The last week of Florida's legislative session is upon us, and one of the top issues of session is unresolved – data privacy legislation. The legislation will have broad ramifications on many companies and industry groups doing business in Florida.

Last week, the House passed HB 969 (recent text), and tomorrow, April 28, the Senate will hear SB 1734 (latest text) on the Senate floor. The Senate released an amendment today that will likely be added onto the House bill, which will then be sent back to the House, setting up final negotiations. This amendment removes the private cause of action entirely and makes other changes fought for by the larger business community in Florida. It also has more favorable definitions of selling and sharing data. The amendment can be found here: Bradley Amendment to HB 969.

As they stand now, the bills have significant differences, but those differences must be resolved by Friday, when the legislature is expected to adjourn until they come back for a special session on gaming. Both bills have an exemption for data covered under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA), but still appear to not exempt other data outside the four walls of that federal privacy regulation.

As the Florida Senate and House negotiate these final provisions, those who do business in Florida should pay close attention.