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Technology Stocks : VeriSign (VRSN) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Mary Kay who wrote (625)	6/24/1999 5:37:00 PM
From: Robert Brooks	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1285

This is yesterday's news, but it may explain the run today. Hope there is followthrough. RB Senate Commerce Committee Approves Signature Bill (Update1) (Closes stock price for VeriSign Inc.) Washington, June 23 (Bloomberg) -- The Senate Commerce Committee unanimously approved legislation giving electronic signatures the same legal validity as those penned in ink. The bill aims to establish a national standard for electronic interstate commerce and speed online transactions by eliminating the need for handwritten signatures. ''We've got a bill that that's going to save millions of Americans time and money,'' said Senator Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat. The bill could benefit companies like VeriSign Inc., which makes software for secure Internet transactions. The U.S. Commerce Department projects that retail sales on the Internet could reach $30 billion by next year. Concerns about online security and privacy could slow that growth. States have been developing their own guidelines regarding electronic signatures, though no two have adopted the same standards, said Senator Spencer Abraham, the bill's sponsor and a Republican from Michigan. This bill would provide an interim solution of uniformity and allow states to add exceptions as they see fit. ''If we're going to be able to move forward and experiment with the Internet, the key vehicle we need is electronic verification methods,'' Abraham said. The bill doesn't specify what technology should be used for electronic signatures. Last year, Congress approved a measure that requires federal agencies to use digital signatures for online transactions. Wyden said he thought this bill and the one like it in the House should find similar success. ''I think we now have a bill the administration is going to sign,'' Wyden said. Shares of VeriSign fell 13/16 to 67 today. NYSE/AMEX delayed 20 min. NASDAQ delayed 15 min.