Summary
Meets on: Monday at 10:00 a.m. in House Room 3
Members: Cliff Hayes (Chair) – Alex Askew – Hala Ayala – Emily Brewer – Kathy Byron – Jeff Campbell – James Edmunds – Kelly Fowler – Nick Freitas – Keith Hodges – Sally Hudson – Clint Jenkins – Dave LaRock – Ken Plum – Danica Roem – Chris Runion – Ibraheem Samirah – Don Scott – Suhas Subramanyam – Jeion Ward – Michael Webert – Rodney Willett
13 Democrats and 9 Republicans
Subcommittees:
- Communications
- Technology
- Innovation
News
Virginia Legislative Information System
Note: Details on bills passed below are in the Heading “Bills passed”
- HB 1851 Unmanned aircraft; exempts an owner from the requirement to register.
- HB 2031 Facial recognition technology; authorization of use by local law-enforcement agencies, etc.
- HB 2163 Motor Vehicles, Department of; limits the release of privileged information to government entities.
- HB 2307 Consumer Data Protection Act; personal data rights of consumer, etc.
Virginia House of Delegates Video Streaming
Virginia Mercury, – March 30, 2021
When Virginia’s General Assembly first took up legislation billed as a major step toward giving regular people more control over their data in an increasingly online world, some of the first testimony lawmakers heard came from tech giants like Microsoft and Amazon.
Both companies said they were in full support of Virginia’s effort to become just the second state in America to pass its own data privacy bill, an early marker in a debate still unfolding in other states and at the national level.
Supporters of Virginia’s Consumer Data Protection Act, approved by the General Assembly this year and already signed by Gov. Ralph Northam, say the fact that Virginia was able to pass such significant legislation without a major fight is a testament to the quality of the bill, which lays out new consumer protections while largely shielding companies from a flood of data-related lawsuits.
Noting that an estimated 70 percent of internet traffic flows through servers in Virginia, Sen. Dave Marsden, D-Fairfax, said Virginia’s legislation could be “a good starting place for a national privacy bill.”
Last month, Virginia lawmakers quietly passed one of the most restrictive bans in the country on the use of facial recognition technology.
The legislation, which won unusually broad bipartisan support, prohibits all local law enforcement agencies and campus police departments from purchasing or using facial recognition technology unless it is expressly authorized by the state legislature.
But now, some law enforcement officials are asking Gov. Ralph Northam to put the brakes on the legislation, arguing that it is overly broad and hasn’t been thoroughly vetted.
On February 19, 2012, the Virginia House of Delegates voted overwhelmingly to pass the Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act (CDPA). The Senate previously voted in favor of passing the legislation. The General Assembly had been considering the CDPA in a special session after both chambers passed companion bills during the regular session. The Senate and House bills are available here and here, respectively.
Prior to passing, the CDPA was amended slightly to create a working group to “review the provisions of [the CDPA] and issues related to its implementation” and submit a report with its “findings, best practices, and recommendations” to the Chairmen of the Senate Committee on General Laws and Technology and the House Committee on Communications, Technology and Innovation no later than November 1, 2021.
According to the General Assembly, the bill will now be printed as an enrolled bill, and examined and signed by the presiding officer of each house. It will then be sent to the Governor, who is expected to sign it.
On March 2, 2021, Governor Northam signed into law Virginia’s own Consumer Data Protection Act (“Virginia CDPA” or the “Act”), a bill that brings together concepts from the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) as well as the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA). It is the first of its kind legislation on the East Coast. The law will go into effect on January 1, 2023.
The drafters of the Virginia CDPA appear to have benefited from observing the pitfalls and problems that arose in the development and implementation of both GDPR and CCPA. The Virginia bill deftly avoids several of those by incorporating narrower, more tailored definitions that clearly exclude categories of data and businesses over which there was (and continues to be) some confusion with respect to both the EU/UK and California compliance regimes. It also adopts, in concept, the framework of the GDPR, and even some of its language. Like GDPR, it characterizes the party who initially collects and controls personal data as the “controller” and obligates that party to be a good steward of the data, through transparency with the consumer, accountability for sharing the data with third parties (“processors”), and a duty to implement appropriate data security to safeguard the data. It will be enforced by the Virginia Attorney General. Notably, there is no private right of action under the Act.
