Data broker registry & tax

AN ACT Relating to creating a data broker registry for the 1
purpose of imposing a data broker severance tax; amending RCW 2
18.235.020; adding a new chapter to Title 19 RCW; adding a new 3
chapter to Title 82 RCW; creating new sections; and providing an 4
effective date. 5
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:6
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. (1) The legislature intends to update and 7
adapt state tax policy to reflect the economic activity that has 8
emerged with the advent of new technologies. The legislature 9
recognizes that consumers are increasingly conducting their 10
professional and personal affairs online and on devices such as 11
laptop computers, smartphones, or tablets. These activities include 12
accessing the marketplace, the workplace, health care, information, 13
and entertainment. Through these daily activities, consumers generate 14
enormous and unprecedented amounts of data about themselves, 15
including their locations, behaviors, and preferences.16
(2) The legislature further recognizes that technological 17
advances have made it possible to more easily and quickly collect 18
vast amounts of personal information and connect it to an individual, 19
whether such information is obtained through electronic or other 20
means. 21
H-1190.1
HOUSE BILL 1887
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2025 Regular Session
By Representatives Kloba, Parshley, Simmons, and Pollet
Read first time 02/07/25. Referred to Committee on Consumer
Protection & Business.
p. 1 HB 1887
(3) The legislature finds that there are many businesses engaged 1
in collecting the personal data of Washingtonians, and aggregating, 2
analyzing, sharing, compiling that information, and selling it 3
without Washingtonians' knowledge or consent. This is a new business 4
model that has flourished and is anticipated to grow as more people 5
and more devices are connected with ever-increasing frequency for an 6
ever-greater number of innovative applications. As such, the 7
legislature intends to provide transparency into the number of 8
businesses, volume, and type of activity in this unique and growing 9
industry, and fairly generate revenue from this business activity to 10
be used for the benefit of the state of Washington and its people.11
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. The definitions in this section apply 12
throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires 13
otherwise.14
(1)(a) "Biometric information" means a record of one or more 15
measurable biological or behavioral characteristics that can be used 16
alone or in combination with each other or with other information for 17
automated recognition of a known or unknown individual. Examples 18
include, but are not limited to: Fingerprints, retina and iris 19
patterns, voiceprints, DNA sequence, facial characteristics, gait, 20
handwriting, key stroke dynamics, and mouse movements.21
(b) "Biometric information" does not include writing samples, 22
written signatures, human biological samples used for valid 23
scientific testing or screening, demographic data, tattoo 24
descriptions, or physical descriptions, such as height, weight, hair 25
color, or eye color. "Biometric information" does not include donated 26
organs, tissues, or parts, or blood or serum stored on behalf of 27
recipients or potential recipients of living or cadaveric transplants 28
and obtained or stored by a federally designated organ procurement 29
agency. 30
(2) "Brokered personal data" means any of the following 31
computerized data elements about a resident individual, if 32
categorized or organized for sale or licensing to another entity:33
(a) The resident individual's name or the name of a member of the 34
resident individual's immediate family or household;35
(b) The resident individual's address or an address of a member 36
of the resident individual's immediate family or household;37
(c) The resident individual's date or place of birth;38
(d) The maiden name of the resident individual's mother;39
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(e) Biometric information about the resident individual;1
(f) The resident individual's social security number or the 2
number of any other government-issued identification for the resident 3
individual; or 4
(g) Other information that, alone or in combination with other 5
information that is sold or licensed, can reasonably be associated 6
with the resident individual. 7
(3)(a) "Business entity" means: 8
(i) A resident individual who regularly engages in commercial 9
activity for the purpose of generating income; 10
(ii) A corporation or nonprofit corporation, limited liability 11
company, partnership or limited liability partnership, business 12
trust, joint venture, or other form of business organization the 13
constituent parts of which share a common economic interest;14
(iii) A financial institution, as defined in RCW 9A.56.280; or15
(iv) An individual that controls, is controlled by, or is under 16
common control with a person described in (a)(ii) or (iii) of this 17
subsection (3). 18
(b) "Business entity" does not include the state or a state 19
agency, a local government, or a business entity or other person 20
during a period in which the business entity or person is acting 21
solely on behalf of and at the direction of the state, a state 22
agency, or a local government. 23
