As expected, the California Legislature has passed Senate Bill 1121 (introduced by Senator Bill Dodd) in an attempt to resolve drafting errors and clarify certain provisions of the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) that was hastily passed back in June 2018. The CCPA is a major new state law that will affect the privacy landscape across California and the country. Learn more. Following its initial passage, the legislature confirmed its intent to make technical amendments to "clean up" the CCPA. After receiving feedback from various business groups, consumer groups and the California Attorney General (AG), Xavier Becerra, the legislature passed SB-1121 on Friday, August 31. Assuming that Governor Jerry Brown signs SB-1121 into law by the September 30 deadline, SB-1121 will officially amend various provisions of the CCPA such as the CCPA’s effective date, AG enforcement procedure and the CCPA’s applicability. Businesses potentially subject to this new law should keep a close eye on developments with the CCPA.
Changes to the CCPA:
Effective date and enforcement. Originally, the CCPA had an operative date of January 1, 2020. This operative date has not changed. However, the measure also precludes the AG from bringing an enforcement action under the CCPA until the passing of six months or after July 1, 2020, whichever is sooner. This six-month period intends to allow businesses time to ensure that they are compliant with the newly adopted regulations. Additionally, the one-year requirement for the AG to establish and publish certain rules and procedures will be eliminated. The AG will now have until July 1, 2020, to adopt implementing regulations meant to “further the purpose” of the CCPA (e.g., modifying the categories of data defined as “personal information”; carving out exceptions for conflicts with state or federal law; and setting out additional rules and procedures governing businesses’ compliance with consumers’ opt-out requests).