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Electronic Signatures Bill Nears Passage in U.S. Congress

The bill likely will be voted on early next week, and with the majority of members of the conference committee who worked on the compromise offering their approval, the legislation stands a good chance of passage in the House. The bill will carry the Senate number, S. 761, but the House title - Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce (E-SIGN) Act.

It also has the Clinton administration's support.

Minor changes were made in last-minute negotiations between House and Senate staffs, and only four senators declined to sign the bill: Banking Committee Chairman Phil Gramm, R-Texas, and Sens. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, Strom Thurmond, R-South Carolina, and Robert Bennett, R-Utah.

Gramm conceivably could try to halt the bill in the Senate, over concerns that the legislation does not do enough to appease financial services companies, but Gramm's plan at this point is unclear. Banking Committee staffers were not immediately available for comment.

A staffer for Sen. Spencer Abraham, R-Michigan, told Newsbytes that Thurmond had intended to sign onto the conference report, but that there was no one available in his office at the late hour.

Abraham, who offered several last-minute changes, said that the negotiations were "admittedly tough," but that "my concerns with respect to the scope of the preemption and the timetable for the retention of records were adequately addressed."

He said that some of the aspects of the bill should have been "addressed differently" but on the whole the legislation is sound.

Bliley said that "this is good news for the digital economy and American consumers. We have a strong, bipartisan agreement that a majority of the conference members signed to this evening. This is one of the most important steps Congress can take to help grow the digital economy."

Abraham failed to make a change to the bill that would have set forth different clauses for consumer consent to receive electronic documents instead of paper documents, and for businesses to verify that consumers had the proper technology to receive the electronic notice.

Bliley and Abraham were successful at introducing changes, however, that would prevent states from circumventing the uniform requirements for electronic signatures and document delivery that exist because of a loophole in the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA).

The bill attempts to satisfy consumer advocate concerns that people who don't use the Internet would be prevented from receiving notice on important issues, such as insurance information and liens on houses by requiring consumers to opt in to receiving electronic documentation.

Several opponents of the bill still have concerns that the legislation would preempt states' rights to determine their own electronic signatures and document delivery rules.

Another change made to the bill would make the legislation active by October 2001, but would allow regulatory agencies to begin drafting rulemaking for the bill by March 1, 2001.

The Clinton administration also lauded the bill.

"The bipartisan agreement reached by conferees is a responsible and balanced approach to accomplishing both of these goals," said President Clinton in a statement.

Bliley singled out Senate Commerce Committee Ranking Member Ernest "Fritz" Hollings, D-South Carolina, and House Telecom Subcommittee Ranking Member Edward Markey, D-Massachusetts, for bringing aboard Democratic support.

Reported by Newsbytes.com, www.newsbytes.com.

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