We are pleased to announce that Virginia House Bill 807 was defeated in Senate Committee (Courts of Justice) by a vote of 7 to 5.  House Bill 807 is a pet project of Delegate May and seems to be aimed squarley at Private Investigators.  This is the second year in a row that similar legislation has been introduced by Delegate May.

House Bill 807 passed the House of Delegates with little opposition despite the efforts of Joe D. Morrissey Democrat District 74, and 9 other Democrats that voted against the measure.  To see how your Delegate Representative voted click here.

In the Senate Courts of Justice Committee a bipartisan effort lead by Committee Chair  Tommy Normant Republican District 3, and 7 others  voted against HB 807.  To see how your Senate Representative voted click here.

The Private Investigator industry was represented by Lobbyist James Towey, John Morse of Morse Investigation Services, LLC, and John Kipley.  All three spoke in opposition in front of the Senate Committee.  Behind the scenes PIAVA, PISA and ISPLA all worked hard to fund the the Lobbying efforts and handle communication to its members.  Also a special thanks goes to Nicole Bocra for all of her tireless efforts.

We agree that legislation is in order to reign in the abuse of electronic tracking devices when they are used with the intent to harass or cause harm.  Despite Delegate May’s assertion otherwise, HB 807 was seriously flawed.  This bill would have dramatically affected property rights, and a host of other unintended consequences.  We hope that Delegate May will consider introducing a bill that would expand the use GPS tracking devices used to stalk or harass to be included under stalking laws that carry a much higher penalty and jail time.