Committee deadlocks on bill limiting uses of automatic license plate readers, front-plate rule fails

The Idaho House Transportation and Defense Committee on Monday considered Senate Bill 1180, which would set permitted uses and privacy safeguards for automatic license plate readers and change the state's front license-plate requirement for vehicles that lack factory-mounted front brackets.

Supporters said the bill restricts government use of automatic license plate readers to specific law-enforcement functions and traffic analysis and adds training, audits and privacy protections; opponents said the proposal's change to front-plate rules would impair officers' ability to locate suspects and missing people. After debate, a motion to send the bill to the full House with a do-pass recommendation failed on a roll call tie, 8-8.

Senate Bill 1180 would define "agency" as a political subdivision of the state of Idaho and limit agencies' use of automatic license plate readers to law-enforcement purposes, traffic-flow analysis, investigations of felonies and misdemeanors, traffic-accident reconstruction and searches for missing or endangered persons. The bill also contains provisions intended to bar use for non-law-enforcement purposes, require privacy and data protections, mandate training, and require audits of agency use twice a year.

"Senate Bill 11 80 deals with automatic license plate readers…