Virginia Mercury, – March 30, 2021
When Virginia’s General Assembly first took up legislation billed as a major step toward giving regular people more control over their data in an increasingly online world, some of the first testimony lawmakers heard came from tech giants like Microsoft and Amazon.
Both companies said they were in full support of Virginia’s effort to become just the second state in America to pass its own data privacy bill, an early marker in a debate still unfolding in other states and at the national level.
Supporters of Virginia’s Consumer Data Protection Act, approved by the General Assembly this year and already signed by Gov. Ralph Northam, say the fact that Virginia was able to pass such significant legislation without a major fight is a testament to the quality of the bill, which lays out new consumer protections while largely shielding companies from a flood of data-related lawsuits.
About
Web Links
Subcommittees
Communications Subcommittee
Meets on: Monday at 8:30 a.m. in House Room 3
Members: Danica Roem (Chair) Kathy Byron, Jeff Campbell, James Edmunds, Kelly Fowler, Clint Jenkins, Ken Plum, Danica Roem, Chris Runion, Suhas Subramanyam, Michael Webert, Rodney Willett
Technology and Innovation Subcommittee
Meets on: Wednesday at 8:30 a.m. in 400-B Subcommittee Room
Members: Hala Ayala (Chair), Alex Askew, Emily Brewer, James Edmunds, Kelly Fowler, Keith Hodges, Sally Hudson, Dave LaRock, Ibraheem Samirah, Don Scott, Jeion Ward
Bills
Bills reported out
HB 1851 Unmanned aircraft; exempts an owner from the requirement to register.
HB 2031 Facial recognition technology; authorization of use by local law-enforcement agencies, etc. Authorizes facial recognition technology to be used by law-enforcement and institutions of higher learning.
HB 2163 Motor Vehicles, Department of; limits the release of privileged information to government entities.
HB 2180 Lynchburg, City of; amending charter, salaries of members of City Council.
HB 2214 Broadband service territory maps; Commonwealth Broadband Chief Advisor to develop and maintain. Requires the Commonwealth Broadband Chief Advisor to develop and maintain a map of private broadband provider service territories.
HB 2307 Consumer Data Protection Act; establishes a framework for controlling and processing personal data. Establishes a framework for controlling and processing personal data in the Commonwealth.
Bills Passed
HB 1851 Unmanned aircraft; exempts an owner from the requirement to register. Aircraft registration; unmanned aircraft. Exempts an owner of an unmanned aircraft from the requirement to register aircrafts. This bill is identical to SB 1098.
HB 2031 Facial recognition technology; authorization of use by local law-enforcement agencies, etc. Facial recognition technology; authorization of use by local law-enforcement agencies and campus police departments at public institutions of higher education. Provides that no local law-enforcement agency or campus police department shall purchase or deploy facial recognition technology, defined in the bill, unless such purchase or deployment is expressly authorized by statute. The bill prohibits a local law-enforcement agency or campus police department at a public institution of higher education currently using facial recognition technology from continuing to use such technology without such authorization after July 1, 2021.
HB 2163 Motor Vehicles, Department of; limits the release of privileged information to government entities. Department of Motor Vehicles; privileged information. Limits the release of Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) privileged information to government entities and law-enforcement agencies for the purpose of civil immigration enforcement unless (i) the subject of the information provides consent or (ii) the requesting agency presents a lawful judicial order, judicial subpoena, or judicial warrant. The bill requires the DMV to notify the subject of the request that such a request was made and the identity of the entity that made the request. The bill requires any entity receiving privileged information from the DMV to enter into a written agreement with the DMV prior to such release of such information and prohibits any entity from rereleasing any such DMV information to any third party unless explicitly permitted to do so in the entity’s agreement with the DMV. The bill contains requirements for any such written agreement between the DMV and the Department of State Police.
