CA senate approves bill to regulate GMail!

is outrageous! No wonder companies are fleeing the state. Despite the deep economic problems that the wasteful spending habits or our CA legislature have gotten us into, our senators seem to think it's good use of their time to regulate and innovative service from one of California's most exciting and fastest growing companies. This will drive business out of the state and continue to damage our state economy.

I was stunned and depressed when I learned recently that for the first time, the majority of the money from California-based venture funds is being invested in companies OUTSIDE of California. California has one of the worst tax, regulatory, labor rules, and tort/legal environments in the country and it seems to be getting worse. And the legislature obviously just doesn't get it! How many businesses will have to follow HP and Intels lead by moving their teams and their expansion out of state and out of country before the politicians realize that we have a lot to lose by killing the golden gooses that drive growth and prosperity in this state.

If you don't like GMail, don't use it! Don't email to GMail addresses! But why should the CA legislature deprive us of the choice to use GMail, in the way Google built it, if we so decide? Let's be clear: this law deprives users of choice. It would prevent Google from producing a service that users could benefit from--if they choose!

I'm appalled.

Here’s an excerpt:

California senators in one house of the state's law-making body have backed Senator Figueroa's bill to limit what Google can do with the Gmail messages.

The bill aims to make Google scan messages in real time and ban it from producing records of what people are mailing each other about.

It would also bar the Californian company from collecting personal information from Gmail messages and selling it to other firms.