West Virginia lawmakers request public Flock Safety testimony Nov. 9

Four West Virginia House delegates have asked Flock Safety to send a representative to a planned public committee meeting on Nov. 9 and answer questions about the company’s automated license-plate reader services. The request, made in an Oct. 12 letter, follows a written response Flock sent lawmakers three days earlier.

The delegates requested an in-person appearance at 2 p.m. Eastern, according to West Virginia Watch. They asked Flock to confirm attendance by Oct. 19. WV News reported that lawmakers also requested the proposed witness’s name by Oct. 26. The delegates’ letter does not say whether the company confirmed attendance.

The request comes from West Virginia House delegates and concerns a planned meeting of a state legislative committee. It is a request for a public appearance, not a subpoena or an order requiring testimony. The letter creates no new operating requirements for Flock or its customers.

Questions followed months of correspondence i

The letter was signed by delegates Tristan Leavitt, Ryan Browning, Patrick Lucas and Chris Phillips, chair of the House Government Organization Committee. Earlier correspondence sought answers to 19 questions and data requests. Lawmakers set Oct. 9 as the deadline for Flock’s latest written response, and the company submitted its response by that date.

Leavitt said some requested information remained unanswered and that parts of Flock’s response repeated material from an earlier letter. That is the lawmakers’ assessment of the response. Their outstanding questions include how employees can access customer data, historical information about false positives from license-plate readers, and the identity of a non-U.S. vendor.

Those subjects are questions for the company, not findings that employees improperly accessed data, that the cameras produced erroneous matches, or that the vendor acted improperly. The delegates’ letter is described by West Virginia Public Broadcasting as eight pages.

In an Oct. 9 letter, Flock Chief Legal Officer Dan Haley said the company had not intended to request an off-the-record or closed-door meeting. He offered to meet with lawmakers, demonstrate the product and discuss data safeguards.

Flock also disputed suggestions that it had been insufficiently forthcoming. In a statement reported by WSAZ, the company said it had provided nearly two hours of public testimony and 18 pages of written responses, and remained willing to answer additional questions. The lawmakers’ and company’s statements describe their differing views of the responses; they do not establish that Flock’s answers were legally deficient.

Lawmakers have not adopted a new rule i

The inquiry is part of lawmakers’ information-gathering as they consider whether to pursue rules for automated license-plate readers. The reporting describes no consensus on regulation, and no legislation or regulation was adopted with the Oct. 12 request.

Leavitt said lawmakers might consider compulsory process if they later determine essential information remains unavailable. That possibility is separate from the current letter, which asks for voluntary testimony. The requested appearance is planned for Nov. 9; the letter itself does not compel Flock or a representative to attend.