Federal preemption of state laws will be the sticking point to watch as the debate over national privacy rules proceeds in Congress, lawmakers made clear this week.
Why it matters: State lawmakers aren’t waiting for the feds to get their act together. There are many privacy bills floating around statehouses nationwide — and next year California will implement a sweeping law it has already passed.
Details: Lawmakers in the House and Senate went back and forth at two hearings this week over what it would take to override state laws.
- Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), the top Democrat on the Commerce Committee, said that she found the rush to preempt state laws “disturbing.”
- Some Republicans echoed industry’s calls for a blanket preemption of state law. Rep. Greg Walden, the top Republican on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said that a single “state should not set the standard for the rest of the country,” per CNET.
What to watch: What kinds of compromises a group of senators from both parties who have been working on a bill for some time can settle on — if they can settle on any approach at all.
