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HB1294 • 2026

Use of artificial intelligence-based tools; covered artificial intelligence, disclosure of use.

<p class=ldtitle>A BILL to amend and reenact § 19.2-11.14 of the Code of Virginia, relating to use of artificial intelligence-based tools; covered artificial intelligence; disclosure of use.</p>

Technology
Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor
Clark
Last action
2026-02-02
Official status
Continued
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not provide specific details on the consequences of AI errors in investigations.

Rules for Using Artificial Intelligence in Criminal Investigations

This law requires police departments to disclose when they use certain types of artificial intelligence during criminal investigations and provides rules for reporting and record-keeping.

What This Bill Does

  • Defines 'covered artificial intelligence' as AI used by police to aid in criminal investigations, including tools that generate investigative leads or identify suspects.
  • Requires police reports to include information about any covered AI used in an investigation and to disclose this use to the attorney for the Commonwealth upon arrest or issuance of a summons.
  • Ensures that anyone affected by the use of covered AI receives a report within 30 days if it's used after someone is arrested.
  • Specifies that police departments must maintain records about the use of generative artificial intelligence in reports and keep an audit trail for changes made to these reports.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Police officers conducting criminal investigations
  • People arrested or suspected of crimes
  • Lawyers representing individuals under investigation

Terms To Know

Covered artificial intelligence
AI tools used by police to aid in criminal investigations, including those that generate investigative leads or identify suspects.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill does not specify what happens if the AI makes mistakes in an investigation.
  • It is unclear how this law will be enforced and what penalties might apply to those who do not follow it.

Bill History

  1. 2026-02-02 Communications

    Subcommittee recommends continuing to 2027 (Voice Vote)

  2. 2026-02-02 Communications, Technology and Innovation

    Continued to 2027 in Communications, Technology and Innovation (Voice Vote)

  3. 2026-01-29 Communications

    Assigned HST sub: Communications

  4. 2026-01-15 House

    Presented and ordered printed 26105298D

  5. 2026-01-15 Communications, Technology and Innovation

    Referred to Committee on Communications, Technology and Innovation

Official Summary Text

Use of artificial intelligence-based tools; covered artificial intelligence; disclosure of use.
Requires the use of covered artificial intelligence, as defined in the bill, in a criminal investigation to be disclosed in a police report filed for that investigation. Such a report shall be submitted to the attorney for the Commonwealth upon arrest or issuance of a summons and made available to the individual under investigation or such individual's counsel. The bill provides that any use of covered artificial intelligence 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. The bill enumerates what each report shall include regarding the use of covered artificial intelligence and provides that the first draft of any report or record created in whole or in part by generative artificial intelligence shall be retained for as long as the final report is retained. The bill also provides that the program used to generate a draft or final report shall maintain an audit trail that 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. The bill provides that 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 the bill and provides that a resident of the jurisdiction may bring a civil action against the law-enforcement agency to obtain equitable or declaratory relief to enforce the provisions of the bill. The bill requires such plaintiff to provide written notice of any alleged violation to the law-enforcement agency at least 90 days prior to filing suit, in a manner that is reasonably calculated to enable the law-enforcement agency to cure the alleged violation.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
A BILL to amend and reenact §
19.2-11.14
of the Code of Virginia, relating to use of artificial intelligence-based tools; covered artificial intelligence; disclosure of use.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That §
19.2-11.14
of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:

§
19.2-11.14
. Use of artificial intelligence-based tool and covered artificial intelligence.

A. As used in this section
,

"
artificial
:

"
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.

"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 task
s that do not materially alter investigations, such as productivity and document management tools, or generative artificial intelligence technologies used to check spelling or grammar.

"Law-enforcement officer" means the same as that term is defined in §
9.1-101
.

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.

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 repr
esented 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
b
ut no later than 30 calendar days following
such
use.

Disclosure of the use of covered artificial intelligence in the
official
police
repor
t
shall include:

1.
The n
ame and a
description of

the covered artificial intelligence; and

2. A brief description of the covered artificial intelligenc
e'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.

D. A
n

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 intelligenc
e 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.

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.

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.

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.