The Colorado Senate on Monday passed a bipartisan bill aimed at improving data privacy in state government.
House Bill 1111 is led by Minority Leader Hugh McKean, R-Loveland, along with Democratic Sens. Jeff Bridges of Greenwood Village and Julie Gonzales of Denver. It would convene an advisory group to study which state agencies store Coloradans’ personal identifying information, who has access to the data and whether the state could feasibly store and protect all of that data in one central place.
The original bill would have gone a lot further, requiring state agencies that house the personal data of Colorado residents to give them notice every 90 days. Coloradans would have been able to request that the state dispose of any paper or electronic documents with their information. But McKean introduced an amendment in a May 20 House committee hearing.
The rewritten version of HB 1111 would instead have the advisory group report to the Legislature about its findings and recommendations for potential legislation by Jan. 1, 2023. The advisory group would consist of members of the Government Data Advisory Board, a representative of the Attorney General’s Office and experts on personal identifying information who are appointed by the chief information officer.
HB 1111 passed the Senate with minor changes. House lawmakers must approve the Senate’s amendments before sending the bill to Gov. Jared Polis’ desk for a signature.
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