AI Frontier Institute

AUTO LICENSE PLATE RECOGNITION

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Illinois HB5151, introduced by Rep. Kelly M. Cassidy in the 104th General Assembly, creates the Automated License Plate Recognition System Act (Section 1). The bill establishes a comprehensive legal framework governing the use of automated license plate reader (ALPR) technology by law enforcement agencies and government entities in Illinois. Authorized uses (Section 10) are narrowly defined. Law enforcement may use ALPR data only to compare plates against Amber Alert, Silver Search, Endangered Missing Person Advisory, and FBI Kidnapping and Missing Persons lists; Secretary of State and Illinois State Police databases; and manually entered plates tied to missing persons, stolen vehicles, hit-and-run crashes, outstanding felony warrants, or forcible felonies. Government entities may use ALPR data for toll collection, parking enforcement, and access control to secured areas. Both law enforcement and government entities may use ALPR data to track vehicles of foreign entities suspected of unlawfully monitoring protesters, conducting immigration enforcement without a judicial order, or engaging in other specified unlawful conduct. Data retention (Section 15) defaults to deletion within three days, with exceptions for confirmed investigative hits, ongoing prosecutions, court-ordered preservation, or a valid criminal warrant based on probable cause. Prohibited uses (Section 20) include selling or purchasing captured plate data; sharing data with foreign entities without a warrant; using ALPR data to surveil individuals based on political views, race, religion, immigration status, or lawful healthcare activity; using ALPR data for immigration enforcement; combining ALPR data with facial recognition or biometric information; and contracting with vendors known to use the data for prohibited purposes. Restrictions on use (Section 25) require that new or updated vendor contracts prohibit default access to national ALPR databases, and that locally collected data may only be shared pursuant to strict conditions including in-state compliance, a valid case file, a criminal warrant, or a court disclosure order. Requirements for use (Section 30) mandate that agencies hold a public meeting with meaningful opportunity for comment before deploying ALPR systems, publish a detailed usage and privacy policy, maintain security safeguards including supervisory approval and audit processes, and log all access to captured plate data. Preservation and disclosure (Section 35) allows a 30-day preservation hold upon written request, with a court order required within five days; data must be destroyed within 24 hours if no court order is sought or is denied. Reporting (Section 45) requires annual public disclosure by all agencies by April 1 each year, with detailed data on ALPR use, vendor contracts, data sharing, arrests, convictions, and breaches. The Secretary of State must publish a statewide aggregated report by May 1 each year. Admissibility (Section 50) establishes that data gathered in violation of the Act is presumptively inadmissible, rebuttable only by a good-faith exception or recognized Fourth Amendment exclusionary rule exception. Privacy (Section 55) classifies captured plate data as non-public under the Freedom of Information Act, disclosable only to the registered vehicle owner or with the owner's written consent. Penalties (Section 60) include criminal charges for official misconduct, employment discipline up to termination, a three-month use prohibition for a first agency offense and six months for subsequent offenses, and automatic voiding of vendor contracts upon violation. A private right of action (Section 65) allows injured individuals to sue for liquidated damages of $1,000 for negligent violations or $5,000 for intentional or reckless violations per occurrence, plus attorney's fees and injunctive relief. Vendor violations may result in civil penalties of $10,000 per violation. The bill also amends Section 7 of the Freedom of Information Act (5 ILCS 140/7) to add captured plate data under the Automated License Plate Recognition System Act as an exempt category (paragraph vv).

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