Computerworld's Marc Songini looks at the Identity Information Protection Act of 2006, which is expected to be signed into law in California by the end of the month. The bill creates comprehensive safeguards for personal information collected through RFID tagging in government-issued documents.

"The proposed California law requires that state and local governments protect data stored on RFID chips through measures such as encryption," Songini writes. "The law forbids what is known as skimming - the reading of an RFID chip's content without the holder's knowledge."

State Senator Joe Simitian says such protections are necessary. "The question we have to ask and answer is, 'Do we really want state and local governments to issue documents that can broadcast our personal information without our knowledge or consent?'" he says.

RFID Update notes that the bill as currently structured is a compromise between various factions. "The final version is a good middle ground for all of us," says the AeA's Roxanne Gould. "It provides protections without demonizing the technology. It's probably the best we can get out of the legislative process."