Report 2019-118 Recommendation Responses
Report 2019-118: Automated License Plate Readers: To Better Protect Individuals' Privacy, Law Enforcement Must Increase Its Safeguards for the Data It Collects (Release Date: February 2020)
Recommendation for Legislative Action
To better protect individual's privacy and to help ensure that local law enforcement agencies structure their ALPR programs in a manner that supports accountability for proper database use, the Legislature should amend state law to specify how frequently ALPR system use must be audited and that the audits must include assessing user searches.
Description of Legislative Action
SB 210 (Wiener, 2021) would have required the ALPR operator or ALPR end-user, if they access or provide access to ALPR information, to conduct an annual audit to review ALPR end-user searches during the previous year to assess user searches, determine if all searches were in compliance with the usage and privacy policy, and, if the ALPR operator or ALPR end-user is a public agency and not an airport authority, confirm that all ALPR data that does not match hot list information has been routinely destroyed in 24 hours or less. This bill died in the Senate.
- Legislative Action Current As-of: February 2022
California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Legislation Proposed But Not Enacted
Description of Legislative Action
SB 210 (Wiener) would require an ALPR operator's security procedures and practices to include an annual audit to review ALPR end-user searches during the previous year and the destruction of all ALPR information that does not match information on a hot list within 24 hours. This bill would additionally require an ALPR operator that accesses or provides access to ALPR information to conduct an annual audit to review ALPR end-user searches during the previous year and to confirm that all ALPR information that does not match a hot list is routinely destroyed in 24 hours or less.
- Legislative Action Current As-of: February 2021
California State Auditor's Assessment of 1-Year Status: Legislation Introduced
Description of Legislative Action
SB 1143 would require ALPR operator security procedures and practices to include an annual audit to review ALPR end-user searches during the previous year and the destruction of all ALPR information retained for longer than two weeks. This bill also would require an ALPR operator that accesses or provides access to ALPR information to conduct an annual audit to review ALPR end-user searches during the previous year and to confirm that all ALPR information retained for longer than two weeks has been routinely destroyed.
- Legislative Action Current As-of: August 2020