This year’s legislative session wrapped-up with the passage of several privacy bills that we have been tracking, including a significant privacy law known as “My Health My Data” (HB 1155).
Gov. Jay Inslee signed the law on April 27 at a bill signing ceremony at the University of Washington in Seattle. While the law exempts government agencies, it provides important protections for health information held by entities not covered by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).
In addition (for your privacy bingo card!) the anti-doxing bill passed (SHB 1335), as well as the robocalling bill (SHB 1051). The Legislature also approved some public records exemptions for student data (SSB 5127), public employee information (ESHB 1533), and lottery winners (HB 1221)! Our office will be doing a deeper dive into these laws and other privacy bills from the session at the State Agency Privacy Forum meeting on May 25.
Upcoming Privacy Law Training
The Government Lawyers Bar Association (GLBA) is hosting a Continuing Legal Education (CLE) training on Friday, June 2 that is focused on privacy. Topics and presenters include:
- One size does not fit all: A comparison of developing trends in consumer data privacy laws. Presented by Angela Kleis, Senate Committee Services.
- Privacy and the Public Records Act. Presented by Sarah Doar, Municipal Research and Services Center.
- Facial recognition: The good, the bad, and the regulated. Presented by Matt King, WaTech
- Data breach law in Washington. Presented by Katy Ruckle, WaTech, and Jonathan Pitel, AGO.
If you’re interested, please register on the GLBA website. The cost is $40.
In case you missed it!
Our office held a webinar in April on the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), which protects student privacy in the U.S. In addition to providing an overview of FERPA, the webinar discusses preventing non-consensual disclosures, requirements of data share agreements, and rights and exceptions.
Thanks to our excellent presenters AAG Dierk Meierbachtol from the Washington State Office of the Attorney General and Katie Weaver-Randall, Director of the Education Research and Data Center. The slide deck from the presentation is also available on our website.
See you next month with more updates!
Katy Ruckle
State Chief Privacy Officer