On May 10, Gov. Ned Lamont signed into law Substitute Senate Bill 6 (Public Act 22-15), Connecticut’s version of comprehensive consumer data privacy legislation. This makes Connecticut the fifth state to enact such legislation, following California, Virginia, Colorado, and Utah. The Act will go into effect July 1, 2023.
Posts tagged as “state regulation”
Medical debt continues to capture the attention of state and federal government, with lawmakers and regulators continuing to target how medical debt is collected and how it is reflected on a consumer credit report.
There remain over 30 comprehensive consumer data privacy bills pending in the states, but some are falling off the chart as the legislative sessions come to an end. While the number of active bills is decreasing, there is one new state data privacy law, and others that continue to show movement.
On March 24, Utah Gov. Spence Cox signed into law SB 227, the Utah Consumer Privacy Act. This makes Utah the fourth state, behind California, Virginia, and Colorado, to enact comprehensive consumer data privacy legislation.
There are currently over 40 comprehensive consumer data privacy bills pending in the states as we enter the third month (for most states) of the legislative sessions.
When 2020 ended, many of us were unsure what 2021 would look like from a bankruptcy perspective. Would consumer filings increase? Could we see bankruptcy reform and particularly in the area of discharge of student loans?
On Oct. 8, S.737A was signed into New York law, “requiring debt collectors to inform debtors that written communications are available in large print format.” The legislation becomes effective Nov. 7, 2021.
Nevada SB248, which regulates the collection of certain medical debt in the state, becomes effective July 1. The bill, introduced in March 2021, was rushed through the Legislature before it went out of session on June 1. The result is that SB248 is a broken piece of legislation bound to cause harm to medical consumers, the medical collections industry, and health care providers.
On March 15, the California Office of the Attorney General announced that additional regulations relating to the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) had been approved, effective immediately.
On Jan. 19, a federal court in Pennsylvania dismissed a complaint against a debt buyer which alleged violations of the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act stemming from an alleged failure to be licensed under the Pennsylvania Consumer Discount Company Act.
On Jan. 11 Washington State Sen. Reuven Carlyle introduced SB 5062, the Washington Privacy Act (WPA). Its predecessors, SB 6281 and SB 5376, failed to pass in 2020 and 2019, respectively.
During what was an extraordinary and difficult year, there was an abundance of activity at the state and federal levels and a good deal of it was driven by the present COVID-19 pandemic. Here is my take on some of the most significant regulatory activities from the past year in consumer debt collection that will continue to impact both consumers and creditors in the years to come.