Proposed New Hampshire Legislation Bans Biometrics Uses
Legislation before the New Hampshire House -- HB 1409 –
proposes to ban the use of biometrics for state or privately issued
identification cards and as a condition of doing business. Sponsors of the
proposal suggest they are concerned about individual privacy as well as the
sharing of biometrics data among agencies. While much has yet to be done before
its becoming law, it is already apparent that the legislation is in conflict
with numerous federal laws and regulations which mandate a biometrics in
everything from ePassports and military identity cards to identification of
workers employed by government contractors. Other states have considered or are
considering similar legislation, often aimed at radio frequency identification
embedded in cards, but none have been enacted.
In the case of the New Hampshire proposal, “biometric data’’
means any of the following: