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Drones, Privacy: Legislative Issues Reflect Changing Times

From protecting student privacy to regulating smartphone-based car services, lawmakers are poised to ponder issues that reflect changes in the social fabric propelled by technology.

(TNS) — The coming legislative session is likely to be dominated by the usual fights over taxes and spending.

But lawmakers are also poised to ponder other issues that reflect changes in the social fabric propelled by technology.

From protecting student privacy from firms seeking to access a burgeoning trove of educational data to regulating smartphone-based car services such as Uber to a bold future of drones and driverless cars, the General Assembly could be asked to craft public policy on concepts that scarcely existed a few years ago.

"Many people think that government tends to be reactive,'' said House Speaker Brendan Sharkey, D-Hamden. "But some things are happening so quickly that we have to proactive and get out ahead of them.''

Rep. Vin Candelora, the deputy leader of the House Republican caucus, said that in many ways these are the issues that define our times. "I really think issues are as big as the budget. One is dealing with our fiscal health but these are dealing with the health of our society,'' he said.

"The big theme here is data collection. What are people's rights to privacy? Once information gets out on the Internet, it can never be taken back,'' Candelora said, citing the recent hack at Sony Pictures Entertainment. "We're creating societal footprints … and the state of Connecticut needs to address that."

The session convenes on Jan. 7, the same day that Gov. Dannel P. Malloy will be inaugurated for a second term. It concludes on June 3 at midnight.

Unlike some years, the political debate at the Capitol is unlikely to be defined by a single, sweeping policy, such as gun control, abolition of the death penalty or same-sex civil unions.

State government isn't always up-to-speed on technology's cutting edge. "I wouldn't be surprised if there were some offices in the state that still use a typewriter,'' said Sen. Steve Cassano, D-Manchester.

The nonpartisan Office of Legislative Research has highlighted dozens of issues that could come up in 2015.

The list, which was compiled by OLR staff based on studies and conversations with legislative leaders and executive branch officials, among others, is not comprehensive. Nor does an issue's appearance in the report guarantee that it will be raised as a bill, much less win passage in both chambers of the General Assembly. Yet if history is any guide, the document may provide a road map for the session.

Ride-For-Hire Companies

No issue signifies the changing landscape of technology-driven public policy as much as the effort to regulate ride-for-hire companies.

"The confluence of market penetration ... and the pervasiveness of these services has really made this go from zero to 60 and it's made legislators sit up and take notice,'' said Douglas Shinkle, who tracks transportation and other issues for the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Both companies have recently launched their service in Connecticut, focusing primarily on Fairfield County and the New Haven area. That has sparked a lawsuit by the taxi industry.

Both companies operate on the principle of the sharing economy by offering a smartphone app that allows customers to purchase rides from noncommercial drivers. And both companies say their drivers undergo criminal background and driving record checks.

But recent allegations of sexual assaults by Uber drivers in India and Boston have raised questions about the thoroughness of the company's background checks.

Unlike traditional taxi services, ride-sharing companies are not regulated, leading some to question their safety. There are also concerns about liability should an accident occur, and the privacy of the user's data.

Colorado, California and the District of Columbia have already taken steps to regulate ride-sharing apps. Shinkle said he expects the issues will come up in at least 20 states in 2015.

Connecticut may well be among them. Rep. Tony Guerrera, co-chairman of the legislature's transportation committee, said he expects a discussion on the issue this year.

Guerrera said he recently used Uber while visiting his daughter in Boston. "I found the experience to be very good. They picked me up at the front door,'' he said. "But there are no regulations … the taxicab industry is seeing its market-share get sliced up and they're following all the rules and regulations, things that aren't required of Uber."

Educational Privacy

The growth of data-driven assessments in public schools has spawned new concerns over educational privacy.

Years ago, that information would be stored on paper in a filing cabinet at the school, Candelora noted. "Now, with digital media and the iCloud and servers that back up information, you don't know how that will be used,'' he said.

Candelora, R-North Branford, said he has received numerous calls from parents concerned about the prevalence of such data and its implications for students years later.

The Office of Legislative Research noted that state and federal laws allow a student's information to be given to private companies. "The legislature may consider proposals that seek to balance the need to ... protect personal information and ... use student information to improve schools,'' the report states. "Proposals may more clearly define who may access student information and how it can be used."

It isn't just educational data that has exploded in recent years. Candelora said he recently met with public safety officials in his district and learned that officers must now complete a 12-page report following a traffic accident, complete with the longitude and latitude of the crash. And the issue of police body cameras, brought to the forefront after the killing of Michael Brown by a police officer in Ferguson, Mo., also raises questions about government data collection.

Drones, Driverless Cars

Lawmakers began grappling with how to regulate drone technology during the 2014 session. A bill that would have required police to obtain a warrant before using an aerial drone for surveillance, except in an emergency, received a hearing but later died.

Earlier this month, the legislature's program investigation and review committee issued a report recommending new limits on drone use by law enforcement. It would require government drones to be registered but would also permit police to use the devices for a limited amount of time by meeting a lower standard than is typically required for a search warrant.

"In our minds, that provision would not survive a constitutional challenge,'' said David McGuire, a staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut.

Police say drones are the same as helicopters and airplanes and should be treated as such under the law. McGuire asserts that drones are far more affordable and nimble, with the ability to fly closer to homes and businesses.

McGuire called the report a "great starting point" for the discussion on drone use that will likely unfold in 2015. "We believe drones will be useful to law enforcement and we want to make sure there are sound regulations coming from the legislature to assure they are used responsibly and in accordance with the Constitution."

McGuire says he expects to see government-operated drones hovering in the sky very soon. Driverless cars are probably a bit further down the technology highway.

But the Office of Legislative Research recently completed a separate report on autonomous vehicles, suggesting policymakers will be grappling with the policy implications soon.

"Although AVs may seem futuristic, the reality is that the technology that makes it possible for vehicles to operate without a driver is very close to maturity and commercial introduction,'' the report states. "Every major automaker is engaged in research in this area, and AVs are predicted to be commercially available in five to 20 years. AVs will have a profound impact on society and will require policymakers to examine, modify and create laws to maximize benefits of this technology to society while minimizing its costs."

Cassano, a member of the program review committee, said drones can play an important role for police. "We unanimously agreed that for search and rescue and missing children … a drone would be extremely effective,'' he said. "I see the positives and I see the negatives … the loss of privacy being one."

©2014 The Hartford Courant (Hartford, Conn.)