Senator Gina Walsh Applauds Governor for Signing Cybersecurity Bill into State Law
| JEFFERSON CITY — Missouri Senate Minority Floor Leader Gina Walsh, D-Bellefontaine Neighbors, thanked the governor for signing House Bill 1606, which includes language from Senate Bill 582, sponsored by Sen. Walsh, into state law. This legislation aims to establish additional cybersecurity protections for Missouri’s school-age children by requiring schools to notify parents if their student’s personal information is stolen or compromised.
“I greatly appreciate the state auditor for bringing the issue of cybersecurity breaches in Missouri schools to the public’s attention and for working diligently with lawmakers, on both sides of the aisle, to get this bill passed during the legislative session,” stated Sen. Walsh. “In this day and age, it is necessary to keep our youth’s personal information safe. Our children are more susceptible to becoming victims of identity fraud because it can take years to uncover the damage.” In recent years, there have been significant data breaches at schools across the state. In 2014, the Park Hill School District notified more than 10,000 current and former staff members and students that their personal information – including Social Security numbers – was compromised after a former employee made the data accessible on the internet. More recently, in January 2017, seven Missouri school districts were targets of a phishing email scam, with one school in Odessa falling victim and sharing personal information. In addition to notifying the parents, school officials must also notify the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and the state auditor. Currently, only some school districts have a written policy regarding parental notification in the event of a data breach. “As a result of the governor’s actions, students across the state will now have additional protections in place to guard them against the possibility of becoming victims of identity fraud,” stated Sen. Walsh. “Enhancing the level of cybersecurity protection for our students is vital, and their parents need to know when a data breach has taken place in their school’s database.” In addition, Sen. Walsh expressed her thanks to the governor for signing Senate Bill 892 into state law. This legislation aims to reform several public employee retirement systems. The bill attempts to stabilize the public employee retirement system for prosecuting and circuit attorneys. In addition, SB 892 modifies the Public School Retirement System of Kansas City; allows employees of metropolitan planning organizations to join the Local Government Employees’ Retirement System; allows employees of soil and water conservation districts to join the Local Government Employees’ Retirement System; and allows teachers retired from the Public School Employee Retirement System to be employed in a position covered under the Public Education Employee Retirement System without stopping their retirement benefits. “Long time public servants, who have reached the golden age of retirement, deserve to know the benefits they have earned will enable them to live comfortably as they enjoy the rest of their life with their family,” stated Sen. Walsh. “The positive changes implemented by SB 892 reaffirm our state’s commitment to both fiscal sustainability and retirement security, and I was pleased to see the governor sign this bill into state law.” For more information on Sen. Walsh’s legislative actions, visit her official Senate website at www.senate.mo.gov/walsh. |