Regulon — VA-HB-1294 · VA HB 1294 (Law Enforcement AI Disclosure)

Summary

Imposes disclosure, documentation, and record-retention obligations on Virginia law-enforcement agencies that use AI in criminal investigations. When covered AI is used in an investigation, the police report must disclose the AI tool's name, description, and role in the investigation, and the report must be provided to the Commonwealth's attorney and the individual under investigation. Police reports or records created using generative AI must include an AI-content disclaimer, identify AI-generated content where feasible, and include an officer certification of accuracy. First drafts of AI-generated reports must be retained with an audit trail. Enforceable by the Attorney General via civil action for equitable or declaratory relief, and by private residents of the law-enforcement agency's jurisdiction subject to a 90-day cure notice requirement.

Enforcement & Penalties

Enforcement Authority

The Attorney General may investigate and bring a civil action against any law-enforcement agency to obtain equitable or declaratory relief. Any person who resides within the jurisdiction of a law-enforcement agency subject to this section may also bring a civil action for equitable or declaratory relief, provided the plaintiff has given 90 days written notice of the alleged violation to the law-enforcement agency prior to filing suit to enable the agency to cure the violation.

Penalties

Equitable and declaratory relief only — no statutory damages or civil penalties are specified. A prevailing plaintiff in a private action is entitled to reasonable attorney fees and costs. No monetary damages are authorized.

Who Is Covered

What Is Covered

"Covered artificial intelligence" means any artificial intelligence used to aid a law-enforcement investigation, including by generating a lead for further investigation or corroboration, as well as generative artificial intelligence technologies used to write or materially aid in writing police reports or other records relating to a criminal investigation. "Covered artificial intelligence" includes (i) biometric identification; (ii) forensic DNA phenotyping; (iii) forensic investigative genetic genealogy; (iv) cross-camera tracking; (v) vehicle surveillance or tracking, including automated license plate readers; (vi) anomaly detection; (vii) gunshot detection; (viii) person-based predictive policing; (ix) risk scoring; (x) behavioral analysis; (xi) sentiment analysis; (xii) convoy analysis; (xiii) fraud detection; (xiv) analysis of financial transactions; and (xv) social network or social media analysis. "Covered artificial intelligence" does not mean artificial intelligence that is used for administrative tasks that do not materially alter investigations, such as productivity and document management tools, or generative artificial intelligence technologies used to check spelling or grammar.

"Artificial intelligence-based tool" means any machine-based system or algorithm, including machine learning models, predictive analytics, and decision support systems, that analyze data and generate recommendations or predictions.

Compliance Obligations 6 obligations · click obligation ID to open requirement page

H-01 Human Oversight of Automated Decisions · H-01.6 · Government · Government System

§ 19.2-11.14(B)

Plain Language

Every consequential criminal justice decision — from pretrial detention through sentencing, parole, and rehabilitation — must be made by the judicial officer or other authorized human decision-maker. No such decision may be made without human involvement. AI recommendations or predictions may inform the decision, but the system output is subject to challenge or objection under applicable law. This is both a mandatory human-in-the-loop requirement and a due process safeguard ensuring AI outputs in the criminal justice context remain challengeable.

Statutory Text

B. All decisions related to the pre-trial detention or release, prosecution, adjudication, sentencing, probation, parole, correctional supervision, or rehabilitation of criminal offenders shall be made by the judicial officer or other person charged with making such decision. No such decision shall be made without the involvement of a human decision-maker. The use of any recommendation or prediction from an artificial intelligence-based tool shall be subject to any challenge or objection permitted by law.

Other · Government · Government System

§ 19.2-11.14(C)

Plain Language

Whenever a law-enforcement officer uses covered AI in a criminal investigation, that use must be documented in the official police report. The report must identify the AI tool by name, describe it, and explain its role in the investigation — including whether it generated an investigative lead or aided in identifying a suspect, witness, or victim. Upon arrest or summons, the report must be provided to the Commonwealth's attorney and to the defendant or their counsel. If covered AI is used after arrest, disclosure must be made to both parties as soon as practicable and no later than 30 calendar days. Administrative AI tools (productivity software, spell-checkers) are excluded from the definition of covered AI.

