STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
9890--A
IN SENATE
April 13, 2026
___________
Introduced by Sens. HINCHEY, MAYER -- read twice and ordered printed,
and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Consumer
Protection -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as
amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the general business law and the public authorities law,
in relation to automatic license plate reader systems
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The general business law is amended by adding a new section
2 397-c to read as follows:
3 § 397-c. Automatic license plate reader systems. 1. Definitions. As
4 used in this section, the following terms shall have the following mean-
5 ings:
6 (a) "Automatic license plate reader system" or "ALPR system" shall
7 mean a system, software, or computer algorithm, whether used independ-
8 ently or in combination with one or more mobile or fixed automated
9 cameras, used to convert images of license plates into computer-readable
10 data.
11 (b) "Captured plate data" shall mean the location, including but not
12 limited to GPS coordinates, date and time, photograph, license plate
13 number, and any other data captured by, derived from, or inferred from
14 an automatic license plate reader system, including but not limited to a
15 vehicle's make, model, color, bumper stickers, roof racks, and other
16 characteristics or features.
17 (c) "Government entity" shall mean the state of New York or any
18 department, agency, instrumentality, or political subdivision thereof,
19 or any person, agent, entity, or contractor acting for, on behalf of, or
20 pursuant to a contract therewith.
21 (d) "Hot list" shall mean a database of license plate numbers and
22 other identifying information regarding vehicles that law enforcement
23 reasonably believes are related to an ongoing criminal or missing
24 persons investigation and that (i) was created and maintained by a
25 federal or New York state government agency, (ii) operates in a manner
26 that is fully consistent with the provisions of this act, and (iii) is
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD15364-02-6
S. 9890--A 2
1 updated frequently enough to ensure the information contained therein is
2 accurate, relevant, timely, and complete.
3 (e) "Privately captured plate data" shall mean captured plate data
4 from an automatic license plate reader system that is not used or oper-
5 ated by, on behalf of, or pursuant to a contract with a government enti-
6 ty.
7 (f) "Secured area" shall mean an area, enclosed by clear boundaries,
8 to which access is limited and not open to the public, and entry is
9 obtainable only through specific access-control points.
10 2. Restrictions on use. (a) Except as provided for in paragraph (b) of
11 this subdivision, it shall be unlawful for any government entity to
12 operate or use an automatic license plate reader system or captured
13 plate data.
14 (b) An automatic license plate reader system and captured plate data
15 may only be used by a government entity for the following purposes:
16 (i) For the comparison of captured plate data with (1) hot list data
17 or (2) specific vehicle plate or other vehicle identifying information
18 manually entered into the ALPR system to determine if a vehicle scanned
19 by an ALPR system is relevant and material to an investigation of a
20 vehicle that:
21 (A) is registered to an individual for whom there is an outstanding
22 felony arrest warrant;
23 (B) is unregistered or uninsured;
24 (C) contains a missing person or evidence of the location of a missing
25 person;
26 (D) is stolen; or
27 (E) is currently being used in the commission of a felony, or escape
28 thereafter;
29 (ii) to enforce restrictions on the use of parking facilities;
30 (iii) to control access to secured areas;
31 (iv) for electronic toll collection; or
32 (v) to enforce the vehicle and traffic law.
33 3. Data transfer. (a) No government entity shall sell, share, lease,
34 allow or provide access to, or transfer captured plate data with any
35 person or entity other than a New York state government entity, except:
36 (i) if required by a federal judicial probable cause warrant or other
37 valid federal judicial court order; or
38 (ii) if required by a judicial probable cause warrant from another
39 state, but only if the warrant or court order involves:
40 (1) an investigation listed in subparagraph (i) of paragraph (b) of
41 subdivision two of this section; and
42 (2) the investigation or prosecution of an act that is a felony under
43 New York state law.
44 (iii) to criminal defense counsel in a matter to which the captured
45 plate data pertains;
46 (iv) in discovery in a civil or criminal case; or
47 (v) pursuant to a freedom of information law request under article six
48 of the public officers law, subject to the limitations in subdivision
49 five of this section.
