New York lawmakers are weighing statewide restrictions on automated license plate readers, with a proposed 48-hour deletion requirement emerging as a central point of disagreement.
Law enforcement officials and civil liberties advocates testified Monday before the Assembly’s Consumer Affairs and Protection Committee about privacy, oversight and the use of searchable vehicle-location records.
The Assembly’s hearing notice identified automatic license plate reader systems as the subject of the Nov. 9 session.
The discussion has direct relevance to the Finger Lakes, where Auburn voted to terminate its Flock Safety contract in August and Ithaca voted to end its agreement in March.
One pending measure, Assembly bill A10808A, would generally require government-held plate data to be deleted within 48 hours, with exceptions including evidence-preservation obligations and court orders.
The bill also would restrict access to privately collected records and establish conditions for sharing information outside New York. It remains in committee.
At Monday’s hearing, speakers disagreed over how long routine records should remain available, the Times Union reported.
Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple argued that a short retention period could eliminate information before investigators receive useful tips. Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney suggested sealing older records while preserving court-authorized access for investigations.
Civil liberties advocates emphasized the risks of building extensive movement histories for people who are not suspected of crimes.
The hearing followed the arrest of an Albany County sheriff’s investigator accused of thousands of unauthorized searches involving a former girlfriend, according to the Times Union.
Other proposals discussed included stronger audits, public involvement in purchasing decisions and conditions attached to state technology grants.
Auburn’s cancellation resolution already called for local rules governing access, sharing, security, retention and oversight before another license plate reader agreement.
The state debate concerns whether those safeguards should remain largely local decisions or become enforceable requirements across New York.
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