Conn. Enacts 5th State Privacy Law; La. Bill Faces Hurdle

Connecticut will be the fifth state with a comprehensive privacy law, but a Louisiana privacy bill, after clearing the House Commerce Committee earlier this week, met a possible hurdle after the House sent it down to another committee. Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont (D) signed SB-6 by Sen. James Maroney (D) Tuesday. The legislature passed the bill last month (see 2204290036) and the law will take effect July 1, 2023, the same day as Colorado’s privacy law. Maroney is "thrilled" Lamont signed his bill, he said Wednesday in a statement: "In our increasingly connected world, these rights are ever more important." Connecticut’s privacy law is “certainly one of the stronger bills” and “advances the conversation for privacy law in this country,” unlike the more business-friendly Utah law passed earlier this year, said Husch Blackwell attorney David Stauss, who participated in meetings to develop the Connecticut bill. It continues a trend of states, including Colorado and Virginia, passing bills based on the yet-to-be passed Washington Privacy Act, rather than on California’s law, he said in an interview. Consistency so far among state privacy bills may lessen chances of federal legislation “because you’re not getting a lot of interoperability concerns,” Stauss said. “You certainly have differences between these bills,” but “we have yet to come across a situation in which you can either comply with one state or another state.” Consumer Reports Director-Consumer Privacy Justin Brookman said Connecticut’s law isn’t “perfect, but it's definitely one of the stronger laws that have been passed.” CR was concerned after Utah’s law “that companies would be pushing for similarly weak laws, so it was important to see a stronger law pass soon after Utah,” he said. The Louisiana House and Governmental Affairs Committee will vote on HB-987 Tuesday said Chairman John Stefanski (R) at a livestreamed hearing Wednesday. The bill at first was similar to Utah’s bill but Microsoft-backed amendments added consumer protections that raised issues for TechNet members (see 2205090037). “I know there is some concern,” said Stefanski, saying he wants to “see if we can’t ease those concerns between now and the next meeting.” Sponsor Rep. Daryl Deshotel (R) said he was surprised to hear Tuesday from groups that hadn’t previously weighed in.