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Vermont businesses: Take action on S.71

The House Commerce Committee is advancing amendments to the Vermont Data Privacy Act that would increase your compliance costs, restrict your digital marketing tools, and expose your business to private lawsuits.

What's at stake. The Senate-passed version of S.71 aligns Vermont with neighboring states — NH, CT, and RI — and limits litigation risk. The House version goes further, imposing stricter data minimization rules, inconsistent standards with other states, and a private right of action that opens businesses to demand letters over technical violations.

Three specific concerns:

Restricted data use. Businesses could only collect and use the minimum customer data tied directly to a transaction — limiting targeted advertising that small businesses depend on. Studies show small businesses that lose access to tailored ads see revenue fall nearly 40%.

Compliance fragmentation. Without consistency across state lines, Vermont businesses face more expensive requirements than competitors in neighboring states.

Lawsuit exposure. Businesses that process data on 200,000 or more individuals could face private legal action — a threshold the legislature could lower in future sessions.

What we need from you. We're circulating a business sign-on letter to the House Commerce Committee urging retention of the Senate-passed version. We'll submit when we reach 100 signatures.

CLICK HERE to sign on.