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Bill would add licensed private investigators to RMV data access rules, bar facial-recognition use
Summary
A bill filed Jan. 15, 2025, by Representative Rob Consalvo would amend Massachusetts statutes to include licensed private detectives and private investigators in a provision of chapter 90 that governs computer data and motor-vehicle-record policies, while adding explicit prohibitions on certain uses of that data and on access to the Registry of Motor Vehicles’ facial-recognition system.
A bill filed Jan. 15, 2025, by Representative Rob Consalvo would amend Massachusetts statutes to include licensed private detectives and private investigators in a provision of chapter 90 that governs computer data and motor-vehicle-record policies, while adding explicit prohibitions on certain uses of that data and on access to the Registry of Motor Vehicles’ facial-recognition system.
House No. 3640 would add the phrase “private detectives and private investigators as defined in section 22 of chapter 147 and licensed in accordance with section 25 of chapter 147” into Section 30A of chapter 90, and would add two numbered paragraphs to Section 30 of chapter 147 that bar specific conduct and set a revocation penalty for violations.
Under the proposed Section 30 additions, paragraph 12 would prohibit a licensee from using computer data or equipment under the control of the Registrar of Motor Vehicles “for any purpose inconsistent with (2) of section 22 of chapter 147.” Paragraph 13 would prohibit a licensee from accessing “the facial recognition system operated by the registry of motor vehicles.”
The bill also inserts language that states, after the term “both,” the following: "provided, the license of a licensee who violates paragraphs 12 and 13 shall be revoked." The filing therefore both expands where private investigators are mentioned in chapter 90 and adds disciplinary exposure in chapter 147 for specified misuse.
The transcript provided is the bill text filed with the House; it does not show committee referral, votes, public testimony or debate, nor does it include definitions of the specific uses covered by section 22(2) of chapter 147 beyond the cross-reference in the bill text. The bill text as filed does not specify implementation procedures or any changes to how the Registry would grant or log access.
Representative Rob Consalvo is listed as the filing sponsor in the bill cover. The document is titled "An Act relative to private detectives and private investigators," House No. 3640, filed Jan. 15, 2025, in the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court.
Further action — including committee referral, hearings, amendments or votes — is not recorded in the provided text.
