The STORY is false and bogus in your book, yet the Institute for Justice, the nation's leading litigator for entrepeneurs, has filed a lawsuit against this new law. Interesting how their staff of attorneys and litigators was so grossly deceived by this bogus story, huh?
This law should and I would assume will be thrown out on at least 3 grounds:
1. Features extreme requirement of a 4-yr. degree rather than a simple licensing test when heretofore no license or degree of any kind was required to perform this work.
2. Degree requirement is generally unrelated to the day-to-day work as a PC technician.
3. Language of the licensing law is too vague, stipulating that any "investigative" work on a PC would be covered by this requirement. Technically, any type of computer work is "investigative" by nature, making it a crime for anyone to open a PC, troubleshoot anything (whether hardware or software) or replace any parts on a PC.
4. Major privacy concerns. What authority does the Private Eye/PC-fixer have to go through personal content of a hard drive without express consent from the customer? As it is today, the PC repair technician rarely checks out (sniffs through) actual data contained on a computer, unless specifically instructed to do so by the customer himself or herself. This new law opens up a pandora's box of personal privacy issues, consent issues, "obtainment of incriminating evidence without warrant issues," etc.
If PC repair must require a criminal justice degree because of the (remote) possibility that criminal material could be contained on said computers, then one could argue that consequently many other professions should require the same degree. A trained law enforcement official would undoubtedly be better at spotting "criminal or terrorist activity" text messages on cell phones, so the entire cell phone industry should require criminal justice degrees. Librarians and book store clerks should be replaced by criminal justice degree holders, since they are better at noticing patterns in people's reading materials that could lead to the discovery of potential Unabombers, McVeigh's or Middle Eastern terrorists. The clerks working in the photo lab at Walgreens or CVS must be replaced by a criminal justice degree holder, since they can best do the "investigative" work required to discertain if some photos cross certain criminal thresholds. On and on the list goes.
If lawmakers don't change the language of this law to specify with much more detail what "investigative" work is meant exactly, the law should be thrown out with high arc. Overzealous lawmakers sniffing too much of that 'homeland security' glue are making this a seemingly easy law to revoke/reverse, unless they come to their senses beforehand and relegate this law into the niche corner where it belongs. What should eventually remain of this law would cover highly data-sensitive municipal and state government computers, as it should have been in the first place.
From reading the articles related to this and also looking at the law itself, I believe you are wrong.
Installing a "mechanical security device" or an "electronic security device," which are covered by the exceptions you showed, are not synonymous with COMPUTER REPAIR. How did you come to the notion they are? Installing and repairing security devices (i.e. mechanical or electronic locks, security cameras, etc.) is generally unrelated to what is commonly known as COMPUTER REPAIR.
Section 1601.253. Eligibility for Class A Barber Certificate
(a) An applicant for a Class A barber certificate must:
(1) be at least 16 years of age; and
(2) pass a written and practical examination demonstrating to the departmentâ(TM)s satisfaction the applicant's fitness and competence to practice barbering.
(b) The department shall issue a Class A barber certificate to an applicant who:
(1) complies with the application requirements of this chapter;
(2) passes the applicable examination;
(3) pays the required fee; and
(4) possesses the other qualifications required by this chapter. __
Ther is NO schooling required to become a licensed barber in the state of Texas, but the passage of a test. Whether you choose to gain the knowledge and skills required to pass the test by attending evening classes somewhere, studying on the internet or hanging out at your aunt's beauty shop is up to you.
There IS a schooling requirement to earn a license to become a BARBER TECHNICIAN, however:
__
b) An applicant for a barber technician license must:
(1) be at least 16 years of age;
(2) have completed the seventh grade or the equivalent of the seventh grade;
(3) have completed a course of instruction in a commission-approved training program consisting of not less than 300 hours in a period of not less than eight weeks; and
(4) submit the required fee with the application. ___
300 hrs.schooling requirement to be named a "barber technician" is still a far cry from the 2,000 hrs. requirement you brought in here falsely just to call yourself a licensed BARBER.
Now, back to the point here: Taking the example of the barber, since it was brought up: You may practice the art of hair cutting, trimming, shaving, etc. without any license whatsoever, but you may not call yourself a BARBER (licensed or otherwise) without obtaining a license first. As mentioned above, obtaining said license does not require schooling or a degree of any kind. That is totally different from this new law which sipulates that to simply practice any kind of "investigative" PC repair, which means ALL PC repair in practical terms, one must not only acquire a LICENSE of some kind, but actually own or acquire a degree. And, no, not a computer degree, but a full-fledged 4-yr. CRIMINAL JUSTICE degree (or alternatively go through a 3-yr. apprenticeship under a licensed private investigator.)
I agree with the previous writer that this law will be reversed by higher courts on at least three grounds, perhaps more.
