state-law-applicability

State Privacy Law Applicability Assessment

Overview

Determining which US state privacy laws apply to an organization requires evaluating multiple criteria: revenue thresholds, consumer/data volume thresholds, industry-specific exemptions, entity-type exemptions, and data-type exemptions. This skill provides a systematic assessment framework and Python automation tool for evaluating applicability across all major enacted state privacy laws.

Assessment Framework

Step 1: Geographic Nexus

For each state, determine if the organization has nexus through:

• Conducting business in the state (physical presence, employees, registered entity)
• Targeting residents of the state (marketing, advertising, or providing products/services specifically to state residents)
• Producing products/services consumed by state residents

Most state laws use "conducts business in [state] OR produces products or services targeted to [state] residents" as the nexus requirement.

Step 2: Threshold Assessment

State	Threshold 1	Threshold 2	Revenue Alternative
California	100,000 consumers/households	50% revenue from sale/sharing	$25,000,000 annual gross revenue
Virginia	100,000 consumers	25,000 consumers + 50% revenue from sale	None
Colorado	100,000 consumers	25,000 consumers + revenue/discount from sale	None
Connecticut	100,000 consumers (excl. payment)	25,000 consumers + 25% revenue from sale	None
Texas	Non-SBA small business	N/A	None (no threshold)
Oregon	100,000 consumers (excl. payment)	25,000 consumers + 25% revenue from sale	None
Montana	50,000 consumers (excl. payment)	25,000 consumers + 25% revenue from sale	None
Kentucky	100,000 consumers	25,000 consumers + 50% revenue from sale	None

Step 3: Entity-Level Exemptions

Exemption	CA	VA	CO	CT	TX	OR	MT	KY
Government	N/A (for-profit only)	Exempt	Exempt	Exempt	Exempt	Exempt	Exempt	Exempt
GLBA financial institutions	Data-level	Entity-level	Entity-level	Entity-level	Entity-level	Entity-level	Entity-level	Entity-level
HIPAA covered entities	Data-level	Entity-level	Entity-level	Entity-level	Entity-level	Entity-level	Entity-level	Entity-level
Nonprofits	Not exempt	Exempt	Exempt	Exempt	Exempt	Not exempt	Exempt	Exempt
Higher education	Not exempt	Exempt	Exempt	Exempt	Exempt	Not exempt	Exempt	Exempt
Air carriers	Not exempt	Not exempt	Not exempt	Not exempt	Not exempt	Not exempt	Exempt	Not exempt

Step 4: Data-Level Exemptions

Data that is already governed by certain federal laws may be exempt even if the organization itself is not:

Federal Law	Full Name	Data Type
GLBA	Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (15 U.S.C. §6801)	Financial data under GLBA privacy rules
HIPAA	Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (42 U.S.C. §1320d)	Protected health information (PHI)
FERPA	Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (20 U.S.C. §1232g)	Education records
FCRA	Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. §1681)	Consumer credit reports
DPPA	Driver's Privacy Protection Act (18 U.S.C. §2721)	Motor vehicle records
COPPA	Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (15 U.S.C. §6501)	Children's data under COPPA
Farm Credit Act	Farm Credit Act of 1971 (12 U.S.C. §2001)	Farm credit data

California distinction: CCPA/CPRA exempts the data governed by these federal laws, not the entity. A GLBA-covered bank is still subject to CCPA for personal data that falls outside GLBA's scope (e.g., marketing data not related to financial products).

Step 5: Employee Data Assessment

State	Employee Data Status
California	Fully covered (CPRA removed prior partial exemption)
Virginia	Exempt from consumer rights; controller duties apply
Colorado	Exempt from consumer rights; controller duties apply
Connecticut	Exempt from consumer rights; controller duties apply
Texas	Exempt from consumer rights; controller duties apply
Oregon	Partial exemption: Rights exempt; controller duties, DPIAs, sensitive consent apply
Montana	Exempt from consumer rights; controller duties apply
Kentucky	Exempt from consumer rights; controller duties apply

Step 6: SBA Small Business Determination (Texas TDPSA)

The TDPSA is the only state law that uses the SBA small business definition. Key steps:

1. Identify the organization's primary NAICS code
2. Look up the SBA size standard for that NAICS code in 13 CFR §121.201
3. Compare the organization's annual receipts or employee count to the threshold
4. If the organization qualifies as a small business:
   • Most TDPSA provisions are exempt
   • Prohibition on selling sensitive data without consent still applies (§541.107(b))

Common SBA thresholds for technology/retail companies:

NAICS	Industry	Revenue Threshold
454110	Electronic shopping	$40,000,000
519130	Internet publishing and web search portals	$47,000,000
518210	Data processing and hosting	$35,000,000
511210	Software publishers	$47,000,000
541511	Custom computer programming	$34,000,000

Liberty Commerce Inc. Assessment Summary

State	Consumers	Revenue from Sale	Applicable	Basis
California	320,000	12%	YES	Revenue >$25M + 100K consumers
Virginia	145,000	12%	YES	100K+ consumers
Colorado	98,000	12%	YES	25K+ with revenue from sale
Connecticut	87,000	12%	Borderline	Below 100K; below 25% revenue
Texas	410,000	12%	YES	Non-SBA small business
Oregon	72,000	12%	NO	Below both thresholds
Montana	28,000	12%	NO	Below both thresholds
Kentucky	68,000	12%	NO	Below both thresholds

Key Regulatory References

• SBA Size Standards: 13 CFR §121.201
• GLBA: 15 U.S.C. §6801-6809
• HIPAA: 42 U.S.C. §1320d et seq.; 45 CFR Parts 160, 164
• FERPA: 20 U.S.C. §1232g
• FCRA: 15 U.S.C. §1681 et seq.
• COPPA: 15 U.S.C. §6501-6506
• DPPA: 18 U.S.C. §2721-2725