Committee hears testimony on bill to allow ID swipes for age checks; privacy concerns and retailer support aired

The House Committee on Economic Development, Small Business and Trade opened a public hearing April 28 on Senate Bill 1,005, which would allow private entities to swipe a customer's driver's license or identification card to verify age when selling age-restricted goods, regardless of whether there is "reasonable doubt" about the customer's age.

Senator Daniel Bonham, a sponsor of the bill, said the change removes a subjective standard and enables retailers to use point-of-sale card-swiping technology to confirm an ID. "It says, yes, this is a valid ID and yes, this person's 21 years old," Bonham said, describing the devices as a single-pass verification that does not retain customer data.

Representative Emily McIntyre, co-sponsor, emphasized the bill does not create new authority to store or sell swipe data. She noted the bill continues to prohibit storing, selling or sharing personal information collected from swiping…