A newly released bill would exempt data collected by automated license plate readers (ALPRs) from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
The ban, part of a larger General Law Committee (GL) bill on consumer privacy, also prohibits the Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) from sharing ALPR data in response to requests from immigration enforcement agents or from entering into a contract with any ALPR user unless the contract prohibits selling that information.
“Automated license plate reader information is confidential and shall not be deemed a public record for the purposes of the Freedom of Information Act.” the bill reads.
The bill also grants the attorney general’s office authority to “institute proceedings to enforce” the provision of the bill exempting ALPR data from FOIA.
The attorney general would also be able to bring action against anyone who violates the bill’s ban on the DMV and DOT sharing or transferring ALPR data if they believed it will be used for assisting in immigration enforcement activity; investigating “protected health care activity,” defined as seeking or providing gender-affirming healthcare services; or to identify or impose a civil or criminal liability against a person based on protected First Amendment activity.
Additionally, the bill would prohibit anyone other than the DOT or the DMV from accessing ALPR data unless doing is required as part of a signed judicial warrant or is “due to the existence of exigent circumstances.”
The bill defines exigent circumstances as unforeseeable circumstances that pose and “imminent threat to public health or safety” or that would lead a “reasonable person” to believe doing so is necessary to prevent physical harm. It also specifies that assisting in immigration enforcement activity is not an exigent circumstance.
CT Insider reported earlier this month that ALPR data collected by Flock Safety cameras in six Connecticut towns were searched thousands of times for immigration enforcement purposes. That data was obtained via records requests, which would likely no longer be obtainable should the bill pass as written.
Flock Safety, which has contracts with more than 5,000 police departments across the county, has previously denied that it shared information with directly Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
“Communities control federal data access. ICE does not have direct access to Flock cameras, systems, or data, unless the agencies that control their data expressly and deliberately allow it.” a statement released by the company in January claims.
Transparency Note: Inside Investigator has filed dozens of FOIA requests seeking information about the use of ALPR cameras in Connecticut communities. Reporter Katherine Revello is currently involved in a complaint against Manchester Police Department with the Freedom of Information Commission over its denial of access to ALPR data. MPD denies it can access the data because it is maintained by Flock.
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