Wyoming committee revisits bill limiting government transfer of personal data amid title-records, security concerns

The Select Committee on Blockchain, Financial Technology and Digital Innovation Technology heard detailed testimony Friday on 26 LSO 12, a bill draft that would bar government entities from purchasing, selling, trading or transferring personal data without a person’s express written consent, with limited exceptions for other government entities, contractors, law, and transfers allowed by HIPAA or FERPA.

Committee staff attorney Talise Hansen told members the draft also would let Wyoming residents request copies of personal data held by government entities, object to accuracy or relevance, require agencies to adopt policies on collection, retention and security, and prohibit collection of more data than necessary. The draft would limit retention to three years unless a written policy with justification allows longer storage.

Why it matters: the bill attempts to put new, statutory limits on how state and local governments handle personally identifiable information as digital systems proliferate. Supporters framed it as a privacy baseline; several witnesses said implementation details will decide whether public functions such as land-title research or routine public-records requests are…