As fears of unchecked surveillance using AI-assisted automated license plate readers (ALPRs) like Flock grow, state Sen. Michelle Hinchey has introduced legislation to create a regulatory framework around the technology and limit its use.

“ALPRs, and Flock cameras specifically, have sprung up all around our state without community input and in many cases without the public even knowing,” Hinchey (D-Saugerties) said Tuesday in a statement announcing the proposed legislation. “America is not a surveillance state, and while we want law enforcement to have every tool they can to keep us safe and protect our communities, people’s basic rights must be maintained in the process.”

Hinchey is the prime sponsor of Senate Bill S9890. The bill would create what Hinchey called a “comprehensive regulatory framework” around ALPR technology, including limits on its collection and use by police. Among its provisions is a prohibition on the sale of ALPR data to private companies and mandating that the data be deleted after 48 hours unless it is being used as evidence in a criminal case or retained pursuant to a warrant. While New York law enforcement agencies can continue to share ALPR data, out-of-state police agencies will need judicial authorization to access it.

The bill also restricts ALPR data usage by police and state agencies to specific authorized functions like criminal investigations or electronic toll collection. The proposed law also creates a private cause of action allowing citizens harmed by unlawful use of ALPR data to sue for damages and attorney fees. Hinchey’s bill also includes reporting requirements for state agencies that use ALPRs including online sharing of all ALPR locations and aggregate data on plates scanned. Other sections of Hinchey’s proposed legislation prohibit using ALPR data to build speculative databases that preserve the information for potential future use. It also requires all ALPR systems to have auditable data logs to track who is accessing the data.

“As ALPRs proliferate, too often over the objections of local residents, reports of bad actors using this technology to stalk and spy on innocent people – often crimes against women – are becoming more frequent,” Hinchey said. “This showcases the need to build meaningful privacy and transparency protections into our laws around ALPR technologies, while restricting the storage and sale of people’s personal data.”

The spread of ALPR technology has emerged as a rare bipartisan issue nationwide and more people become aware of its increasingly unavoidable presence and potential for abuse. Last month, Kingston Police Chief Egidio Tinti appeared before the Kingston Common Council’s Public Safety and General Government Committee to answer a detailed list of questions compiled by council Majority Leader Michele Hirsch regarding the department’s use of its ALPR system.

Tinti defended the department’s use of the technology, telling lawmakers that access to ALPR data was restricted to just four officers in the agency’s Traffic Safety and Detective divisions and that the system was routinely audited to detect unauthorized queries. Tinti added that concerns over data sharing and privacy led him to choose Motorola ALPRs over Flock. Tinti also told the committee that the department did not share ALPR information with police agencies outside of New York except for a handful of federal agencies that did not include Immigration and Customs Enforcement.