Tweet at Terry: Sign Virginia’s Surveillance Reform Bills

On April 15, the Virginia General Assembly rejected the governor’s amendments to key pieces of legislation on mass surveillance and the sent the widely supported bills back to his desk. The governor now has until May 15 to approve or veto the bills. If he does nothing, then they also will pass into law.

Why wait? Let’s tweet at Terry to let him know he should sign these bills immediately.

S.B. 965: This legislation prevents police from using surveillance technologies to collect personal information on Virginians when the collection isn’t connected to a criminal investigation. With license-plate readers, data retention would be limited to seven days unless the data is being used in an active criminal investigation.

If the governor signs this, Virginia would have the shortest ALPR retention period under state law in the country.

H.B. 2125/S.B. 1301: This legislation would require law enforcement to obtain a warrant before using unmanned aerial systems except in certain emergencies. Under this bill, prosecutors cannot use evidence collected by drones for non-law enforcement purposes (such as drones for monitoring wildfires or traffic) in court. Also, it bans Virginia agencies from deploying weaponized drones outside testing grounds.

The governor should sign these protections into law today. History shows that Virginians were key to the creation of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Now is the governor’s chance make civil liberties part of his legacy too.

You can also email the governor through his online form.