On March 20, 2019, the Joint Committee on Government Administration and Elections (the “Joint Committee”) introduced An Act Concerning Consumer Privacy, Raised Bill No. 1108. The Bill is essentially a reprinting of the original version of the California Consumer Privacy Act (the “CCPA”), and does not capture amendments that the California legislature has made to the CCPA since first passing it. It also does not consider the more than 20 pending bills in California to further amend the CCPA, in some cases to address obvious flaws. With the Bill’s introduction, Connecticut joins a number of other states, including Massachusetts and Rhode Island, in considering legislation similar or identical to the CCPA.
The Joint Committee voted to take up the issue of consumer privacy at its February 15 meeting. It is not clear how much support the Bill has, and the Bill does not yet have individual sponsors. In Connecticut, a “Raised Bill” is drafted at the request of a committee.
A public hearing on the Bill is scheduled for March 25, 2019.
The CCPA has already presented a variety of challenges for companies doing business in California, and the California Attorney General has already supported two separate amendments to it. As noted above, the CCPA is the subject of more than 20 bills currently pending to amend various provisions.
Passage of the CCPA or any similar legislation in Connecticut would have a profound impact on Connecticut businesses. We will continue to monitor this Bill and provide updates as they become available.
For more information on the CCPA, and our recommendations on preparing for it, visit the articles linked below.
