Bills Would Regulate License Plate Readers

By Kevin Lata

Capital News Service

RICHMOND – Police could retain for only a week the data they collect from license plate readers, under legislation proposed by a pair of Democratic and Republican lawmakers from Northern Virginia.

Sen. J. Chapman Petersen, D-Fairfax, and Delegate Rich Anderson, R-Prince William, introduced bills last week to put limits on the collection and retention of LPR data by police departments in Virginia.

Currently, Virginia has no limits. As a result, for example, the city of Alexandria keeps license plate data for up to two years, while the Virginia State Police delete their data within 24 hours, according to Petersen’s office.

Senate Bill 965 and House Bill 1673 would allow law enforcement agencies to keep LPR data for only seven days.

“We feel our legislation strikes a balance between personal liberty and public safety in Virginia,” Petersen said in a press release.

Anderson added, “I have the highest trust and respect for Virginia’s law enforcement professionals who ensure our safety, but the overwhelming sentiment of our citizens is that we restrict the collection, dissemination and retention of data that many feel violates our centuries-old principles of personal privacy.”

LPRs are high-speed cameras that are mounted on the trunks of law enforcement vehicles and record the license plate numbers of vehicles passing by. Law enforcement officers use LPRs in searches for stolen vehicles and vehicles involved in a crime and in kidnapping cases and other investigations.

However, the data collection lends itself to potential abuses, Rebecca Glenberg, legal director of the ACLU of Virginia, said on the organization’swebsite.

For instance, she said, police could use LPR data to track a particular vehicle on any given day or to monitor religious or political activity.

In 2013, the ACLU applauded then-Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli for his legal opinion that it was unlawful for police to retain data that wasn’t connected to an ongoing investigation. But attorney general opinions do not have the force of law, and police departments remained free to set their own policies on LPR data.

SB 965 has been assigned to the Senate Committee on General Laws and Technology. HB 1673 has been referred to the House Committee for Courts of Justice. On Twitter, Petersen said the legislation “may be one of the most significant bills for the 2015 session.” The General Assembly’s session startsWednesday.

Similar legislation was shelved during last year’s session, when lawmakers decided more research was necessary. Last fall, the General Assembly’s Benjamin Franklin Privacy Caucus, co-chaired by Petersen and Anderson, held hearings on the issue.

Photo: Delegate Rich Anderson, R-Prince William