ST. PAUL  — A data breach at hometown retailing giant Target is prompting a look at Minnesota data protection laws.

The theft late last year of financial and personal data from millions of customers is a driving force behind a bill that a Minnesota House commerce committee was discussing Tuesday. It would require notifying individuals whose information may have been stolen and could lead to $100 gift cards for victims.

Notification must occur within 48 hours of discovery of the breach. Victims of data theft also must be offered free credit monitoring for one year. And individual those whose was compromised would be entitled to a $100 gift card that is valid for at least one year.

An existing state law already requires notification of consumer-reporting agencies if victims total more than 500.