Bill Text - HB1376 (2020)

(New Title) relative to the sharing of location information by mobile telecommunications services, and establishing a civil penalty and civil cause of action for unauthorized sharing of electronic location information.


Revision: April 2, 2020, 9:28 a.m.

HB 1376 - AS AMENDED BY THE HOUSE

 

12Mar2020... 0807h

2020 SESSION

20-2701

06/04

 

HOUSE BILL 1376

 

AN ACT relative to the sharing of location information by mobile telecommunications services, and establishing a civil penalty and civil cause of action for unauthorized sharing of electronic location information.

 

SPONSORS: Rep. Wuelper, Straf. 3; Rep. T. Lekas, Hills. 37; Rep. McGuire, Merr. 29; Rep. Spillane, Rock. 2; Rep. Gould, Hills. 7; Rep. M. Smith, Straf. 6

 

COMMITTEE: Judiciary

 

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AMENDED ANALYSIS

 

This bill:

 

I.  Prohibits mobile telecommunications services from sharing location information.

 

II.  Establishes a civil penalty for unauthorized disclosure of electronic location information.

 

III.  Establishes a private right of action in favor of a person whose location information was disclosed.

 

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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.

Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]

Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

12Mar2020... 0807h 20-2701

06/04

 

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

 

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty

 

AN ACT relative to the sharing of location information by mobile telecommunications services, and establishing a civil penalty and civil cause of action for unauthorized sharing of electronic location information.

 

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

 

1  New Section; Unauthorized Disclosure of Location Information.  Amend RSA 507 by inserting after section 8-i the following new section:

507:8-j  Unauthorized Disclosure of Location Information.  

I.  In this section:

(a)  "Location" means information related to the physical or geographical location of a person or the person's mobile communications device, regardless of the particular technological method used to obtain this information.

(b)  "Mobile telecommunications service" means a service offered to the public for a fee that transmits sounds, images, or data through wireless telecommunications technology.

(c)  "Share" means to make location data available to another person, for a fee or otherwise.

II.  A mobile telecommunications service may share location information of a person only to fulfill an explicit request from that person and not for any other purpose, unless the person has affirmatively waived such right after being properly informed.  For purposes of this section, continuing to use a service or website shall not be considered an affirmative waiver.

III.  Notwithstanding paragraph II, a mobile telecommunications service may provide a customer's location data:

(a)  To comply with an explicit court order or other requirement of law.

(b)  To law enforcement officials who have a warrant based on probable cause and signed by a judge.

(c)  To an emergency service agency responding to an emergency communication or an imminent threat to life or property.

IV.  A mobile telecommunications service that violates this section shall be subject to a civil penalty of not less than $1,000 nor more than $10,000 per day for each violation.  Any person whose rights under this section have been violated shall have a right of action against the mobile telecommunication service, including the right to court costs and reasonable attorney's fees as the prevailing party.

2  Effective Date.  This act shall take effect January 1, 2021.

 

LBAO

20-2701

Amended 3/25/20

 

HB 1376- FISCAL NOTE

AS AMENDED BY THE HOUSE (AMENDMENT #2020-0807h)

 

AN ACT relative to the sharing of location information by mobile telecommunications services, and establishing a civil penalty and civil cause of action for unauthorized sharing of electronic location information.

 

FISCAL IMPACT:      [ X ] State              [    ] County               [    ] Local              [    ] None

 

 

 

Estimated Increase / (Decrease)

STATE:

FY 2020

FY 2021

FY 2022

FY 2023

   Appropriation

$0

$0

$0

$0

   Revenue

$0

Indeterminable Increase

Indeterminable Increase

Indeterminable Increase

   Expenditures

$0

Indeterminable Increase

Indeterminable Increase

Indeterminable Increase

Funding Source:

  [ X ] General            [    ] Education            [    ] Highway           [    ] Other

 

 

 

 

 

METHODOLOGY:

This bill prohibits mobile telecommunications services from sharing location information, establishes a civil penalty of not less than $1,000 nor more than $10,000 per day for each violation for unauthorized disclosure of electronic location information, and establishes a private right of action in favor of a person whose location information was disclosed.  

 

The Judicial Branch indicates any cases resulting from the bill would be classified as complex civil cases in the superior court.  The Branch has no information on how many additional cases, if any, would result from this bill.  The cost to the Branch of an average complex civil case in the superior court in fiscal year 2021 is $782 ($280 in judicial time plus $359 in clerical time plus $109 to account for the cost of the jury plus $34 to account for the cost of a bailiff).  That cost in fiscal year 2022 is $790.  These numbers do not consider the cost of any appeals that may be taken following trial.  These cost figures are based on studies of judicial and clerical weighted caseload times for processing the average complex civil case.  These studies are now more than fourteen years old for judicial time and more than twelve years old for clerical time.  In addition, changes could have occurred in the length of the average trial or in the percentages of cases that are tried.  In 2014, the Branch began the implementation of the NH e-Court Project which likely has changed the clerical, and possibly the judicial, times involved in processing cases.  The Branch notes funds have been appropriated in the current operating budget for new weighted caseload studies.

 

AGENCIES CONTACTED:

Judicial Branch