BILL NUMBER: S7713
SPONSOR: KRUEGER
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the general business law, in relation to restricting the
use of automatic license plate reader information
 
PURPOSE:
To prevent automatic license plate reader users from selling, sharing,
allowing access, or transferring automatic license plate reader informa-
tion for purposes of investigating or enforcing a law that impedes the
right to choose or access reproductive health care services or any
lawful health care services.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1: Adds a new section 397-c to the General Business Law titled
"Policy for the use of automatic license plate reader systems."
Provides definitions of "automatic license plate reader system,"
"captured plate data," "automatic license plate reader systems," "auto-
matic license plate reader user," and "law enforcement agency."
Prohibits an automatic license plate reader (ALPR) user from selling,
sharing, allowing access to, or transferring ALPR information to any
state or local jurisdiction for purposes of investigating or enforcing a
law that impedes the right to choose or access reproductive health care
services or any lawful health care services.
Prohibits any ALPR user in New York, including any State law enforcement
agency that uses ALPR systems, from sharing ALPR information with any
out-of-state law enforcement agency without obtaining a written declara-
tion that the agency shall not use the ALPR information in a way that
impedes a person's right to choose or access reproductive health care
services or any lawful health care services. The State law enforcement
agency shall not share the ALPR information with the out-of-state law
enforcement agency without an executed written declaration of affirma-
tion.
Stipulates that ALPR information shall be held confidentially to the
fullest extent permitted by law.
Specifies that the provisions in section 397-c shall not apply to an
electronic toll collection system or associated transaction system or
any component thereof that is operated by a public authority for
purposes of imposing and collecting tolls on a roadway in the State.
Section 2: Establishes the effective date. This act shall take effect
on the thirtieth day after it shall have become a law.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
Automated license plate readers (ALPRs) are "high-speed, computer-cont-
rolled camera systems" that are generally placed on street poles,
streetlights, highway overpasses, mobile trailers, or police cars. ALPRs
are designed to capture driver information, including the license plate
number and the car they are driving, as well as the day, time, and
location. Photographs of the driver and passengers may also be taken.
ALPRs capture all license plate numbers that come into view.
Once collected, ALPR information may be utilized by the police for
investigations, as evidence, or for other law enforcement purposes. It
is also common practice for law enforcement agencies to share ALPR
information with other agencies, including out-of-state jurisdictions.'
Since the Dobbs decision, anti-abortion states have accelerated enacting
egregious abortion bans, forcing individuals to travel out of state to
obtain care. Many of these individuals are unable to afford the cost of
a plane or train ticket and must drive to receive the medical care they
need.
The situation has become even more dire as states are introducing
increasingly punitive civil and criminal penalties for abortion provid-
ers, helpers, and patients.
The Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (STOP) reported on the
pervasiveness of automated license plate surveillance in July 2023,
explaining how law enforcement can use ALPR data and other datasets to
identify car owners, which means that "ALPR data can substantiate the
accusation that a person is a healthcare traveler, their travel compan-
ion or healthcare provider."2
This legislation will help to protect abortion patients, abortion
providers, and individuals who help abortion patients access care in New
York by prohibiting ALPR users from selling, sharing, allowing access,
or transferring ALPR information for purposes of investigating or
enforcing a law that impedes the right to choose or access reproductive
health care services or any lawful health care services.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New bill
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
To be determined
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall have
become a law.
1 Data Driven: What Is ALPR? Electronic Frontier Foundation:
https://www.eff.org/pages/what-alpr
2 Roadblock to Care: Barriers to Out-of-State Travel for Abortion and
Gender Affirming Care, Surveillance Technology Oversight Project:
https://www.stopspying.org/roadblock-to-care _ftn31