Senate passes Gramm-Leach-Bliley privacy exemption for CPAs.

An important victory for CPAs and their clients was won last month when the Senate passed a bill containing the profession's Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act privacy notice exemption regarding disclosure of personal financial information. Our exemption is also in the bill passed by the House earlier this year.

The Senate's legislation, "Financial Services Regulatory Relief Act of 2006" (S. 2856), passed by unanimous consent. Section 609 of the bill, titled "Exemption From Disclosure Of Privacy Policy For Accountants," contains the profession's privacy notice exemption. The bill was introduced and managed by Senator Mike Crapo (R-ID), and our provision was championed by Senators Mike Enzi (RWY) and Debbie Stabenow (D-MI).

Senator Crapo's staff is currently talking with House Financial Services Committee Chairman Mike Oxley (R-OH) about resolving the differences between the Senate and House bills. If negotiations are successful, the compromise bill could be brought up in the House for a vote fairly soon. Passage there would mean the profession will have the exemption for which it has fought long and hard.

Peter Kravitz, [e-mail]