OLYMPIA – Sen. Reuven Carlyle (D-Seattle) issued the following statement today on Senate Bill 6281, the Washington Privacy Act.
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“In today’s era, consumer data privacy is the soul of economic, social and consumer value, and it goes to the core of our treasured constitutional rights and interests. With the federal government’s inability to move forward, state-level action is more important than ever, and I’ve long believed that Washington is the right place and this is the right time to craft comprehensive state-level legislation.
Following two historic, near-unanimous votes on proposals in the Senate this year and last, I’m deeply disappointed that we weren’t able to reach consensus with our colleagues in the House. The impasse remains a question of enforcement. As a tech entrepreneur who has worked in multiple startup companies, and in the absence of any compelling data suggesting otherwise, I continue to believe that strong attorney general enforcement to identify patterns of abuse among companies and industries is the most responsible policy and a more effective model than the House proposal to allow direct individual legal action against companies.
I’m incredibly proud that in today’s divided era we were able to generate overwhelming bipartisan support for this legislation. I’m grateful for the work of my fellow Environment, Energy & Technology Committee members and colleagues on both sides of the aisle, particularly Sen. Ann Rivers, Sen. Manka Dhingra, Sen. Jamie Pedersen and Majority Leader Andy Billig. I also respect and appreciate the work of Rep. Zack Hudgins, Rep. Drew Hansen and Speaker Laurie Jinkins, despite our strong policy disagreements, and I offer my special thanks to Gov. Inslee for his strong support of consumer data privacy and our efforts to pass this bill.”
