The Senate passed a consumer protection bill Thursday after removing an online dating provision and limiting the consumer litigation moratorium to one year.
The Senate bill, S.73, is expected to get approval in the House.
The bill contains protections in six general categories: rent-to-own regulations; a yearlong moratorium on settlement loans; phony discount memberships; home security companies; data breaches; and financial literacy.
“More than half the bill, the Senate had not acted on it before, so we took some action to make sure it passed by adjournment,” said Sen. Kevin Mullin, R-Rutland, who chairs the Senate Economic Development Committee.
The House version of the bill had three sections granting immunity to online dating companies. The companies would not have been liable to any person or section of state government for telling a potentially defrauded member that the company banned another person’s profile or why.
“There was a contingent of senators who did not want to give total immunity [to online dating companies] and wanted to have a gross negligence standard,” Mullin said.
“The industry, despite our best lobbying efforts, would not agree to that, so in the end it just wasn’t ready for prime time,” Mullin said. “We still support it.”
Mullin said the Senate Committee on Economic Development, Housing, and General Affairs will likely take up the online dating protections in the first week of the 2016 session.
