are the primary regulators of insurance and state-chartered banks, and in that capacity must require certain records to be remitted to the state. Our need for such oversight is no different than the oversight responsibilities the federal financial regulators such as the Federal Deposit Insurance Commission (FDIC), the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the Federal Reserve Board (FED) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) provide on the national level. H.R. 1714 exempts all federal agencies from the provisions on the transmittal of electronic records. My colleagues across the country feel strongly that state regulators need and deserve the same flexibility as federal regulators.
In a compromise draft circulated among the conferees by Senator Wyden, language was included to ensure that state regulators could set basic requirements for electronic record remittance. At the very least, NCSL urges you to include Section 103(b)(1) from Senator Wyden's draft in the final bill, which would preserve states' basic authority to effectively protect consumers' interests through regulation.
On behalf of my colleagues, I once again ask you to support S. 761, the Millennium Digital Commerce Act. By supporting S. 761, you have the opportunity to advance and encourage electronic commerce and you do so in way that does not jeopardize the welfare of your constituents or the sovereignty of your state.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Joanne Emmons
Majority Caucus Whip - Michigan State Senate
Chair, NCSL Commerce & Communications Committee
 Commerce and Communications Page
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