United States of America: Sustained Governor's veto regarding Vermont Act relating to enhancing consumer privacy (HB 121) including cybersecurity regulation

On 17 June 2024, the Senate voted to sustain Governor Scott's veto of the Vermont Act relating to enhancing consumer privacy (HB 121). The Vermont House of Representatives voted to override the Governor's veto, but the Vermont Senate voted to sustain the veto. Hence, the veto stands. Governor Scott previously raised concerns over the proposed legislation due to its potential negative impact on businesses and non-profits through the "private right of action" provision and the First Amendment implications of the "Kids Code" provision aimed at child protection. He also critiqued the Bill's complexity and expansive scope, suggesting Connecticut’s data privacy law as a more balanced model. The Bill would have introduced cybersecurity incident reporting requirements for data brokers, defined as a business that sells or licenses personal information to third parties. In case of a data breach, data brokers would have been required to notify affected consumers and the state Attorney General.