Moments ago the Florida Senate adjourned for the day. Although they will return on Monday for certain budget-related items, this development means another session has passed in which a comprehensive data privacy law was considered and yet failed to make it though the Florida legislature.
As CPW previously covered, Florida HB 9 had some important differences as compared to Florida HB 969, the bill considered last year (which was also introduced by Representative McFarland) that failed over a disagreement on inclusion of a broad private right of action. These differences included that Florida HB 9 had a more limited private right of action, applicable only to companies meeting certain revenue thresholds that have committed specifically enumerated violations. Additionally, among other things, HB 9 required annual reports from the Attorney General to the Legislature and provides changes to data retention rules. Many in the business community are no doubt feeling a sense of relief as if HB 9 had passed, it would have become effective on January 1, 2023, providing companies a short runway for coming into compliance.
For more developments on data privacy, security and innovation stay tuned. CPW will be there to keep you in the loop.