Pasco County commissioners directed staff to form a technology task force to study license plate readers, drones and surveillance tools before any new camera program moves forward.

The directive came at the Aug. 25 commission meeting, two weeks after a 2-2 split over renewing the county's contract with the Pasco County Sheriff's Office. Sheriff Chris Nocco terminated the agreement the next day, ordering roughly 60 cameras removed from county roads by Sept. 30.

As we reported Aug. 30, Nocco's decision followed Gov. Ron DeSantis calling the cameras "out of control." The task force adds a new layer: residents and experts will study the technology and hold a public workshop before commissioners consider any replacement program.

Commission Chairman Jack Mariano, who represents District 5, compared the approach to the county's data center moratorium. "I think taking our time on this and getting it right is critical," Mariano said at the Aug. 25 meeting.

The split became clear at the Aug. 11 meeting. Commissioner Lisa Yeager moved to renew the sheriff's contract immediately, switching vendors from Flock to Axon. Commissioner Kathryn Starkey backed her. Commissioners Mariano and Ron Oakley voted no. Commissioner Seth Weightman was absent, leaving the motion deadlocked 2-2.

When Mariano asked Yeager whether she had read the new contract, she said she had not, according to Tampa Bay Beacons reporting.

Mariano said at the Aug. 11 meeting that his concern was not with the sheriff's office itself but with how the data could spread. Undersheriff Chase Daniels told the board at the Aug. 11 meeting that the office purged data after 30 days, well short of the two-year maximum Florida law allows, and required a case number and written justification for every search.

Residents on both sides addressed the board on Aug. 25. William Lawless of New Port Richey, a 32-year law enforcement veteran in Pasco County, urged commissioners to keep the program, saying the cameras had helped solve homicides and locate missing children.

In a letter to the board, Nocco warned that losing the cameras would hurt the office's ability to solve crimes and locate missing and endangered people, including human trafficking victims.

Mariano responded with an open letter, reported by Tampa Bay 28, calling the termination a Fourth Amendment victory. He wrote that local government must oppose mass surveillance and called the spread of tracking data across private tech companies deeply concerning.

The sheriff's termination removes the roughly 60 county-road cameras, but about 110 license plate readers owned by HOAs, retail stores, gas stations and other private entities remain operational countywide. Those are outside the county agreement.

Meanwhile, the Florida Department of Transportation on Aug. 31 revoked all existing permits for license plate readers on state highway rights-of-way statewide. Local agencies have 30 days to remove those devices. The FDOT memo does not cover cameras on county or city roads, private property or mobile readers.

No timeline has been announced for the task force's first meeting or the public workshop.