Consumer genetic testing providers.
SB 33 creates a new set of consumer privacy and anti-discrimination rules for consumer genetic testing providers in Indiana. The bill prohibits discrimination against a person because they used consumer genetic testing services or because of the results of that testing, including denying goods or services, charging different rates, or implying such treatment will occur. It also defines consumer genetic testing and consumer genetic testing providers, while carving out testing done in medical, law-enforcement, coroner/medical examiner, court-ordered, and certain research settings.
The bill requires providers to give written privacy disclosures before testing, including details about storage, security, retention, third-party access, and any additional testing or uses beyond the consumer’s request. It limits providers to using or sharing biological material and genetic data only with the consumer’s freely given, specific, informed, and unambiguous consent, and it sets rules for revoking consent, destroying retained material or data, and restricting third-party use. The bill also bars providers from sending genetic-result-based marketing, from sharing nondeidentified genetic data with insurers, risk-rating data vendors, or employers, and from charging more than actual cost for producing material or data in response to a search warrant or court order. Enforcement is assigned exclusively to the attorney general, who may seek injunctions and civil penalties, but no private right of action is created.
SB 33 adds a new chapter to Title 22 on genetic discrimination and a new chapter to Title 24 governing consumer genetic testing providers, effective July 1, 2025. It expands Indiana law by regulating how direct-to-consumer DNA testing companies collect, retain, use, disclose, and market around genetic material and genetic data, and by creating a statutory anti-discrimination protection tied to consumer genetic testing. The bill also gives the attorney general exclusive enforcement authority, including notice-and-cure procedures and civil penalties, which places compliance obligations on testing companies and limits their ability to share data with insurers, employers, and certain third parties.
The bill appears to have generally favorable momentum in the Senate. It was reported out of the Senate Committee on Commerce and Technology with an 8-2 vote and later passed Senate third reading 47-2, indicating broad support. The available record does not include committee debate, but the strong floor vote suggests the measure was viewed positively overall as a consumer privacy and protection bill.
The main points of contention likely center on the scope of regulation imposed on consumer genetic testing companies and the restrictions on data use, retention, and third-party sharing. Potential concerns include the 30-day destruction requirements, the prohibition on sharing nondeidentified genetic data with insurers and employers even with consumer consent, and the limits on marketing and advertising uses of genetic information. The committee vote of 8-2 and the 47-2 floor vote indicate some opposition, likely from members concerned about business compliance burdens, operational costs, or the breadth of the privacy restrictions, though no transcript is available to identify specific arguments.