Nevada lawmakers considered a bill Monday that would ban forced human microchipping.
Democratic Assemblyman Skip Daly presented the bill at a legislative hearing in Carson City, saying he was compelled to bring the bill in part due to a Wisconsin company offered implantable microchips to its employees. The microchipping was optional.
Supporters of the legislation said the measure would ensure personal privacy.
Assemblywoman Brittney Miller, a Democrat, indicated support for the bill and said she sees its potential harm with human microchip technology, an idea that sometimes inspires science-fiction overtones.
“I think that many times we kind of joke about things and we look at things as ‘Oh, that (would) never happen,’” she said.
The bill’s sponsor says he included an amendment banning the establishment of a “voluntary program” for microchip implementation.
“There is nothing beneficial that can come from this,” he said of the microchips.
Any potential benefits from microchips in humans are outweighed by their potential for abuse, he said.
A similar bill was introduced in the Nevada Senate last legislative session. The measure received a hearing but failed to get a vote in either chamber.
A person who violates the microchip provision could see up to five years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine under the bill. The legislation says there is a separate offense for each day the measure is violated.
John Piro, registered as a lobbyist for the Clark County Public Defender’s Office, told lawmakers he had concerns the legislation would stack charges. The measure, he said, will limit technological advancement in the future and prevent a willing person from implementing a microchip for their personal use.