Rep. Kremer (R-Kewaskum), Rep. Quinn (R-Rice Lake) and Sen. Stroebel (R-Saukville) have introduced legislation (Assembly Bill 838/Senate Bill 697) that would prohibit accessing, collecting, or transferring certain types of information about a motor vehicle without written consent of the motor vehicle owner. The companion bills were fast-tracked, with introduction and hearing occurring within the first weeks of February. Last week, the Senate Committee on Government Operations and Consumer Protection unanimously passed the bill out of committee. This week, the Assembly Committee on Consumer Protection voted 6-2 on AB 838.

The technology that collects and transfers information from a motor vehicle is often referred to as an “Event Data Recorder” or “EDR”. This technology collects data for crash investigations or safety equipment performance.

Under this legislation, the only way a trauma doctor, auto manufacturer, engineer, or safety researcher would have been able to access the information collected would be if the vehicle owner was informed of the intended use of the information and the owner provided written consent.

SB 697 was on the tentative Senate calendar for Tuesday, February 16, however the bill was pulled from the final calendar. The status of the bill is unknown, as the Senate could take up the legislation on March 15, requiring the Assembly to come in for a concurrence vote.