Tenth Amendment Center: Rhode Island Bill Would Limit ALPR Use, Help Block National License Plate Tracking Program
...from Tenth Amendment Center PROVIDENCE , R.I. (Jan. 10, 2019) – A bill introduced in the Rhode Island House would prohibit “roadway surveillance,” including the use of automatic license plate readers (ALPRs) without a warrant in most situations. Passage into law would also place significant roadblocks in the way of a federal program using states to help track the location of millions of everyday people through pictures of their license plates. A coalition of four Democrats introduced House Bill 5042 ( H5042 ) on Jan. 9. The legislation would prohibit “roadway surveillance” and bar police from using ALPRs unless “undertaken by law enforcement in the investigation of a particular violation, misdemeanor, or felony pursuant to a warrant or court order based on probable cause.” H5402 defines “roadway surveillance” as: “The act of determining the ownership of a motor vehicle or the identity of a motor vehicle’s occupants on the public roadways of the stat...