(4) "Data broker" means any business entity that engages in data 24
brokering and does not include: 25
(a) A consumer reporting agency, as defined in 15 U.S.C. Sec. 26
1681a, a person that furnishes information to a consumer reporting 27
agency, as provided in 15 U.S.C. Sec. 1681s-2, or a user of a 28
consumer report, as defined in 15 U.S.C. Sec. 1681a, to the extent 29
that the consumer reporting agency, the person that furnishes 30
information to a consumer reporting agency, or the user of a consumer 31
report engages in activities that are subject to regulation under the 32
federal fair credit reporting act, 15 U.S.C. Sec. 1681 et seq.; and33
(b) A financial institution, an affiliate, or a nonaffiliated 34
third party, as those terms are defined in 15 U.S.C. Sec. 6809, to 35
the extent that the financial institution, affiliate, or 36
nonaffiliated third party is subject to regulation under Title V of 37
the Gramm-Leach-Bliley act, 15 U.S.C. Secs. 6801 to 6809, and 38
regulations adopted under Title V of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley act.39
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(5) "Data brokering" means the act of collecting, aggregating, 1
analyzing, buying, selling, and sharing brokered personal data, 2
irrespective of the business entity's relationship with the resident 3
individual whose data is being brokered. 4
(6) "Department" means the department of licensing.5
(7) "Resident individual" means a person who resides in 6
Washington. 7
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. (1) Except as provided in subsection (2) 8
of this section, beginning January 1, 2026, a data broker who engages 9
in data brokering must register with the department as provided in 10
section 4 of this act.11
(2) A data broker is not required to register with the department 12
if the brokered personal data involves any of the following:13
(a) Providing publicly available information that is related to a 14
resident individual's business or profession; 15
(b) Providing publicly available information as part of a service 16
that provides alerts for health or safety purposes;17
(c) Providing directory assistance or directory information 18
services as, or on behalf of, a telecommunications carrier; or19
(d) Selling the assets of a business entity or a part of a 20
business entity a single time, or only occasionally, as part of a 21
transfer of control over the assets that is not part of the ordinary 22
conduct of the business entity or a part of the business entity.23
NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. (1) Annually, on or before January 1st 24
following a year in which a business entity meets the definition of 25
data broker as provided in section 3 of this act, a data broker must:26
(a) Submit on a form and in a format the department specifies:27
(i) The name of the data broker; 28
(ii) The street address and telephone number of the data broker; 29
and 30
(iii) The data broker's primary website and email address;31
(b) Pay a fee in an amount the department specifies by rule. The 32
department shall set the fee in an amount that is sufficient to pay 33
the costs of administering the registration program as provided in 34
RCW 43.24.086. Any fees or fines collected under the authority of 35
this chapter must be deposited into the business and professions 36
account created in RCW 43.24.150; and 37
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(c) Include with the application form a declaration in which the 1
data broker: 2
(i) Indicates the type of data the data broker collects, how the 3
data is processed, who the data is sold to, and for what purposes the 4
data is sold; 5
(ii) Specifies how many resident individuals the data broker 6
collected data on each month of the previous year; 7
(iii) Explains what types of security measures the data broker 8
has in place to protect their data; 9
(iv) States whether a resident individual's precise geolocation 10
information is a part of their data brokering activity;11
(v) States whether resident individuals' consumer health data, as 12
defined in RCW 19.373.010, is a part of their data brokering 13
activity; 14
(vi) States whether resident individuals may opt out of all or a 15
portion of the data broker's use of their brokered personal data;16
(vii)(A) Identifies which of the data broker's activities a 17
resident individual may opt out of; and 18
(B) Identifies which portion of the resident individual's 19
brokered personal data the resident individual may opt out of 20
providing or permitting the data broker to use; 21
(viii) Describes the method by which a resident individual may 22
exercise the choices described in (vi) and (vii) of this subsection 23
(1)(c); and 24
(ix) States whether a resident individual may authorize an 25
individual to exercise the choice described in (vi) of this 26
subsection (1)(c) on the resident individual's behalf and, if so, the 27
appropriate process for the authorization. 28
(2) If a data broker complies with the requirements set forth in 29
this section, the department must approve the registration. A 30
registration under this section is valid until January 1st of the 31
year after the department approves the registration.32
NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. The department shall make the information 33
that business entities submit for registration under this chapter 34
publicly available on the department's website.35
NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. (1) The uniform regulation of business and 36
professions act, chapter 18.235 RCW governs unregistered practice, 37
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the issuance and denial of registration, and the discipline of 1
registrants under this chapter. 2
(2) If the registrant is an individual, the department shall 3
immediately suspend the registration of a person who has been 4
certified pursuant to RCW 74.20A.320 by the department of social and 5
health services as a person who is not in compliance with a support 6
order. If the person has continued to meet all other requirements for 7
reinstatement during the suspension, reissuance of the registration 8
shall be automatic upon the department's receipt of a release issued 9
by the department of social and health services stating that the 10
registrant is in compliance with the order. 11
NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. The department may adopt rules that are 12
necessary to implement the provisions of this chapter.13
Sec. 8. RCW 18.235.020 and 2024 c 50 s 2 are each amended to 14
read as follows: 15
(1) This chapter applies only to the director and the boards and 16
commissions having jurisdiction in relation to the businesses and 17
professions licensed under the chapters specified in this section. 18
This chapter does not apply to any business or profession not 19
licensed under the chapters specified in this section.20
(2)(a) The director has authority under this chapter in relation 21
to the following businesses and professions: 22
(i) Auctioneers under chapter 18.11 RCW; 23
(ii) Bail bond agents and bail bond recovery agents under chapter 24
18.185 RCW; 25
(iii) Camping resorts' operators and salespersons under chapter 26
19.105 RCW; 27
(iv) Commercial telephone solicitors under chapter 19.158 RCW;28
(v) Cosmetologists, barbers, manicurists, and estheticians under 29
chapter 18.16 RCW; 30
(vi) Court reporters under chapter 18.145 RCW;31
(vii) Driver training schools and instructors under chapter 46.82 32
RCW; 33
(viii) Employment agencies under chapter 19.31 RCW;34
(ix) For hire vehicle operators under chapter 46.72 RCW;35
(x) Limousines under chapter 46.72A RCW; 36
(xi) Notaries public under chapter 42.45 RCW; 37
(xii) Private investigators under chapter 18.165 RCW;38
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(xiii) Professional boxing, martial arts, and wrestling under 1
chapter 67.08 RCW; 2
(xiv) Real estate appraisers under chapter 18.140 RCW;3
(xv) Real estate brokers and salespersons under chapters 18.85 4
and 18.86 RCW; 5
(xvi) Scrap metal processors, scrap metal recyclers, and scrap 6
metal suppliers under chapter 19.290 RCW; 7
(xvii) Security guards under chapter 18.170 RCW;8
(xviii) Sellers of travel under chapter 19.138 RCW;9
(xix) Timeshares and timeshare salespersons under chapter 64.36 10
RCW; 11
(xx) Whitewater river outfitters under chapter 79A.60 RCW;12
(xxi) Home inspectors under chapter 18.280 RCW;13
(xxii) Body artists, body piercers, and tattoo artists, and body 14
art, body piercing, and tattooing shops and businesses, under chapter 15
18.300 RCW; and 16
(xxiii) Appraisal management companies under chapter 18.310 RCW; 17
and18
(xxiv) Data brokers under chapter 19.--- RCW (the new chapter 19
created in section 14 of this act). 20
(b) The boards and commissions having authority under this 21
chapter are as follows: 22
(i) The state board for architects established in chapter 18.08 23
RCW; 24
(ii) The Washington state collection agency board established in 25
chapter 19.16 RCW; 26
(iii) The state board of registration for professional engineers 27
and land surveyors established in chapter 18.43 RCW governing 28
licenses issued under chapters 18.43 and 18.210 RCW;29
(iv) The funeral and cemetery board established in chapter 18.39 30
RCW governing licenses issued under chapters 18.39 and 68.05 RCW;31
(v) The state board of licensure for landscape architects 32
established in chapter 18.96 RCW; and 33
(vi) The state geologist licensing board established in chapter 34
18.220 RCW. 35
(3) In addition to the authority to discipline license holders, 36
the disciplinary authority may grant or deny licenses based on the 37
conditions and criteria established in this chapter, chapter 18.415 38
RCW, and the chapters specified in subsection (2) of this section. 39
This chapter also governs any investigation, hearing, or proceeding 40
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relating to denial of licensure or issuance of a license conditioned 1
on the applicant's compliance with an order entered under RCW 2
18.235.110 by the disciplinary authority. 3
NEW SECTION. Sec. 9. The definitions in this section apply 4
throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires 5
otherwise.6
(1) "Brokered personal data" means any of the following 7
computerized data elements about a resident individual, if 8
categorized or organized for sale or licensing to another entity:9
(a) The resident individual's name or the name of a member of the 10
resident individual's immediate family or household;11
(b) The resident individual's address or an address of a member 12
of the resident individual's immediate family or household;13
(c) The resident individual's date or place of birth;14
(d) The maiden name of the resident individual's mother;15
(e) Biometric information about the resident individual;16