Statutory Text

C. Any use of covered artificial intelligence in a criminal investigation by a law-enforcement officer shall be disclosed in the official police report filed for such investigation. Upon arrest or issuance of a summons following a criminal investigation, the official police report shall be submitted to the attorney for the Commonwealth and provided to counsel for the individual under investigation or directly to the individual under investigation if not represented by counsel. Any use of covered artificial intelligence by the law-enforcement agency in a criminal investigation subsequent to arrest shall be disclosed to the attorney for the Commonwealth and the individual under investigation as soon as practicable but no later than 30 calendar days following such use. Disclosure of the use of covered artificial intelligence in the official police report shall include: 1. The name and a description of the covered artificial intelligence; and 2. A brief description of the covered artificial intelligence's role in the investigation, including whether it was used to generate an investigative lead or identify or aid in the identification of a suspect, witness, or victim.

T-02 AI Content Labeling & Provenance · T-02.1 · Government · Government System

§ 19.2-11.14(D)

Plain Language

Any police report or law-enforcement record created in whole or in part using generative AI must carry three elements: (1) a disclaimer stating it contains AI-generated content; (2) identification of the specific AI-generated portions where technically feasible; and (3) a certification by the authoring officer that they have read and reviewed the document for accuracy. This applies to all generative AI used in report writing, not just tools meeting the broader 'covered artificial intelligence' definition. The accuracy certification effectively creates a human-review requirement for all AI-assisted report drafting.

Statutory Text

D. An official police report or other law-enforcement record generated during a criminal investigation that was created in whole in or in part by using generative artificial intelligence shall: 1. Include a disclaimer that the report or record contains content generated by artificial intelligence; 2. Where technically feasible, identify the specific content in the report or record that was generated by artificial intelligence; and 3. Include a certification by the author of the report or record that the author has read and reviewed the report or record for accuracy.

G-01 AI Governance Program & Documentation · G-01.3 · Government · Government System

§ 19.2-11.14(E)

Plain Language

Law-enforcement agencies must retain the first draft of any AI-generated report or record for as long as the final version is retained. The generative AI program used must maintain an audit trail that at minimum identifies who used the AI, tracks all changes made after the initial draft, and logs any video or audio footage used as source material for report generation. This creates both a document-retention obligation on the agency and a functional requirement on the AI tool itself to support audit trail capabilities.

Statutory Text

E. The first draft of any report or record created in whole or in part by using generative artificial intelligence shall be retained for as long as the final report is retained. The program used to generate a draft or final report shall maintain an audit trail that, at a minimum, identifies (i) the person who used artificial intelligence to create or edit the report; (ii) any changes made to the report following the initial draft; and (iii) the video and audio footage used to create a report, if any.

Other · Government System

§ 19.2-11.14(F)

Plain Language

The Attorney General is authorized to investigate and bring civil enforcement actions against law-enforcement agencies for equitable or declaratory relief. This grants enforcement authority but does not create an independent compliance obligation — the obligations being enforced are found in subsections B through E.

Statutory Text

F. The Attorney General may investigate and, if warranted, bring a civil action against any law-enforcement agency to obtain equitable or declaratory relief to enforce the provisions of this section.

Other · Government System

§ 19.2-11.14(G)

Plain Language

Any resident within the jurisdiction of a covered law-enforcement agency may bring a civil action for equitable or declaratory relief to enforce the statute's requirements. Prevailing plaintiffs recover reasonable attorney fees and costs. However, the plaintiff must first provide 90 days' written notice to the agency, giving it an opportunity to cure the alleged violation before suit can be filed. This is an enforcement mechanism — the underlying obligations are in subsections B through E.

Statutory Text

G. Any person who resides within the jurisdiction of a law-enforcement agency that is subject to the requirements of this section may bring a civil action against the law-enforcement agency to obtain equitable or declaratory relief to enforce the provisions of this section. A prevailing plaintiff shall be entitled to reasonable attorney fees and costs. No action may be commenced against a law-enforcement agency under this section unless the plaintiff has provided written notice of the alleged violation to the law-enforcement agency at least 90 days prior to filing suit to enable the law-enforcement agency to cure the alleged violation.