Law-enforcement technologyCalifornia bill prohibiting use of license plate readers dies in state Senate

California senate kills bill to ban auto plate recognition systems // Source: lpreditor.com

MVTRAC said on Friday that it was successful in its effort to defeat California SB 1330, a legislation initiated to prohibit the use and storage of License Plate Recognition (LPR) data. MVTRAC says its executives flew to Sacramento on three occasions, testifying before the California State Senate committees and meeting with senators and committee members. MVTRAC says it was the only LPR company to file a formal opposition of record and testify before the Senate to defeat the bill.

Scott Jackson, CEO of MVTRAC, and Luke Smith, another MVTRAC executive, say that in the representations to state legislators, they had the support of law enforcement agencies and groups such as the International Chief’s of Police (IACP), Association for Los Angeles Police Deputy Sheriffs, California District Attorneys Association, California Narcotics Officers’ Association, California Police Chiefs Association, California State Sheriffs’ Association, Chief Probation Officers of California, U.S. DHS, as well as companies such as GEICO, Progressive Insurance, Allstate, State Farm, and more.

Jackson said: “At its core, LPR technology represents the use of video technology in a public forum, which is a fundamental right as dictated by the Constitution. A bill or law suggesting its prohibition or limitation essentially infringes on our freedoms and would have sparked a debate at the Supreme Court level at an inevitable point down the road.”

The bill’s sponsors, faced with growing pressure within and outside the Senate, decided not to bring the bill to the Senate floor.

California SB 1330 was officially terminated on 1 June 2012 on the floor.