Commission elects co-chairs and plans hearings on AI, body cameras and privacy

The Legislative Commission on Data Practices completed organizational business and set priorities for future meetings, electing House co-chairs and planning further hearings on modern data and privacy issues.

Representative Peggy Scott and Representative Sandra Feist were nominated and elected as House co-chairs by voice vote; Representative Scott accepted the gavel to conduct the meeting. Commissioners also named co-vice chairs by voice vote. The commission approved the January 22, 2024 minutes by voice vote earlier in the session.

Members pressed for a more active meeting schedule to keep up with rapidly changing technology. Several commissioners urged regular meetings to address structural questions about chapter 13, data-retention statutes, emerging AI uses, database centers, and the steady growth of robotics and automation. "We need to be on top of this," Senator Liur said, arguing for a renewed commitment to frequent meetings.

Co-chair Feist previewed plans for at least three upcoming hearings focused on: emerging issues around privacy and technology (AI, geolocation data, metadata and retention), practical demonstrations of how a data-request flows from a requester to production (suggested by local governments), and targeted sessions on law-enforcement data such as body-camera footage and automatic-license-plate-reader datasets.

Commission staff introduced research and administrative support: Nick Nero (LCC research analyst assigned to the commission) and Sally Olsson (commission administrator) will help coordinate hearings and compile materials. Co-chairs asked DPO staff to continue outreach and provide rule-update proposals and training statistics for future sessions.