Texas Governor Signs Bill Dropping Penalties for Release of Social Security Numbers

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Texas Gov. Rick Perry signed a bill removing any requirement that government officials redact the Social Security numbers of living citizens from a public record before the record is released. The bill clarifies a point in the law that the state’s attorney general could result in officials being financially and criminally liable for making the information public. The legislature quickly responded to the AG’s ruling by passing the bill, which give officials time to work out ways to redact the social security information in records going back decades. (4/3/07)