GPS tracking bill leaves some uneasy
They note that the measure would require police to ask a judge for a warrant before they could attach a device to a car that uses global positioning system technology to track its movement. If a judge gives the OK, such a device could be used for 30 days.
"If the judge OKs a search warrant, that means there's possible criminal activity," said Rep. Clel Baudler, R-Greenfield, a retired Iowa State Patrol trooper who sponsored the bill. "It's the same thing as following somebody without having to use the manpower."
Others have criticized the measure, saying it would needlessly let government intrude on private lives.
"That's a fundamental infringement," said Rep. Rick Olson, D-
Des Moines, a lawyer. "It's a privacy issue. This bill allows Big Brother to further look into your private life."
Olson said police could learn a lot about someone by tracking their movements for a month. He argued that much of the information police gathered would have nothing to do with an investigation, and he asked how those details would be handled.
GPS tracking bill comes one step closer to becoming law in Virginia
HB 807, sponsored by Del. Joe T. May (R-Loudoun), has found its way to the floor of the Virginia House of Delegates. The bill would prohibit the use of GPS tracking devices to monitor the positions of others, making it a Class 3 misdemeanor with a fine of up to $500 to use a GPS device “through intentionally deceptive means and without consent.”
The bill had no problem passing through the House Science and Technology Committee where it received a 14-1 vote.
There are some exceptions to May’s bill, however. Police, judicial, probation, and parole officers would be exempt from this law as well as parent’s who wish to track the whereabouts of their teens’ or adults monitoring the movements of adults who require constant vigilance.
Oddly, HB 807 doesn’t allow individuals to track their own vehicles under any circumstance, an amendment that Del. Scott Surovell (D-Fairfax) attempted but failed to include. May explained that the intent was to halt the tracking of people, not automobiles.
