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The Honolulu Advertiser
Updated at 4:16 p.m., Thursday, May 22, 2008

Lingle signs bill aimed at reducing identity theft

Advertiser Staff

Gov. Linda Lingle on Wednesday signed into law a bill (SB3092 SD1 HD1 CD1) to provide Hawai'i residents with additional protection against identity theft.

Under the new law (Act 86), Social Security number information that must be filed with the Bureau of Conveyances will be limited to only the last four digits, as opposed to the full nine-digit number. Current law requires that an individual's full Social Security number, as well as state tax identification number and federal employer number, must be included on documents such as judgments, orders, liens or degrees against property that are filed with the Bureau of Conveyances.

The Lingle-Aiona administration introduced this measure based on recommendations by the Anti-Phishing Task Force that this type of personal information be eliminated from public records where possible. The task force was established in 2005 to develop state policy on how to prevent high-tech scams and fraudulent use of sensitive information such as electronic passwords, credit card numbers, bank account information and Social Security numbers.

"This new law recognizes that the public has the right to inspect and use records filed with the Bureau of Conveyances in accordance with public records laws, but personal data should be reduced to the bare minimum to protect against identity theft," Lingle said.

Act 86 takes effect on July 1, 2008.

While the Legislature passed this measure to safeguard against criminal misuse of Bureau of Conveyances public records, lawmakers failed to support modernizing the Bureau by allowing online filing. This simple step would have addressed the majority of the decades-old concerns regarding security, speed and accessibility of the Bureau.

The Department of Land and Natural Resources, which oversees the Bureau of Conveyances, will continue to develop an online system for the Bureau and will move forward with any improvements that do not require legislative action.