Marriott hack spurs tightening of California data-security laws

The theft of data at businesses from banks to credit bureaus that has, so far, spurred only hearings in Congress has prompted a considerably more decisive response in California.

Now, one of the latest and largest cases — the pilfering of 327 million guest records including passport information from the Starwood Hotels chain acquired by Marriott — is motivating state lawmakers to tighten data-security laws even further.

A measure proposed by Attorney General Xavier Becerra, who succeeded Kamala Harris after her election to the Senate, and state Assemblyman Marc Levine, would add such numbers along with biometric data like fingerprints and retina images to the categories of personal identification information protected under a 2003 law.