May 2022: Virginia Governor Signs VCDPA Amendment Bills into Law

Update Applicable to:
All businesses that obtain and store consumer personal data in the state of Virginia.

What happened?
On April 11, 2022, Virginia Governor Youngkin signed three Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act (VCDPA) amendments into law and will go into effect on July 1, 2022. With the signing of the bills, the VCDPA’s text is now finalized in advance of its January 1, 2023, effective date.

What are the details?
The first amendment, H 381, adds an exemption to the right to delete. Specifically, the new language states that data controllers that have obtained personal data about a consumer from a source other than the consumer shall be deemed in compliance with a consumer’s request to delete such data by either:

1. retaining a record of the deletion request and the minimum data necessary for the purpose of ensuring the consumer’s personal data remain deleted from the business’s records and not using such retained data for any other purpose; or
2. opting the consumer out of the processing of such personal data for any purpose except for those exempted pursuant to the VCDPA.

The second amendment to the VCDPA, S 534, abolishes the Consumer Privacy Fund previously established by the VCDPA, and provides that “all civil penalties, expenses, and attorney fees collected pursuant to this chapter shall be paid into the state treasury and credited to the Regulatory, Consumer Advocacy, Litigation, and Enforcement Revolving Trust Fund.”

The third amendment to the VCDPA, also in S 534, redefines the phrase “nonprofit organization” to now include any political organization that is exempt from taxation under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

The bill states that “political organization means a party, committee, association, fund, or other organization, whether or not incorporated, organized and operated primarily for the purpose of influencing or attempting to influence the selection, nomination, election, or appointment of any individual to any federal, state, or local public office or office in a political organization or the election of a presidential/vice-presidential elector, whether or not such individual or elector is selected, nominated, elected, or appointed.” Nonprofits that meet this new definition will not have to comply with the VCDPA.

For more information, please see the links below:

Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act (VCDPA)

H 381

S 534

Article 1 – Article 2

What do employers need to do?
Employers should review the links provided above and make adjustments to their consumer data privacy policies so that they are in compliance with the law once the amendments take effect.