House committee reviews S.71, a proposed Vermont data privacy and online surveillance act

The Vermont House Committee on Commerce & Economic Development opened a session on April 24 to begin detailed consideration of S.71, a proposed statewide data privacy law that the draft calls the Vermont Data Privacy and Online Surveillance Act. Legislative counsel Rick Segal walked members through amendment draft 2.3 and highlighted where the document derives from language the senate passed last year and where it differs from House proposals.

Segal told the committee the draft would create a new data‑privacy subchapter and said, "This chapter shall be known as the Vermont data privacy and online surveillance act." He described the measure as a foundational state law that would set consumer rights and controller obligations while noting several areas are policy choices for the committee.

The bill in the current draft would apply to any business that during the preceding calendar year controlled or processed personal data for at least 35,000 consumers; Segal said the numeric threshold is subject to negotiation. He added that certain categories of data—Social Security numbers, genetic information, and specific health data—would trigger coverage regardless of the numeric threshold. "So if it's under that, then you would not be subject to the bill; however, if you…