No. CS/SB 7030
Filed under Local Government.
Public Records/Investigations by the Department of Legal Affairs; Providing an exemption from public records requirements for information held by the Department of Legal Affairs relating to notifications or investigations of certain companion chatbot violations; providing an exemption from public records requirements for information held by the department relating to notifications or investigations of certain bot-related consumer protection violations; requiring that certain information remain confidential and exempt upon the completion or cessation of an investigation; providing for future legislative review and repeal of the exemption; providing a statement of public necessity, etc.
Plain English Summary
AI-GENERATEDThe bill creates a new confidentiality shield for the Department of Legal Affairs' files on companion-chatbot and bot violations. While an investigation is open, all information the department holds about it is exempt from public records requests.
Once an investigation ends, most records would normally become public, but personal data, forensic reports, security-vulnerability details, and a company's proprietary information stay confidential permanently under this bill.
The department can still publicize some details during an active case if doing so would help notify the public or find a suspected victim, but not the categories that stay permanently confidential.
This same structure is written three times, for chatbots aimed at minors, bots used in consumer transactions generally, and companies handling deidentified consumer data, and each version repeals automatically in 2031 unless renewed.
AIMakes all information the Department of Legal Affairs holds because of a notification or investigation of a violation of the companion-chatbot, bot, or deidentified-data consumer-protection statutes confidential and exempt from the public records law while the investigation remains active.
AIPersonal identifying information, computer forensic reports, information revealing security weaknesses, and a company's proprietary information remain confidential and exempt even after an investigation is completed or ceases to be active, unlike other investigative records.
AIDuring an active investigation, the department may release information through print, publication, or broadcast if it determines doing so would help notify the public or locate a person it believes to be a victim.
AIThe bill defines a company's confidential proprietary information to include anything it treats as private because release would harm its business operations, not only trade secrets, extending confidentiality to a wide range of records held on chatbot platforms, bot operators, and AI companies alike.
AIEach of the three confidentiality provisions, for companion chatbot, bot, and deidentified-data investigations, is subject to the Open Government Sunset Review Act and stands repealed on October 2, 2031 unless the Legislature reviews and reenacts it.