50 (b) A government entity may purchase, obtain, receive, or use private-
51 ly captured plate data only pursuant to a probable cause warrant.
52 4. Data retention. (a) Captured plate data obtained by a government
53 entity shall be deleted no later than forty-eight hours after being
54 obtained.
55 (b) Notwithstanding paragraph (a) of this subdivision, lawfully
56 captured plate data shall be retained for longer than forty-eight hours:
S. 9890--A 3
1 (i) where required under applicable state law governing the use, pres-
2 ervation, and disclosure of evidence. Captured plate data retained for
3 more than forty-eight hours pursuant to this subparagraph shall be
4 deleted as soon as practicable once its preservation is no longer
5 permitted or required under the applicable state laws governing the use
6 and preservation of evidence;
7 (ii) where the captured plate data is captured pursuant to paragraph
8 (b) of subdivision two of this section, such data may be retained until
9 the fine or fee is paid or the enforcement matter is fully and finally
10 adjudicated;
11 (iii) if requested by criminal defense counsel in the matter to which
12 the captured plate data pertains;
13 (iv) if required pursuant to a federal judicial warrant or other valid
14 court order; or
15 (v) if required pursuant to a judicial warrant or other valid court
16 order issued from another state, but only if the warrant or court order
17 involves:
18 (1) an investigation listed in subparagraph (i) of paragraph (b) of
19 subdivision two of this section; and
20 (2) the investigation or prosecution of an act that is unlawful under
21 the laws of New York state.
22 5. Freedom of information law exemption. (a) Captured plate data shall
23 not be considered a public record for the purposes of a freedom of
24 information law request under article six of the public officers law.
25 (b) Notwithstanding paragraph (a) of this subdivision, the following
26 shall be considered a public record for the purposes of a freedom of
27 information law request under article six of the public officers law:
28 (i) an ALPR system's audit, use, and access logs and data; however, in
29 responding to a valid request, any individual license plate information
30 or other vehicle-specific identifying information, such as vehicle
31 photographs and information regarding a vehicle's make, model, or color,
32 shall be redacted from the responsive documents and data; and
33 (ii) data and information regarding a vehicle personally owned or
34 leased by a freedom of information law requestor during the period of
35 ownership or lease. A request for such information shall include a sworn
36 statement that the requester is the owner or lessor of the vehicle, and
37 that the requester is not subject to an outstanding order of protection
38 involving any other owners, lessors, or drivers of the vehicle.
39 (c) For purposes of subparagraph (ii) of paragraph (b) of this subdi-
40 vision, the terms "requestor", "owner", "lessor", and "driver" shall
41 only refer to human persons, and not any business, corporate, or other
42 non-human entities.
43 6. Reporting. (a) Any government entity that operates or uses automat-
44 ic license plate reader systems shall:
45 (i) conspicuously post on its website an annual report on the govern-
46 ment entity's automatic license plate reader practices and usage. The
47 report shall include, at a minimum:
48 (1) the number and locations of all cameras used in connection with
49 any automatic license plate reader systems operated or used by, on
50 behalf of, or pursuant to a contract with the government entity;
51 (2) the number of license plates scanned by each camera;
52 (3) the name of each hot list against which captured plate data were
53 checked, and who maintains each hot list;
54 (4) the number of instances in which captured plate data was deter-
55 mined to match a hot list;
S. 9890--A 4
1 (5) the number of instances in which captured plate data was deter-
2 mined to have matched a hot list but upon further investigation, the
3 captured plate data did not match the hot list;
4 (6) the number of instances in which captured plate data was deter-
5 mined to have matched a hot list and there was a subsequent arrest or
6 prosecution, other than those counted pursuant to clause five of this
7 subparagraph;
8 (7) the number of instances in which captured plate data was retained
9 for more than forty-eight hours pursuant to paragraph (b) of subdivision
10 four of this section, broken down by the reason for which the data was
11 retained for a longer time period; and
12 (8) all existing policies related to the use of ALPR systems or
13 captured plate data, and any changes in policy that affect privacy
14 concerns.
