"We are very disappointed with the way the legislative process unfolded on Assembly Bill 36 (Steinberg) today. The bill's passage by a bare majority was ample evidence of an effort to merely "move the bill along" rather than an endorsement of its flawed provisions.

"We and the many businesses that have come together powerfully to oppose this legislation and its companion SB 11 will step up our fight against these bills that right now are a major threat to legitimate privacy and the business climate in California.

"Speaker Bob Hertzberg has stated his desire to become involved in future work on the legislation. We will work with him as well as with authors Assemblyman Darrell Steinberg, Senator Martha Escutia (author of SB 11), and Assemblyman Joe Simitian (author of alternative legislation AB 881). It should be recognized that opposition to AB 36 today was bipartisan and that any future work on this issue should have bi-partisan participation as well."