Vermont committee reviews data-minimization choices in S.71, weighs Connecticut, Maryland and California models

BURLINGTON, Vt. — The Vermont House Committee on Commerce & Economic Development on May 5 continued its review of S.71, draft 2.3, the state's proposed consumer data privacy bill, with legislative counsel Rick Segal walking members through a side-by-side comparison of data-minimization language in Vermont's draft and comparable provisions in Connecticut (2025 amendments), Maryland and California.

Segal told the committee the document focuses narrowly on data minimization — not on thresholds, exemptions or broad definitions — and read the draft's controlling language: "A controller shall limit the collection and processing of personal data to what is reasonably necessary and proportionate to provide or maintain a specific product or service requested by the consumer," language he said is similar in Connecticut and Maryland but structured differently in California. "A controller shall limit the collection and processing of personal data to what is reasonably necessary and proportionate to provide or maintain a specific product or service requested by the consumer," Segal said while reading the draft aloud for the…