Government surveillance and data collection are some of the privacy issues still being debated well after the 2015 General Assembly session has ended. It's because Governor McAuliffe has taken action following the Reconvened Session--by signing one bill limiting the use of drones, but vetoing another that would restrict how much and how long data can be retained by law enforcement.
One bill limited how long law enforcement can hold on to information that’s collected through license plate-readers. Lawmakers preferred a brief period of 7 days, while law enforcement agencies sought to retain information much longer. Both houses rejected McAuliffe’s recommendation of 60 days and sent the bill back to him. The governor says for several reasons, he's not comfortable with the bill as is.
"One in particular is how you define license plates and how you view what we get off of them as it relates --is it private information. If you deem that like the bill that it is, that could mean that as Governor, I'm forced to shut down every one of our VDOT 5-11 cameras, I would have to cease our operations in our tolling facilities that actually take pictures and show license plates."
Lawmakers also rejected McAuliffe’s recommendation to allow information obtained by drones without a search warrant to be used in criminal proceedings, but he has signed that bill into law. The governor says the Secure Commonwealth Panel should have had an opportunity to study pending legislation. But he believes that instead, bills with technical problems were rushed through the legislature.