Today the Judiciary Committee introduced a bill to regulate the use of automated license plate reader systems and safeguard data derived from such systems.
H.B. No. 5449, An Act Concerning Automated License Plate Reader Systems, would dictate how public agencies and law enforcement could operate automated license plate reader systems or use the data from such systems.
Data collected by these systems cannot be retained for more than seven days unless there’s a warrant or a court order, or if the data is for the purpose of collecting highway usage fees.
The bill describes a number of restrictions for usage of data collected by automated license plate reader systems.
No public agency or law enforcement agency operating a system may use the data for:
- Monitoring or investigating an individual based on an individual’s actual or perceived race, ethnicity, criminal history, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, sex, pregnancy status, disability, citizenship, nationality or income level;
- Identifying individuals engaged in activities protected under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution;
- Investigating a suspected immigration violation or otherwise assisting in any civil or criminal immigration enforcement activity;
- Investigating or prosecuting any individual who has sought, received, or provided reproductive health care services or gender-affirming health care services;
- Collecting data on the premises of or nearby a reproductive or sexual health facility, facilities that provide gender-affirming care services or a nonprofit or community organization that primarily serves immigrants (which presumably includes illegals), excluding any property under federal jurisdiction;
- Sharing with other individuals or entities, except under certain circumstances;
- Participating in any multistate, intrastate, or national data-sharing system or network, except under certain conditions; or
- Permitting a public agency to have real-time, bulk or automatic access, except in specific cases.
The bill also says automated license plate reader data “shall not be disclosable under the Freedom of Information Act pursuant to chapter 14 of the general statutes” though it will disclose locations of any still or video image recording device used as part of an automated license plate reader system and other data derived from audits of the system, usage logs, etc., so long as all automated license plate reader data has been redacted.
There would also be limits on contracts or agreements with private vendors that might interact with automated license plate reader systems and data to restrict them from selling, sharing, transferring, disseminating or otherwise providing access to the data, except as authorized in the bill.
Agencies could be sued for failing to follow HB 5449.
Hellbound and Down 