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House commerce committee outlines summer rewrite of H.71 privacy bill
Summary
Members of the Vermont House Commerce and Economic Development Committee said they are drafting a rewrite of H.71 this summer to tighten data-minimization language, raise coverage thresholds and revise the definition of "data broker," with the amendment expected to be posted by the end of the week.
Members of the Vermont House Committee on Commerce and Economic Development said Wednesday they will continue drafting an amendment to H.71 over the summer to focus on data-minimization requirements and the bill's scope.
Committee member 1, a member of the House Committee on Commerce and Economic Development, said, "we've been working on an amendment that we could look at for next year." Committee member 2, also a committee member, described changes under consideration and ongoing coordination with other states: "we've been working on data minimization changes, in coordination a little bit with other states."
The members said they met with local and national stakeholders and considered copying recent Connecticut amendments but concluded Connecticut's approach would not be an ideal model. Committee member 2 said Maine and Massachusetts were part of a four-state effort to align data-minimization language. "So there had been a kind of a proposal to, copy what Connecticut's latest, amendments are, but that was, I guess I'm trying to think outside," the member said, and added that coordination continued with other states.
On coverage thresholds, the committee member summarized specific numeric changes under discussion. "So the revenue threshold before was 25,000,000 and over. Now it is 500,000,000 and over," Committee member 2 said. The member also described proposed changes to the definition of a large data holder and an annual processing threshold: "large data holder was a hundred thousand Vermonters or more processed. Like, per year, it's 200,000." Those figures were presented as draft parameters the committee is considering, not a final vote or enacted change.
Committee member 2 said the draft amendment would include revisions to the bill's treatment of "data broker" and adjustments tied to the Public Records Act (PRA). "I have proposed changes to the definition of data broker and kind of how that plays out in 2430, since the language in '71 where the PRA is attached to data broker," the member said.
No motions or committee votes were taken during the meeting. Members said staff expect to post a draft amendment later this week or early next week for committee review. "If we find time, once it's granted, we take a quick look at it," Committee member 2 said; the member also said the committee will "continue working and reaching out to everybody in this room and their clients, for the summer."
The committee indicated one possible approach under active development is a strike-all amendment that would reset H.71 back toward its original language with additional adjustments for the issues described. Committee members emphasized the work remains in draft form and that additional edits and stakeholder outreach will continue through the summer.
The committee did not take final action on H.71 during the session and did not set a final enactment timetable. The next steps are continued drafting, stakeholder consultation over the summer, and posting of the draft amendment for committee review when it is ready.
