Maybe Next Year for Maine Comprehensive Privacy Bill
Maine has joined a growing list of states in which comprehensive privacy bills stalled in 2025. However, Rep. Amy Kuhn (D), the Maine Judiciary Committee’s House chair, told Privacy Daily on Thursday that her LD-1822 will return in 2026.
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The legislature on Wednesday agreed to hold Kuhn's legislation until next session. It proposes strict data-minimization rules, like Maryland’s privacy law (see 2505230037). Maine’s joint Judiciary Committee approved LD-1822 on May 30 (see 2505300062), choosing it over an alternative Republican bill (LD-1088) by Rep. Rachel Henderson, which took a notice-and-consent approach based on the common state model.
Henderson's bill failed Wednesday in the Senate by an 18-14 vote. It also failed in the House last week (see 2506200032).
Kuhn said that while her legislation didn’t receive a House floor vote this year, she's “encouraged by the progress we made in the Judiciary Committee to put together a robust data privacy bill -- one that will protect Mainers’ sensitive information and strike a careful balance between innovation and accountability.”
Kuhn added that she's “grateful that the bill was carried over to next session, and I look forward to continuing this important work next year.”
Consumer Reports was “disappointed that LD 1822 didn't make it across the finish line this year, but look[s] forward to continuing to work with the legislature to ensure that Maine residents receive strong protections in any future data privacy law," emailed policy analyst Matt Schwartz.
Last month, Vermont also punted a comprehensive bill that included data-minimization requirements. That legislation, which also has a private right of action, is expected to return next year after summer talks (see 2505300047 and 2505280021).
This year, no new states have joined the 20 with comprehensive privacy laws. However, Connecticut, Montana and Oregon amended their laws in 2025 (see 2506260005, 2505120005 and 2506040027).
Still, comprehensive privacy bills remain alive this year in a handful of still-active state legislatures, including Massachusetts (see 2505130041), Michigan (see 2506110056), Pennsylvania (see 2504230037) and Wisconsin (see 2503280051).