The governor’s pen recently halted an Inland Empire state senator’s attempt to rein in how police use data from automated license plate readers.
Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday, Oct. 1, vetoed SB 274, which was sponsored by state Sen. Sabrina Cervantes, D-Riverside. The bill would have required public agencies to delete most license plate data after 60 days and tighten rules on how law enforcement can use that data.
“I appreciate the author’s intent to prevent information regarding a person’s whereabouts from falling into the wrong hands,” Newsom wrote in his veto message. “Nevertheless, this measure does not strike the delicate balance between protecting individual privacy and ensuring public safety.”
Cervantes’ office did not respond to a request for comment.
SB 274, which passed the Assembly 41-29 and the Senate 28-6 in September, also is cited in a claim for damages Cervantes filed with the city of Sacramento stemming from her May DUI citation after a traffic accident near the Capitol.
The Sacramento County district attorney’s office declined to charge Cervantes after a blood test showed Cervantes was sober at the time of the crash. In her claim, Cervantes alleged her sponsorship of SB 274 factored into the decision to cite her.
Citing pending litigation, Sacramento police declined to comment.
License plate readers can be mounted on poles above roadways and used by officers via their cruisers or handheld devices. They scan passing vehicles’ license plates, with that data stored electronically and used in criminal investigations — pinpointing a suspect’s comings and goings, for example.
Cervantes, who represents parts of Riverside County, sought tighter controls on license plate data to protect the public.
“In a climate where the current federal administration is pursuing mass deportations of U.S. citizens and undocumented individuals alike, (the readers are) a powerful surveillance technology that can invade the privacy of all individuals and violate the rights of entire communities,” she said in an Assembly report on SB 274.
“ … When considered in bulk, (the) data can form an intimate picture of a driver’s activities and even deter First Amendment-protected activities. This kind of targeted tracking threatens to chill fundamental freedoms of speech.”
There also have been allegations of police misusing license plate data. In a recent lawsuit, a Riverside County woman accused a former county sheriff’s deputy of using her license plate and other personal information to stalk her.
The California Public Defenders Association and Surveillance Technology Oversight Project supported SB 274. Opponents included the California Police Chiefs Association and police unions across the state.
Activities using license plate readers are “highly audited and regulated by existing law,” the Assembly report quoted the police chiefs association as saying.
“ … Law enforcement agencies across the state and nation have used (license plate) data to solve crimes and apprehend criminal suspects, and continue to do so today. While some cases are solved quickly using this technology, it can also be exceptionally helpful in solving crimes that have occurred deeper in the past,” the association added.
Cervantes’ bill would have required managers’ approval and other safeguards to use data from license plate readers. It also would have required more training on data security and privacy and authorized the state to randomly audit public agencies that use license plate readers to ensure they’re following the law.
SB 274 would have allowed police to keep license plate data from vehicles on a “hot list,” including databases of stolen vehicles. Another carve-out would have allowed public agencies to keep data related to collecting tolls.