Cybersecurity Legislation Advances Out of Committee Process

After a few months of committee proceedings, Senate Bill 160/Assembly Bill 147 is advancing to the final stages of the legislative process. In the last update, the bill had undergone a hearing in the Senate, where PIA President Julie Ulset had testified.  Since that time, the legislation passed unanimously out of committee in the Senate and quickly began the committee process in the Assembly.

Last week, the Assembly Committee on Science, Technology, and Broadband held a public hearing on the cybersecurity legislation. PIA Board Member and Legislative Committee Co-Chair Tracy Oestreich traveled to Madison to represent PIA in front of the committee members. In her testimony, Tracy discussed the importance of cybersecurity in the insurance industry, the necessity of small business exemptions, and the merits of state-based regulation rather than allowing for the federal government to step in on this issue.

The committee did not need long to deliberate on the merits of the bill and met less than a week later to unanimously approve it. The bill now awaits a floor vote in both the Senate and Assembly. PIA will continue to push for the bill to come to the floor in both houses in the next available floor session.