The Latest: Brown signs far-reaching data privacy bill

The Latest on a California data privacy bill (all times local):

3 p.m.

California will soon have what experts call the nation's most far-reaching law to give consumers more control over their personal data.

A law Gov. Jerry Brown signed Thursday will compel companies to tell customers upon request what personal data they've collected, why it was collected and what categories of third parties have received it. Consumers will also be able to ask companies to delete their information and refrain from selling it.

The new law will take effect Jan. 1, 2020 and lawmakers say they will likely make alterations to improve the policy before that date.

The law lets companies offer discounts to customers who allow their data to be sold and charge those who opt out a reasonable amount based on how much the company makes selling the information.

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1 p.m.

A California data privacy bill experts say would be the most far-reaching such policy in the country is headed to Gov. Jerry Brown.

The bill passed both chambers of the Legislature on Thursday without any dissenting votes. Supporters of the measure hope the governor will sign it Thursday in time for a related data privacy initiative to be withdrawn from the November ballot. They say the policy will likely need future revisions and should be enacted through the legislative process instead of through a ballot initiative. Bills passed by the Legislature are much easier to change than voter-enacted initiatives.

Assemblyman Ed Chau said the bill will give California residents more control over their personal data. The Arcadia Democrat's bill would allow consumers to opt out of having their data sold, among other provisions.

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12:15 p.m.

A sweeping California data privacy bill has cleared its first major hurdle in the Legislature.

It would give Californians more control over the data they share with companies by allowing them to ask companies to delete it or refrain from selling it.

The state Senate passed the bill 36-0 on Thursday and it now heads to the state Assembly.

State Sen. Bob Hertzberg says it would be the most far-reaching data privacy policy in the country.

Lawmakers negotiated it to keep a similar data privacy initiative off the November ballot. Enacting the policy through the legislature will allow for easier changes in the future.

Lawmakers are scrambling to get the bill to Gov. Jerry Brown for his signature before 5 p.m. That's the deadline to withdraw initiatives from the ballot.