HB 2307 Consumer Data Protection Act; personal data rights of consumer, etc. Consumer Data Protection Act. Establishes a framework for controlling and processing personal data in the Commonwealth. The bill applies to all persons that conduct business in the Commonwealth and either (i) control or process personal data of at least 100,000 consumers or (ii) derive over 50 percent of gross revenue from the sale of personal data and control or process personal data of at least 25,000 consumers. The bill outlines responsibilities and privacy protection standards for data controllers and processors. The bill does not apply to state or local governmental entities and contains exceptions for certain types of data and information governed by federal law. The bill grants consumer rights to access, correct, delete, obtain a copy of personal data, and to opt out of the processing of personal data for the purposes of targeted advertising. The bill provides that the Attorney General has exclusive authority to enforce violations of the law, and the Consumer Privacy Fund is created to support this effort. The bill directs the Joint Commission on Technology and Science to establish a work group to review the provisions of this act and issues related to its implementation, and to report on its findings by November 1, 2021. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2023. This bill is identical to SB 1392.
Commissions & Boards
Joint Commission on Technology and Science
Source: Webpage
The Joint Commission on Technology and Science (JCOTS), a permanent legislative agency established in 1997, studies all aspects of technology and science, and strives to encourage, promote, and assist in the development of sound technology and science policy in the Commonwealth.
Aerospace Advisory Council
Source: Webpage
To advise the Governor, the Joint Commission on Technology and Science, and the Secretaries of Commerce and Trade, Technology, and Education on policy and funding priorities with respect to aerospace economic development, workforce training, educational programs, and educational curriculum, and to promote the aerospace and space exploration industry in the Commonwealth.
Broadband Advisory Council
Source: Webpage
The purpose of the Council shall be to advise the Governor on policy and funding priorities to expedite deployment and reduce the cost of broadband access in the Commonwealth
Clean Energy Advisory Board
Source: Website
The Clean Energy Advisory Board (the Board) is established as an advisory board in the executive branch of state government. The purpose of the Board is to establish a pilot program for disbursing loans or rebates for the installation of solar energy infrastructure in low-income and moderate-income households through the “Low-to-Moderate Income Solar Loan and Rebate Fund” (the Fund).
Modeling and Simulation Advisory Council
Source: Webpage
To advise the Governor on policy and funding priorities to promote the modeling and simulation industry in the Commonwealth
Online Virginia Network Authority
Source: Webpage
The Online Virginia Network Authority (the Authority) is established as a political subdivision of the Commonwealth for the purpose of providing a means for individuals to earn degrees and postsecondary education credentials by improving the quality of and expanding access to online degree and credential programs that are beneficial to citizens, public institutions of higher education, and employers in the Commonwealth.
Research & Technology Investment Advisory Committee
Source: Webpage
The Advisory Committee shall be administered by and advise the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Investment Authority.
Qualifications: Ten (10) members as follows: the four vice-provosts of research at major state institutions of higher education from the state institutions of higher education not represented on the Authority, the president and chief executive officer of the Virginia Economic Development Partnership, and five citizens members appointed by the Governor (1), Speaker of the House (2), and the Senate Committee on Rules (2).
Solar Energy Development and Energy Storage Authority
Source: Webpage
Virginia Solar Energy Development and Energy Development Authority is created as a body corporate and a political subdivision of the Commonwealth and as such shall have, and is vested with, all of the politic and corporate powers as are set forth in this chapter. The Authority is established for the purposes of facilitating, coordinating, and supporting the development, either by the Authority or by other qualified entities, of the solar energy industry and solar energy projects by developing programs that increase the availability of financing for solar energy projects, facilitate the increase of solar energy generation systems on public and private sector facilities in the Commonwealth, promote the growth of the Virginia solar industry, and provide a hub for collaboration between entities, both public and private, to partner on solar energy projects. The Authority may also consult with research institutions, businesses, nonprofit organizations, and stakeholders as the Authority deems appropriate.
