HB 468: Automatic License Plate Reader Amendments - Utah

Amended 2/27/2025 12:02:680 → Substitute #1 · 6 edits

MODERATE

This bill amends Utah's automatic license plate reader (ALPR) laws to clarify definitions, establish stricter use restrictions for law enforcement and governmental entities, and create new reporting requirements. The changes aim to balance public safety needs with privacy protections by limiting how ALPR systems can be used and ensuring transparency through standardized reporting.

Scope change

The bill expands the scope by adding new subsections (41-6a-2003.1 through 41-6a-2003.5) that provide more detailed authorization frameworks for different types of entities using ALPR systems, while also removing the Senate sponsor name.

DEFINITION

Reorganized and renumbered definitions to clarify terms like 'active criminal investigation,' 'captured plate data,' and 'governmental entity' with more specific inclusions and exclusions.

ELIGIBILITY

Restructured authorized uses for law enforcement agencies and governmental entities, adding specific purposes like toll collection, secured area access, and supply chain efficiency analysis for certain entities.

REQUIREMENT

Added new reporting requirements mandating annual reports, internal audits, and standardized data submission to the State Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice starting in 2025-2026.

ENFORCEMENT

Clarified restrictions on using ALPR data for First Amendment activities or discrimination, and added requirements for written policies and special use permits for fixed cameras on state highways.

TIMELINE

Established specific effective dates (May 7, 2025) and reporting deadlines (March 1, 2026 for first annual report submission).

TECHNICAL

Removed Senate Sponsor name (Daniel McCay) and updated formatting/line numbers in the substitute version.

Amended Excerpts 2/27/2025 12:02:680 → Amended 2/27/2025 12:02:680 · 5 edits

MODERATE

This bill amends Utah's automatic license plate reader (ALPR) laws to update definitions, clarify which entities can use ALPR systems, and establish new reporting and data security requirements for both law enforcement and non-governmental entities.

Scope change

The bill expands the scope by explicitly including law enforcement agencies as governmental entities under ALPR regulations and adds new definitions for terms like 'aggregated captured plate data' and 'active criminal investigation'.

DEFINITION

Updated definitions to clarify what constitutes a governmental entity, including law enforcement agencies, and added new terms for data aggregation and active criminal investigations.

REQUIREMENT

Establishes new reporting requirements for both law enforcement agencies and other governmental entities regarding ALPR system use, including data security, retention, and sharing standards.

ELIGIBILITY

Modified eligibility criteria for when law enforcement can access data from non-governmental ALPR systems, requiring consent from the operating entity and reasonable suspicion of criminal activity.

ENFORCEMENT

Added provisions allowing law enforcement to access non-governmental ALPR data during exigent circumstances without meeting standard requirements.

TECHNICAL

Made technical changes to bill formatting and section numbering to align with legislative standards.

Introduced → Amended Excerpts 2/27/2025 12:02:680 · 7 edits

MODERATE

This bill amends Utah's Automatic License Plate Reader (ALPR) laws to clarify definitions, expand authorized uses for law enforcement and governmental entities, and establish new reporting and data retention requirements. The changes aim to balance privacy protections with law enforcement needs by specifying when ALPR systems can be used, how data must be handled, and what records must be kept.

Scope change

The bill expands the scope of authorized uses for ALPR systems, particularly for law enforcement agencies and governmental entities, while adding stricter requirements for obtaining data from non-governmental sources.

DEFINITION

Added new definitions for 'Operates' (meaning owning captured data) and renumbered existing definitions to clarify terms like 'Nongovernmental entity' and 'Parking enforcement entity'.

ELIGIBILITY

Modified eligibility for law enforcement to obtain data from non-governmental entities, requiring consent from the entity and reasonable suspicion that the data contains a vehicle of interest, except under exigent circumstances.

REQUIREMENT

Added new reporting requirements for law enforcement agencies to maintain logs of ALPR use, create annual reports, conduct internal audits, and submit findings to the State Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice.

Modified data retention rules, requiring captured plate data to be retained for at least 14 days pending court orders, then deleted or destroyed within 90 days unless preserved for ongoing criminal or civil investigations.

Added requirements for governmental entities to encrypt captured plate data, train employees on ALPR policies, and post public notices describing their use of the systems.

ENFORCEMENT

Modified penalties for violations, maintaining class B misdemeanor penalties for individuals and allowing disciplinary action for governmental entity employees who intentionally violate the law.

TIMELINE

Added effective date of May 7, 2025, and established reporting deadlines beginning July 1, 2025, with annual submissions due by March 1, 2026.

Substitute #1 → Substitute #2 · 6 edits

MODERATE

This bill substitutes a new version of HB 468 that updates the Senate sponsor name, adds formatting and visual elements to the document, and includes a partial view of the definitions section showing some text deletions and additions. The substantive policy content regarding automatic license plate reader requirements appears unchanged in the visible portions, with only minor formatting and sponsorship information modifications.

Scope change

No substantive scope change visible in the provided text; the bill still amends the same Utah Code sections and establishes the same requirements for automatic license plate reader systems.

TECHNICAL

Senate Sponsor name changed from 'LONG TITLE' to 'Daniel McCay'.

Added document header information including timestamp '02-24 11:06' and page numbers.

DEFINITION

Minor text changes in the 'Active criminal investigation' definition, replacing 'ana' with 'a' and 'documented' with 'established'.

Reordered definition numbering for 'Automatic license plate reader system' from (3) to (4) and 'Captured plate data' from (4) to (5).

Added bracketed deletions showing removed text from the 'Governmental entity' definition, indicating text was removed from the list of included entities.

Modified 'Hotlist' definition to specify it is maintained by the Federal Bureau of Investigation's National Crime Information Center.

Automatic License Plate Reader Amendments

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