CCPA Amendment Update: May 2019

The California legislature is wrapping up the first phase of the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) amendment process. Today is the last day for a fiscal committee of the California state legislature to hear and report to the floor bills introduced in their house. The next two weeks are reserved for floor votes as the deadline for bills to pass out of the house of origin is May 31st.

The importance of the deadline is a bit unclear since there are already two bills amending the CCPA which have passed through the state Assembly. Nevertheless, it is a signal about which changes have more support than others.

These bills will be taken up by the California Senate and can be amended as part of that process. If the Senate passes a different version of the bill then the Assembly, it will be reconciled and both bodies will need to pass it again. The Senate process will take place starting in June with the deadline for policy committees to report bills is mid-July. The legislature will be on break for the summer from mid-July to mid-August. The fiscal committees will then have a few weeks to meet and report bills to the floor before the August 30th deadline.

As we saw in Washington state, the fact that one house passes a bill with an overwhelming amount of support does not necessarily indicate that they will find support in the other. The Washington Privacy Act contained in Senate Bill 5376 passed the Washington state Senate in a bipartisan vote of 46-1 earlier this year before it struck controversy and was not brought to a vote on the floor of the House there.

Assembly Bills:

AB-25 (employee exclusion) – Through Appropriations and waiting for an Assembly vote.
AB-846 (loyalty programs) – Through Appropriations and waiting for an Assembly vote.
AB-873 (de-identified information) – Through Appropriations and waiting for an Assembly vote.
AB-874 (publicly available information) – Passed Assembly 76-0-4 and waiting for Senate Committee assignment.
AB-981 (insurance exemption & IIPPA) – Through Appropriations to consent calendar and waiting for an Assembly vote.
AB-1138 (kids social media registration) – Failed in an Assembly vote of 24-11-45. It has been amended and granted reconsideration.
AB-1146 (vehicle warranty exception) – Through Appropriations and waiting for an Assembly vote.
AB 1355 (technical amendments) – Passed Assembly and waiting for Senate Committee assignment.
AB-1564 (toll free number alternative) – Passed Assembly 73-0-7 and waiting for Senate Committee assignment.

Senate Bills:

SB561 was scheduled for consideration yesterday in the Senate Appropriations Committee but was held in committee under submission. At the end of April, the Appropriations Committee placed SB561 on the suspense file. SB561 is the bill introduced by Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson and supported by the California Attorney General to expand the private right of action within the CCPA. If passed, consumers would have the ability to file a class action for any CCPA violation, not just the current scope of the private right of action which is limited to data breaches exposing personal information where there were not reasonable cybersecurity procedures and practices in place.

In other news, the California Senate passed SCR-44 by a vote of 37-0-1. SCR44 establishes Privacy Awareness Week on the third week of May 2019 and the third week of May every year thereafter. The resolution is being considered by the Assembly.