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Committee preserves license‑plate‑reader authority after police say technology aids urgent investigations
Summary
The committee voted OTP and placed HB1059 on consent to prevent the sunsetting of a statute authorizing law-enforcement use of license-plate readers; state police told the committee the devices aid alerts and investigations while the statute limits retention of non-hit data.
Representative Buzz Sher sponsored House Bill 1059 to prevent automatic repeal of RSA 261:75‑b, the statute authorizing law enforcement to use license-plate‑reader (LPR) devices under retention limits. The statute was set to sunset Jan. 1, 2027, and the bill would retain the existing framework.
Major Brendan Davy, command of the operations bureau for the New Hampshire State Police, described how LPRs operate: cameras with optical character-recognition compare read plates to ‘hot files’ such as Amber Alerts or wanted-vehicle lists and notify officers of hits. He said retention limits in the statute balance constitutional privacy concerns with law-enforcement utility; non-hit data are retained only for a statutory period unless tied to an arrest, citation, protective custody or a missing-person investigation.
Committee members had technical and policy questions about device operation and costs; the Department of Safety supports the bill to avoid losing the tool. In executive session the committee moved OTP (ought to pass) and placed HB1059 on consent by voice vote; the transcript records members voting "I" with none opposed.
