Wyoming Senate Committee Advances Bill Limiting Government Purchase, Sale and Transfer of Personal Data

The Senate Minerals, Business & Economic Development Committee advanced Senate File 65, a measure that would restrict how state and local government entities collect, use and transfer personal data and would give Wyoming residents rights to inspect and correct data about themselves.

The bill's sponsor said the legislation would bar a government entity from buying, selling, trading or transferring an individual's personal data without that person's express written consent, while preserving a set of exceptions. "This is the heart of the bill. No government entity shall purchase, sell, trade, or transfer personal data without the express written consent of the natural person," the sponsor told the committee during the bill presentation.

The bill would also require each government entity that collects or retains personal data to adopt a written policy describing collection, access, retention, security and use of that data. Under the draft, agencies may not keep personal data longer than three years unless they adopt a written justification for extended retention. The bill would require the State Chief Information Officer to develop sample policies by…