High Profile Privacy Bills: One Dies, One Passes

Two high-profile banking privacy bills were voted on Wednesday by the California Senate Finance, Investment and International Trade Committee. One bill, mandating opt-in policies for banks failed to move on to the next stage, while the other, permitting banks to employ opt-out systems, passed.

The Financial Information Privacy Act of 2000, sponsored by State Senator Jackie Speier (D), failed to gain the five votes required to advance the bill to the Senate Judiciary Committee, said Finance Committee spokesman Terry Miller. The 4 to 2 vote followed an initial vote April 12 which also failed by a vote of 2 to 1. The committee has nine members.

Miller said Speier has yet to request another reconsideration of the bill requiring financial institutions to obtain opt-in permission from customers before sharing that data with third parties and affiliates.

The other bill, the Financial Privacy Act, sponsored by Committee Chairman Senator Tim Leslie (R), had been revised to permit banks to use opt-out methods. It passed by a vote of 5-0 and is expected to be heard by the judiciary committee May 9, Miller said.

Earlier this week, the California Assembly Banking and Finance Committee failed to move another high-profile bill, the Consumer Financial Privacy Act, sponsored by Judiciary Committee Chairwoman Sheila Kuehl. The 3 to 3 vote stymied the bill requiring eight votes from the14 committee members. The act also required opt-in permission from bank customers to share customer data. Kuehl has until about May 18 to request reconsideration of the bill.