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Attorney general takes aim at identity theft, meth Wednesday, Jan 24, 2007 By John Lyon Arkansas News Bureau LITTLE ROCK - Measures to combat identity theft and methamphetamine trafficking are among the proposals in a legislative package announced Tuesday by Attorney General Dustin McDaniel. Most of the proposals were still being drafted Tuesday, but McDaniel issued a news release summarizing the measures he will push during the regular session. Final drafts should be available sometime next week, McDaniel spokesman Gabe Holmstrom said. McDaniel's proposals include a "credit freeze" bill which would give Arkansans the ability to bar access to their consumer credit reports when their identity has been stolen. Another bill would expand existing law to address nonfinancial as well as financial identity fraud, require restitution for victims of identity theft and create tougher penalties for the crime. "With online banking, bill paying and shopping increasing exponentially each year, we must take additional steps to protect our identities, provide help to those who have become victims and make sure those who are committing the crimes are punished appropriately," McDaniel said. Rep. Dawn Creekmore, D-Hensley, who prefiled credit freeze bill prior to the session, said Tuesday she may merge her bill with McDaniel's, which is expected to be sponsored by Rep. Bruce Maloch, D-Magnolia. The anti-meth measures McDaniel is proposing include one to create a database for law enforcement officers to monitor pseudoephedrine purchases. McDaniel said he wants to build on legislation passed last session that requires pseudoephedrine to be placed behind the counter in pharmacies. Another bill would amend the definition of drug paraphernalia to apply to paraphernalia associated with any controlled substance, instead of a finite list of substances. The bill also would add "aluminum boats" - boat-shaped pieces of foil commonly used for smoking meth - to the list of paraphernalia. "I want to do everything I can to make it easier for law enforcement to stop this scourge on society," said McDaniel, a former Jonesboro police officer and state representative. Also on McDaniel's agenda is a bill to prohibit sex offenders from being awarded child custody or unsupervised visitation. House Bill 1025, sponsored by Creekmore, already has passed the House and is awaiting Senate action. Creekmore said she learned several months ago of a case in which a sex offender regained custody of his children after serving a prison sentence. "He used his children to lure in his children's friends, and then when he was released from prison, he got custody of his kids back, and that should not happen in Arkansas," Creekmore said. McDaniel also is proposing to add to the definition of "sex offender" any person convicted of a felony homicide offense that includes an underlying sexual offense. Another measure would ban adult entertainment businesses from operating within 1,000 feet of schools, playgrounds or places of worship. McDaniel said he favors making failure to wear a seat belt a primary offense for which police could conduct a traffic stop. Under current law, a motorist can be ticketed for not wearing a seat belt only when pulled over for another traffic violation. Another bill would limit service fees and expiration dates on gift cards and require full disclosure by the party issuing the card. Holmstrom said the measure would protect consumers from gift cards that expire or decrease in value without the holder's knowledge. Other measures would allow people to retrieve personal property from impounded vehicles; clarify the duty to report a car as damaged and get a salvage title; and require tobacco manufacturers that did not sign the master settlement agreement to pay on a quarterly rather than a yearly basis. McDaniel served one term in the state House before his election as attorney general in the November general election to replace Mike Beebe, who was elected governor after one term as the state's chief lawyer. |
