S 139 · 111th Congress 2009–2011, ended

Data Breach Notification Act

Latest action · Sep 15, 2010 Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 563.

Progress

Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.

  1. IntroducedJan 6, 2009
  2. Passed SenateNot reached
  3. Passed HouseNot reached
  4. To the PresidentNot reached
  5. Became lawNot reached

Summary

(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary has been expanded because action occurred on the measure.)

Data Breach Notification Act - (Sec. 2) Requires any agency or business entity with sensitive personally identifiable information to notify without unreasonable delay any U.S. resident of a security breach in which such resident's information has been, or is reasonably believed to have been, accessed or acquired.

(Sec. 3) Exempts agencies or business entities from security breach notification requirements if they provide written certification to the Secret Service that providing such notification would impede a criminal investigation or damage national security. Requires the Secret Service to evaluate the merits of such certifications.

(Sec. 4) Requires an agency or business entity to give notice of a security breach to any affected individuals: (1) by written notice to their last known home mailing address, by telephone, or by email (if email notification was consented to); and (2) to major media outlets if the number of residents in a state affected by a security breach exceeds 5,000.

(Sec. 5) Requires the notification to individuals whose sensitive personally identifiable information has been acquired to include: (1) a description of the categories of information an unauthorized individual has acquired; and (2) toll-free numbers for contacting the agency or business entity whose databases have been breached and major credit reporting agencies.

(Sec. 6) Requires any business entity or agency that is required to provide notification to more than 5,000 individuals of a security breach to notify all consumer reporting agencies.

(Sec. 7) Requires any business entity or agency to notify the Secret Service of security breaches of sensitive personally identifying information within 14 days of any data security breach that involves: (1) more than 10,000 individuals; (2) a database that contains information about more than one million individuals nationwide; (3) a federal government database; or (4) individuals known to be government employees or contractors involved in national security or law enforcement. Requires the Secret Service to notify the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the U.S. Postal Service, and the attorney general of each affected state of a security breach within 14 days of receiving notice of any breach.

(Sec. 8) Authorizes the Attorney General to bring a civil action, including an injunction, in a U.S. district court for violations of security breach notification requirements.

(Sec. 9) Allows state attorneys general to bring a civil action in a U.S. district court to enforce security breach notification requirements. Authorizes the Attorney General to stay, or intervene in, any state action.

(Sec. 10) Declares that the provisions of this subtitle shall supersede any other provision of federal or state law relating to notification by an interstate business entity or agency of a security breach.

(Sec. 11) Authorizes appropriations to the Secret Service to carry out investigations and risk assessments of security breaches.

(Sec. 12) Requires the Secret Service to report to Congress on security breaches resulting from risk assessment exemptions.

Cosponsors

Members who signed on, in the order they did.

No cosponsors are on file for this measure.

Committees 1

Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.

ChamberCommitteeWhat it did
SenateJudiciary Committee
Referred Jan 6, 2009Markup Nov 5, 2009Reported Sep 15, 2010

Actions 6

Everything that happened, newest first.

  1. Sep 15, 2010Committee on the Judiciary. Reported by Senator Leahy without amendment. With written report No. 111-290. Additional views filed.
  2. Sep 15, 2010Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 563.
  3. Nov 5, 2009Committee on the Judiciary. Ordered to be reported without amendment favorably.
  4. Jan 6, 2009Introduced in Senate
  5. Jan 6, 2009Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S116-117)
  6. Jan 6, 2009Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. (text of measure as introduced: CR S117-119)

In the Congressional Record 1

Days the Record’s own index lists this bill, newest first, with the pages and the members it names. Pages starting H are the House, S the Senate, E Extensions of Remarks.

WhereIn the RecordMembersDate
SenateDebate and remarks S116Text printed S117–S119Dianne Feinstein D-CA (text)Jan 6, 2009

Research

What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.

Committee report

Congressional Budget Office cost estimates 2

  1. Dec 11, 2009S. 139, Data Breach Notification Act<p>Cost estimate for the bill as ordered reported by the Senate Committee on the Judiciary on November 5, 2009</p>
  2. Dec 11, 2009S. 139, Data Breach Notification ActCost estimate for the bill as ordered reported by the Senate Committee on the Judiciary on November 5, 2009

Printed hearings 1

Hearings whose printed record names this bill, newest first: hearings on it, and wider hearings where it came up.

NumberHearingCommitteeHeld
Serial No. 111-6PROTECTING LOWER-INCOME FAMILIES WHILE FIGHTING GLOBAL WARMING95 pagesWays and Means CommitteeMar 12, 2009

Related bills 1

Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.

BillTitleRelationshipLatest action
HR 6236Data Breach Notification ActIdentical billDec 20, 2010

Titles 3

Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.

Official Title as Introduced
A bill to require Federal agencies, and persons engaged in interstate commerce, in possession of data containing sensitive personally identifiable information, to disclose any breach of such information.
Short Titles as Introduced
Data Breach Notification Act
Short Titles as Reported to Senate
Data Breach Notification Act

Subjects

Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement.

Text 2

Each version as it was printed, newest first.

  1. Sep 15, 2010Reported to Senate
  2. Jan 6, 2009Introduced in Senate

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Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.