Utah lawmakers have opened a bill file to create statewide guardrails for automated license plate readers, according to a September 17 report. The initiative arrives as debates regarding the use of these cameras in Salt Lake City continue to intensify.
The Legislature's Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Interim Committee recently reviewed current Utah law and how police utilize the technology. During the hearing, lawmakers focused on what private vendors are permitted to do with collected data.
Questions have been raised regarding whether agency contracts allow private vendors to use Utah data for artificial intelligence training. Rep. Carrie Ann Chevrier questioned what specific authorizations Utah agencies have granted in this regard.
Herriman Police Chief Cody Stromberg stated that Utah law enforcement supports an explicit restriction that would make Utah agencies the owners of Utah-generated data. This would prevent vendors or third parties from using the data outside of their specific contracts.
Automated license plate readers capture a vehicle's plate number, time, and location. Current Utah law limits searches of this information to instances involving active criminal investigations, stolen vehicles, or missing or endangered persons, and generally requires data to be deleted after nine months.
Sheriff Chad Jensen noted the technology's value, citing a case where plate-reader alerts helped track a suspect across several states leading to an arrest in Colorado within 12 hours.
Committee Chair Calvin Musselman stated that lawmakers are not considering a ban on the readers. He noted the bill file is intended to create clear rules for agencies while addressing privacy concerns.
In Salt Lake City, the council had been scheduled to discuss proposed local rules on Tuesday but rescheduled the item. Council Chair Alejandro Puy reported that individuals have visited homes to post signs opposing the cameras. Lawmakers expect the statewide proposal to return during the next legislative session.