(f) The resident individual's social security number or the 17
number of any other government-issued identification for the resident 18
individual; or 19
(g) Other information that, alone or in combination with other 20
information that is sold or licensed, can reasonably be associated 21
with the resident individual. 22
(2) "Data broker" means any business entity registered with the 23
department of licensing under section of 3 this act.24
(3) "Data brokering" means the act of collecting, aggregating, 25
analyzing, buying, selling, and sharing brokered personal data, 26
irrespective of the business entity's relationship with the resident 27
individual whose data is being brokered. 28
(4) "Resident individual" means a person who resides in 29
Washington. 30
NEW SECTION. Sec. 10. (1) There is hereby imposed a monthly 31
severance tax on data brokering by data brokers.32
(2) The tax under this chapter is imposed on data brokers based 33
on the number of resident individuals a data broker collects brokered 34
personal data on within the month. The amount of the tax is the 35
amount provided in the following table: 36
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1
2
3
If the number of resident
individuals is over:
But not more than: The amount of the tax
equals the initial tax amount
of:
Plus the per residential
individual tax rate of:
4
5
6
7
0 500,000 $0 5 cents per month on the
number of resident
individuals over 0 but not
more than 500,000
8
9
10
11
500,000 1,000,000 $25,000 per month 10 cents per month on the
number of resident
individuals over 500,000
but not more than 1,000,000
12
13
14
15
1,000,000 1,500,000 $75,000 per month 15 cents per month on the
number of resident
individuals over 1,000,000
but not more than 1,500,000
16
17
18
19
1,500,000 2,000,000 $150,000 per month 20 cents per month on the
number of resident
individuals over 1,500,000
but not more than 2,000,000
20
21
22
23
2,000,000 2,500,000 $250,000 per month 25 cents per month on the
number of resident
individuals over 2,000,000
but not more than 2,500,000
24
25
26
27
2,500,000 3,000,000 $375,000 per month 30 cents per month on the
number of resident
individuals over 2,500,000
but not more than 3,000,000
28
29
30
31
3,000,000 3,500,000 $525,000 per month 35 cents per month on the
number of resident
individuals over 3,000,000
but not more than 3,500,000
32
33
34
35
3,500,000 4,000,000 $700,000 per month 40 cents per month on the
number of resident
individuals over 3,500,000
but not more than 4,000,000
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1
2
3
4
4,000,000 4,500,000 $900,000 per month 45 cents per month on the
number of resident
individuals over 4,000,000
but not more than 4,500,000
5
6
7
8
4,500,000 5,000,000 $1,125,000 per month 50 cents per month on the
number of resident
individuals over 4,500,000
but not more than 5,000,000
9
10
11
5,000,000 $1,375,000 per month 55 cents per month on the
number of resident
individuals over 5,000,000
NEW SECTION. Sec. 11. (1) There is a rebuttable presumption 12
that an individual whose information on record with or available to a 13
data broker indicates a Washington home address, a Washington mailing 14
address, or an internet protocol address connected with a Washington 15
location is a resident individual for purposes of this chapter. The 16
presumption may be rebutted by evidence that an individual's primary 17
residence is outside Washington in a form or manner determined by the 18
department.19
(2) A resident individual must be counted only once in the 20
calculation of the monthly excise tax imposed on a data broker.21
(3) Business entities having common ownership as defined in 26 22
U.S.C. Sec. 1563 (a) of the internal revenue code, as amended, are a 23
single taxpayer for purposes of meeting the definition of data broker 24
under this chapter. The entities constituting the single taxpayer are 25
jointly and severally liable for any tax due. 26
(4) The single member of a single member limited liability 27
company must be treated as an individual under this chapter.28
(5)(a) A data broker and the department may agree on a 29
methodology for determining the number of resident individuals for 30
the purpose of calculating the tax. 31
(b) If an agreement is not reached as provided in (a) of this 32
subsection, the department shall determine an acceptable estimation 33
methodology for determining the number of resident individuals for 34
the purpose of calculating the tax. 35
NEW SECTION. Sec. 12. (1) A data broker must maintain records 36
as required by the department.37
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(2)(a) A data broker must file a monthly return as required by 1
the department. 2
(b) A data broker that pays the tax imposed under section 10 of 3
this act in a given month must file a return in subsequent months 4
until it reports no tax liability for 12 consecutive months.5
(3) The department may prescribe rules as may be necessary to 6
administrate and implement this chapter. 7
NEW SECTION. Sec. 13. Chapter 82.32 RCW applies to the 8
administration of sections 9 through 12 of this act.9
NEW SECTION. Sec. 14. Sections 2 through 7 of this act 10
constitute a new chapter in Title 19 RCW.11
NEW SECTION. Sec. 15. Sections 9 through 12 of this act 12
constitute a new chapter in Title 82 RCW.13
NEW SECTION. Sec. 16. Sections 9 through 12 of this act take 14
effect January 1, 2027.15
--- END ---
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