15 (ii) maintain a record of every time in the past three years that any
16 captured plate data was queried or accessed. The record shall include:
17 (1) the name of the entity and individual seeking access;
18 (2) the date and time that the query or access occurred;
19 (3) the purpose for which access was sought, with any specific license
20 plate numbers or individuals' identifying information redacted;
21 (4) the scope of the query, including temporal and geographical limi-
22 tations, but excluding any captured plate data;
23 (5) the number of records accessed; and
24 (6) the number of distinct license plates that appear in the records
25 accessed.
26 (b) Nothing in this provision shall authorize the maintenance of
27 captured plate data itself beyond the limits set forth in this section.
28 7. Exclusionary rule. (a) No captured plate data and no evidence
29 derived therefrom may be introduced in evidence by a government entity
30 in any trial, hearing, or other proceeding in or before any court, grand
31 jury, department, officer, agency, regulatory body, legislative commit-
32 tee, or other authority of the state of New York, or a political subdi-
33 vision thereof, if the disclosure of that information would be in
34 violation of this section or if such captured plate data was obtained,
35 used, sold, shared, accessed, or transferred in violation of this
36 section.
37 (b) The prohibition on receiving evidence in paragraph (a) of this
38 subdivision shall not apply to captured plate data or evidence derived
39 therefrom that is introduced by the defendant in a criminal case and is
40 otherwise admissible under the laws of this state.
41 8. Penalties. (a) Any person who violates the provisions of this
42 section shall be subject to legal action for damages, to be brought by
43 any other person claiming that a violation of this section has injured
44 their business, their person, or their reputation. A person so injured
45 shall be entitled to actual damages, including mental pain and suffering
46 endured by such person on account of violation of the provisions of this
47 act, or liquidated damages of one thousand dollars, and a reasonable
48 attorney's fee and other costs of litigation.
49 (b) If the attorney general learns that a government official or enti-
50 ty has violated any provision of this section, the attorney general
51 shall be empowered to bring a civil action for declaratory and injunc-
52 tive relief to prevent any ongoing or future violations.
53 (c) Nothing in this subdivision shall preclude a government official
54 or entity from taking additional disciplinary actions when it learns of
55 violations of the provisions of this section.
S. 9890--A 5
1 9. Local laws. Nothing in this section shall prohibit a county, city,
2 town, or village from enacting local laws which are more restrictive of
3 ALPR systems, including rules governing their use and temporary or
4 permanent prohibitions on such use.
5 § 2. Subdivision 14 of section 2985 of the public authorities law, as
6 added by chapter 379 of the laws of 1992, is amended to read as follows:
7 14. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, all photographs,
8 microphotographs, [videotape] video footage, captured plate data as
9 defined in paragraph (b) of subdivision one of section three hundred
10 ninety-seven-c of the general business law, or other recorded images
11 prepared pursuant to this section shall be for the exclusive use of a
12 public authority in the discharge of its duties under this section and
13 shall not be open to the public nor be used in any court in any action
14 or proceeding pending therein unless such action or proceeding relates
15 to the imposition of or indemnification for liability pursuant to this
16 section. The public authority shall not sell, distribute or make avail-
17 able in any way, the names and addresses of electronic toll collection
18 system account holders, without such account holders' consent to any
19 entity that will use such information for any commercial purpose
20 provided that the foregoing restriction shall not be deemed to preclude
21 the exchange of such information between any entities with jurisdiction
22 over and or operating a toll highway bridge and/or tunnel facility.
23 § 3. Severability clause. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivi-
24 sion, section or part of this act shall be adjudged by any court of
25 competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgment shall not affect,
26 impair, or invalidate the remainder thereof, but shall be confined in
27 its operation to the clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section
28 or part thereof directly involved in the controversy in which such judg-
29 ment shall have been rendered. It is hereby declared to be the intent of
30 the legislature that this act would have been enacted even if such
31 invalid provisions had not been included herein.
32 § 4. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall
33 have become a law, provided, however, with respect to captured plate
34 data collected prior to the effective date of this act, subdivision 5 of
35 section 397-c of the general business law, as added by section one of
36 this act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have
37 become law.
