AI Frontier Institute

An Act Concerning Automated License Plate Reader Systems.

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Connecticut Substitute Bill No. 5449 has not been enacted. It was reported out of the Judiciary Committee with a favorable substitute report and tabled for the House calendar. If enacted, it would restrict how public and law enforcement agencies use automated license plate reader (ALPR) systems and data. Section 1 would bar these agencies from operating ALPR systems or using ALPR data from October 1, 2026, with limited exceptions. Public agencies could use them for weigh stations, agency vehicle or equipment management, secured-area access, traffic analytics, and work zone speed and automated traffic enforcement. Law enforcement could use them to compare data against hotlists and specified state and federal databases, or to enter a plate number tied to a specific active criminal investigation, a felony warrant, a missing or endangered person, or a stolen vehicle. Data generally could not be kept longer than 30 days. Access after the first seven days would require a warrant. Retention would be allowed under a warrant or court order, for highway usage fees, or as evidence in an active criminal case with supervisory approval. Section 1(c) would prohibit using ALPR data to monitor people based on protected characteristics, to identify people engaged in First Amendment activity, to enforce immigration law, or to investigate or prosecute reproductive or gender-affirming health care. It would also bar collecting data near certain health facilities and immigrant-serving organizations, and it would restrict data sharing. Sharing would be limited to in-state agencies, certain agencies in New York, Rhode Island and Massachusetts that provide written declarations, other agencies with a probable cause warrant or a Terrorist Screening Database match, and vehicle owners seeking their own data. ALPR data would be exempt from Freedom of Information Act disclosure, while camera locations and redacted audit and access logs would be disclosable. Non-police public agencies would need a written usage and privacy policy by January 1, 2027. Vendor contracts could not allow data sale or sharing. They would have to bind vendors to the same rules, and vendors would be treated as agents and be liable for their own violations. Aggrieved individuals could sue for injunctive or declaratory relief, with possible recovery of court costs and attorney's fees for injunctive relief. Section 2 would require the Police Officer Standards and Training Council to adopt a model policy by December 1, 2026. Law enforcement agencies would have to adopt it by January 1, 2027. The Commissioner of Emergency Services and Public Protection would adopt binding regulations by January 1, 2028, and update them at least every five years starting in 2033. Section 3 would create standardized annual usage reporting to the UConn Institute for Municipal and Regional Policy and require public posting of reports. The Institute would submit consolidated annual reports with recommendations, beginning July 30, 2027.

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