Keypoint: The bill will now return to the Senate to accept or reject the House amendments.
On the night of June 7, 2021, the Colorado House voted 57-7 to pass the Colorado Privacy Act (CPA). As we previously reported, the Colorado Senate unanimously passed the CPA on May 26. Because the House amended the Senate version of the CPA, the bill will now return to the Senate for it to accept the amendments, reject the amendments, or reject the amendments and ask for a conference committee.
While in the House, the Finance Committee adopted seven amendments and the Committee of the Whole adopted two amendments on second reading. Many of the amendments were clarifying or technical in nature. Some of the more substantive amendments are:
- Adding back a provision that certain rights do not apply to pseudonymous data;
- Reinserting language that specifically states that nothing in the CPA provides for a private right of action;
- Clarifying that the CPA does not apply to data maintained by the state and other government entities; and
- Inserting new language that allows the Colorado Attorney General's office to issue opinion letters and interpretive guidance starting in 2025.
The CPA has not yet been added to the Senate's calendar for a final vote. The Colorado legislature closes on June 12.
If the CPA passes the Senate, it will go to Governor Polis for his signature. If signed by the Governor, Colorado will become the third state – after California and Virginia – to enact broad consumer data privacy legislation.
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