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House OKs license-plate-reader limits and data-preservation mechanism
Summary
Third substitute Senate Bill 196, which sets retention periods for license-plate-reader data and allows preservation requests (including by criminal defendants), passed the House after the sponsor outlined changes expanding preservation options and recognizing contracted governmental uses.
Representative McKay presented third substitute Senate Bill 196 to the House floor, explaining the measure governs the use and retention of automated license-plate-reader (ALPR) data. The sponsor told members the third substitute makes two principal changes: it allows governmental entities that subrogate or contract use of ALPRs to be treated as governmental users, and it extends preservation options to criminal defendants so they may preserve data that could exonerate them.
Under the third substitute, governmental entities may retain ALPR data for up to nine months; nongovernmental private entities would be limited to 30 days. The bill also provides procedures to seek a preservation order for specific data beyond those timeframes.
Representative McKay asked for and received unanimous consent to replace the second substitute with the third; debate on the changes was limited and summations were waived. Members then voted to adopt the third substitute and to pass the bill on a roll-call vote of 56–14. The bill will be returned to the Senate for further consideration.
The sponsor emphasized the bill’s intent to balance investigative needs and privacy protections, and to allow defendants to preserve evidence when needed. The bill’s retention windows and preservation process are policy choices the floor considered central to protecting both privacy and criminal-process rights.
Next steps: SB 196 will be returned to the Senate for signature and any further action between the houses.
