While the citizens of Texas were distracted, the hired help passed a low requiring a Private Investigator’s license for repairing computers. The law requires that a licensed PI is needed for many professional areas that were previously open. If you run a security business, alarm company, are a locksmith or repair computers, now you must have a license. Leave it to the “Keep Austin Weird” crowd to come up with something like this. This is government craziness on steroids. The new law also has teeth, levying a hefty fine on those breaking the new law. It does require people to maintain confidential records on all those who they provide service for. Even this is suspect, because now they have to keep records, when before that was not an issue. It places many professions under the watchful eyes of the Department of Public Safety.

The bill itself was sponsored by Joe Driver of Dallas. Prior to his legislative experience, he was an insurance salesman which may explain some of the thinking in the bill. Although Joe Driver says that computer technicians will not need the license for hardware repairs, any retrieval of data will require the license. The danger of bills like this is HOW will the judges interpret the law. It does not make any difference as to what was intended, it is determined by the judges definition of what it means. Many legal scholars are already looking at the case and see it as in infringement on free speech and shutting the door on computer entrpeneurs. This is a situation that bears watching. In some ways it may be what turns geeks into informants.

Free Texas from the insanity

J Murrah

computer repair, Current Affairs, Dallas, HB 2833, Joe Driver, Private Investigators license, Texas Department of Public Safety, Web/Tech

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