Slashdot Mirror
The STORY is false and bogus in your book, yet the Institute for Justice, the nation's leading litigator for entrepeneurs, has filed a lawsuit against this new law. Interesting how their staff of attorneys and litigators was so grossly deceived by this bogus story, huh?
http://www.ij.org/first_amendment/tx_computer_repair/6_26_08pr.html
This law should and I would assume will be thrown out on at least 3 grounds:
1. Features extreme requirement of a 4-yr. degree rather than a simple licensing test when heretofore no license or degree of any kind was required to perform this work.
2. Degree requirement is generally unrelated to the day-to-day work as a PC technician.
3. Language of the licensing law is too vague, stipulating that any "investigative" work on a PC would be covered by this requirement. Technically, any type of computer work is "investigative" by nature, making it a crime for anyone to open a PC, troubleshoot anything (whether hardware or software) or replace any parts on a PC.
4. Major privacy concerns. What authority does the Private Eye/PC-fixer have to go through personal content of a hard drive without express consent from the customer? As it is today, the PC repair technician rarely checks out (sniffs through) actual data contained on a computer, unless specifically instructed to do so by the customer himself or herself. This new law opens up a pandora's box of personal privacy issues, consent issues, "obtainment of incriminating evidence without warrant issues," etc.
If PC repair must require a criminal justice degree because of the (remote) possibility that criminal material could be contained on said computers, then one could argue that consequently many other professions should require the same degree. A trained law enforcement official would undoubtedly be better at spotting "criminal or terrorist activity" text messages on cell phones, so the entire cell phone industry should require criminal justice degrees. Librarians and book store clerks should be replaced by criminal justice degree holders, since they are better at noticing patterns in people's reading materials that could lead to the discovery of potential Unabombers, McVeigh's or Middle Eastern terrorists. The clerks working in the photo lab at Walgreens or CVS must be replaced by a criminal justice degree holder, since they can best do the "investigative" work required to discertain if some photos cross certain criminal thresholds. On and on the list goes.
If lawmakers don't change the language of this law to specify with much more detail what "investigative" work is meant exactly, the law should be thrown out with high arc. Overzealous lawmakers sniffing too much of that 'homeland security' glue are making this a seemingly easy law to revoke/reverse, unless they come to their senses beforehand and relegate this law into the niche corner where it belongs. What should eventually remain of this law would cover highly data-sensitive municipal and state government computers, as it should have been in the first place.
From reading the articles related to this and also looking at the law itself, I believe you are wrong.
Installing a "mechanical security device" or an "electronic security device," which are covered by the exceptions you showed, are not synonymous with COMPUTER REPAIR. How did you come to the notion they are? Installing and repairing security devices (i.e. mechanical or electronic locks, security cameras, etc.) is generally unrelated to what is commonly known as COMPUTER REPAIR.
2000 hrs. of schooling to become a licensed barber? That is nonsense.
___
State of Texas Licensing and Regulation:
http://www.license.state.tx.us/barbers/barberlaw.htm
Section 1601.253. Eligibility for Class A Barber Certificate
(a) An applicant for a Class A barber certificate must:
(1) be at least 16 years of age; and
(2) pass a written and practical examination demonstrating to the departmentâ(TM)s satisfaction the applicant's fitness and competence to practice barbering.
(b) The department shall issue a Class A barber certificate to an applicant who:
(1) complies with the application requirements of this chapter;
(2) passes the applicable examination;
(3) pays the required fee; and
(4) possesses the other qualifications required by this chapter.
__
Ther is NO schooling required to become a licensed barber in the state of Texas, but the passage of a test. Whether you choose to gain the knowledge and skills required to pass the test by attending evening classes somewhere, studying on the internet or hanging out at your aunt's beauty shop is up to you.
There IS a schooling requirement to earn a license to become a BARBER TECHNICIAN, however:
__
b) An applicant for a barber technician license must:
(1) be at least 16 years of age;
(2) have completed the seventh grade or the equivalent of the seventh grade;
(3) have completed a course of instruction in a commission-approved training program consisting of not less than 300 hours in a period of not less than eight weeks; and
(4) submit the required fee with the application.
___
300 hrs.schooling requirement to be named a "barber technician" is still a far cry from the 2,000 hrs. requirement you brought in here falsely just to call yourself a licensed BARBER.
Now, back to the point here: Taking the example of the barber, since it was brought up: You may practice the art of hair cutting, trimming, shaving, etc. without any license whatsoever, but you may not call yourself a BARBER (licensed or otherwise) without obtaining a license first. As mentioned above, obtaining said license does not require schooling or a degree of any kind. That is totally different from this new law which sipulates that to simply practice any kind of "investigative" PC repair, which means ALL PC repair in practical terms, one must not only acquire a LICENSE of some kind, but actually own or acquire a degree. And, no, not a computer degree, but a full-fledged 4-yr. CRIMINAL JUSTICE degree (or alternatively go through a 3-yr. apprenticeship under a licensed private investigator.)
I agree with the previous writer that this law will be reversed by higher courts on at least three grounds, perhaps more.