RÉSUMÉ DIGEST
SB 250 Vetoed 2015 Regular Session Johns
Proposed law would have created and provided relative to a program for using an automatic
license plate recognition system to identify uninsured motorists and stolen vehicles.
Would have provided that the automatic license plate recognition system may be used as
follows:
(1)If a law enforcement officer is able to determine that a motor vehicle is stolen or that
the owner of a motor vehicle lacks the compulsory insurance required by present law,
the determination constitutes probable cause to arrest the operator of the stolen motor
vehicle or to issue a citation to the owner of the motor vehicle for the compulsory
insurance violation.
(2)A law enforcement officer may verify by sworn affidavit that a photograph generated
by an automatic license plate reader system unit identifies a particular vehicle
operating on a public highway and that the database shows that the vehicle was
uninsured or stolen at the time such vehicle was being operated, which affidavit
constitutes probable cause for prosecution under any applicable present law.
Would have authorized the sheriff's office in each parish of the state, in cooperation with that
parish's district attorney's office to participate in the program by entering into an agreement
to participate with appropriate agencies and other entities in each jurisdiction.
Would have further provided that to implement the program, the use of technology and
software to aid in detection of offenses involving motor vehicle theft and uninsured motorists
is necessary and desirable, and participating law enforcement agencies in these parishes have
the authority to enter into contractual agreements with other entities.
Would have authorized the use of automatic license plate recognition systems, utilizing
individual automatic license plate reader system units, by participating law enforcement
agencies and other entities with which those law enforcement agencies contract to implement
and operate the program.
Would have provided that an authorized user may use an automated license plate recognition
system only for the official and legitimate purposes of the user's employer.
Would have provided the following definitions:
(1)"Active data" means data uploaded to an individual automatic license plate reader
system unit before operation, as well as data gathered during the operation of an
automated license plate reader system unit.
(2)"Authorized user" means an employee of the participating law enforcement agency
or an employee of the other entity authorized by that entity to use the system for a
legitimate purpose.
(3)"Automatic license plate recognition system" means a system of one or more mobile
or fixed high-speed cameras combined with computer algorithms to convert images
of registration plates into computer-readable data. This definition does not include
a traffic camera as referenced in R.S. 32:393(I).
(4)"Captured plate data" means the global positioning system coordinates, date and
time, photograph, license plate number, and any other data captured by or derived
from an automatic license plate recognition system, and includes both historical and
active data.
(5)"Historical data" means any data collected by an individual automatic license plate
reader system unit and stored in a database.
(6)"Law enforcement agency", except as provided elsewhere in proposed law, includes
a district attorney's office of any parish, the sheriff's office of any parish, the police department of any municipality, the attorney general's office, the Dept. of Public
Safety and Corrections, office of state police and office of motor vehicles, and the
Dept. of Wildlife and Fisheries.
(7)"Legitimate purpose" for law enforcement agencies means access to collected data
for the investigation, detection, analysis, or enforcement of the law regarding a
criminal offense.
(8)"Legitimate purpose" for the entities that are a party to an agreement or contract with
the participating law enforcement agencies includes the collection and storage of data
to assist the participating law enforcement agency in developing, utilizing, and
managing the pilot program.
(9)"Other entity" means an entity with which a participating law enforcement agency
contracts to implement and administer the pilot program.
(10)"Participating law enforcement agency" means the law enforcement agency operating
the pilot program in one of the pilot program parishes established by proposed law,
and is limited to the respective sheriff's offices and district attorney's offices in the
pilot program parishes.
(11)"Pilot program" or "program" means the State Motor Vehicle Theft and Uninsured
Motorists Identification Program.
Would have provided that a central database for the collection, storage, and dissemination
of data captured by an automatic license plate recognition system is to be established and
operated by the participating law enforcement agencies, which database must be located in
a secure area. Would have further provided that the central database must fully comply with
all National Law Enforcement Telecommunications System (Nlets) and FBI hosting and
security standards, and access to the database is to be restricted to authorized law
enforcement agency users and to entities with whom the law enforcement agencies contract
to establish and operate the program.
Would have provided that the Dept. of Public Safety and Corrections, public safety services,
shall allow access to the vehicle registration and compulsory motor vehicle insurance
databases to be used only in connection with the automatic license plate recognition system
established pursuant to proposed law.
Would have required the Dept. of Public Safety and Corrections, public safety services, to
allow access to the data from the databases in accordance with a memorandum of
understanding to be executed between the department, sheriffs, and district attorneys in the
state.
Would have provided that data collected or retained through the use of an automated license
plate recognition system may be retained by a law enforcement agency for not more than 60
days, except when the data is being used as evidence of a violation of the compulsory motor
vehicle insurance law or for felonies being investigated, including motor vehicle theft,
homicide, kidnapping, and burglary, or for the purpose of AMBER Alerts and Blue Alerts.
Would have provided that data collected or retained through the use of an automated license
plate recognition system cannot be used by any individual or agency for purposes other than
law enforcement.
Would have provided that no law enforcement agency or other entity authorized to operate
under this program may sell captured plate data for any purpose, or share it for any purpose
not expressly authorized by proposed law. Would have further provided that a participating
law enforcement agency may provide data to another law enforcement agency upon written
request when that agency is engaged in an ongoing investigation or prosecution of a felony.
Would have further provided that any and all data collected, retained, or shared through the
use of an automated license plate recognition system, except data retained as evidence of a
violation of compulsory motor vehicle insurance law or a felony shall be exempt from
disclosure under present law (Public Records Law). Would have provided that any person who violates any provision of proposed law relative
to use of automated license plate recognition system and use of data may be imprisoned for
up to six months, or fined up to $1,000, or both.
Would have specified that, except for the prohibition on use to enforce civil traffic citations,
proposed law applies only to law enforcement agencies, other entities, and authorized users
and shall not apply to or be construed or interpreted in a manner to prohibit the use of any
other automated license plate recognition system by an individual or private legal entity for
purposes not otherwise prohibited by law.
Would have become effective August 1, 2015.
(Would have amended R.S. 44:4.1(B)(19); added R.S. 32:46)
VETO MESSAGE: "Senate Bill No. 250 would authorize the use of automatic license plate
reader camera surveillance programs in various parishes throughout the state. The personal
information captured by these cameras, which includes a person's vehicle location, would be
retained in a central database and accessible to not only participating law enforcement
agencies but other specified private entities for a period of time regardless of whether or not
the system detects that a person is in violation of vehicle insurance requirements. Camera
programs such as these that make private information readily available beyond the scope of
law enforcement, pose a fundamental risk to personal privacy and create large pools of
information belonging to law abiding citizens that unfortunately can be extremely vulnerable
to theft or misuse.
For these reasons, I have vetoed Senate Bill No. 250 and hereby return it to the Senate."