Judge’s Ruling Practically Guarantees that the CPRA Will Be on the California Ballot in November

California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) is a ballot initiative by the Californians for Consumer Privacy, an advocacy group headed by Alastair Mactaggart, the proponent of the 2018 ballot initiative that led to the enactment of the CCPA.  If enacted, the CPRA will significantly amend the CCPA and further expand privacy rights of California consumers as well as compliance obligations of California businesses and their service providers and contractors.

On May 1, 2020, the group submitted more than 900,000 signatures in support of the initiative, with just over 620,000 valid signatures required to put it on the ballot.  The submission began a complex process of reviewing and validating the signatures.  However, because of a one-day delay in the California Secretary of State’s order for counties to start the validation process, the counties would have had until June 26 to complete the process, whereas the deadline for validating signatures for the November ballot is June 25.

Mactaggart subsequently filed a lawsuit in the California Superior Court to get the officials to finish verification of the signatures before June 25.  The Order issued by the Court on June 19, 2020, requires Secretary to State to direct the counties to report their signature-verification results by that deadline.  In her ruling, the Judge emphasized the importance of the CPRA initiative and  that its subject matter “involves the constitutional right to privacy declared inalienable and guaranteed by . . . the California Constitution.”

The Court’s ruling thus practically guarantees that the CPRA will appear on the November ballot in California.  Will the California legislature strike a compromise by amending the CCPA in exchange for Mactaggart withdrawing his initiative?  One of the main reasons the CCPA was passed in 2018, was that a new law passed on the referendum would have required a supermajority of the lawmakers to amend.  However, if the CPRA initiative passes, it would be subject to amendment by the California legislature through the normal legislative process, provided that the laws must be “consistent with and further the purpose” of the initiative.  In any case, it looks increasingly likely that the California privacy law will look very different by the end of the year.

 Ask Clarip today how we can solve your biggest privacy compliance pain points, Call Clarip at 1-888-252-5653