House advances bill to give Vermonters deletion rights from data brokers, raises fees and penalties

The House heard an extended presentation of H.211, a bill that overhauls Vermont’s data broker registration and consumer protections by widening definitions of brokered personal information, granting Vermonters a deletion right, increasing registration fees and penalties, and authorizing a Secretary of State study of an accessible deletion mechanism.

Representative Priestley (Member from Bradford) described how the bill broadens the definition of brokered personal information to include information linked to an identifiable individual or a device associated with a household, and adds definitions for precise geolocation, processor, publicly available information and sale. The bill requires data brokers to register within 30 days of acting in the state, raises the annual registration fee from $100 to $900, and requires brokers to maintain a $20,000 bond that runs to the state for liability under the subchapter.

A central feature creates a deletion right: data brokers must provide a web page for deletion requests and respond within 30 days. Permitted denial exceptions are enumerated (required by law, used for consumer credit reporting, necessary for legal claims or to prevent identity fraud, among others). Brokers must segregate any retained data held under an exception and delete it when the exception expires; consumers may appeal a denial.

The bill also adds a Data Broker Security Breach Notice requirement and increases civil penalties for registration failures or incorrect filings (including tiered daily fines and a $25,000 one-time penalty for materially incorrect registration). It directs the Secretary of State to study a centralized, accessible deletion mechanism and requests a $50,000 appropriation to support the study; reports were scheduled for December 1, 2027 (interim) and December 1, 2028 (final). The bill’s effective date was proposed as January 1, 2027 to allow system updates.

Fiscal notes and committee recommendations: Ways and Means staff summarized that increasing the registration fee to $900 could generate roughly $226,400 in additional annual revenue based on 283 currently registered brokers; an alternative estimate suggested up to 441 brokers could be active in the state. Background materials and committee testimony were extensive, and witnesses included fiscal analysts, regulators, privacy advocates, industry representatives, former data-broker employees and consumer advocates. Commerce and Economic Development reported the bill favorably with amendment (9-2-0); Ways and Means also recommended passage when amended (10-0-1).

Next steps: The House recessed for lunch to resume further consideration; the bill was advanced in committee and awaits further floor action and any amendments to the committee language.