BY WESLEY P. HESTER

Using an electronic tracking device to monitor the movements of others could soon be illegal in Virginia.

A bill to criminalize use of increasingly accessible tracking devices, coming soon to a big box store near you, was granted preliminary approval today by the House of Delegates on a voice vote.

House Bill 807, sponsored by Del. Joe T. May, R-Loudoun, would make it a Class 3 misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of up to $500, to use such devices “through intentionally deceptive means and without consent” to keep track of someone’s whereabouts.

There are exceptions built in for law enforcement officers, parents of teenagers, owners of fleet vehicles and those caring for incapacitated adults.

Del. Scott A. Surovell, D-Fairfax, argued against the bill claiming that it should also include an exception for individuals keeping track of their own car, no matter who’s driving it.

Surovell, who employs an au pair, said last week that he sometimes wonder where she takes the family vehicle and should have the right to monitor its whereabouts.

“There’s parts of this bill I like,” he said, but added: “I have a right to know where my car is.”