HB 920 — License plate readers; penalties.

SESSION INTRODUCEDHOUSE 24101949DSUBSTITUTE I24107451D HOUSEAMENDMENT IN THE NATURE OF A SUBSTITUTE (Proposed by the House Committee on Public Safety on February 9, 2024) (Patron Prior to Substitute––Delegate Shin) A BILL NO.to amend and reenact § 33.2-210 of the Code of Virginia and to amend the Code of Virginia by adding in Title 2.2 a chapter numbered 55.6, consisting of a section numbered 2.2-5517, relating to license plate reader systems;

920 Offered January 10, 2024 N Prefiled January 9, 2024 T A Badding in Title 2.2 a chapter numbered 55.6, consisting of a section numbered 2.2-5517, relaRing to license plate reader systems;

––––––––––1. O Patron––Shin D –––––––––– Referred to Committee on Public Safety U –––––––––– C Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

That § 33.2-210 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted and that the Code of Virginia is amended by adding in Title 2.2 a chapter numbered 55.6, consisting of a section numberedrginEanumbered 2.2-5517, as follows:

D CHAPTER 55.6.

H § 2.2-5517.

A.O "Data trust" means the secure digital storage of images and other data collected by a license plate reader that is held by the owner of the license plate reader or other responsible non-law enforcement entity that may only be accessed by a law-enforcement officer as provided in this section.

For"License plate reader" means a high-speed, computer-controlled camera system used to opticalSy scan license plates for the purposes ofauthorized pursuant to this section:section.

"License plate reader" meansdoes anot high-speed,refer computer-controlledto a camera system used tosolely opticallyfor scanrecording licenseinformation plates for thetraffic purposesviolation authorizedenforcemenE pursuantor totolB. this section.

readerAny thatstate is held by the owner of the license plate reader or otherlocal responsiblelaw-enforcement non-lawagency enforcemente entity that may onlyinstall, bemaintain, accessedand byoperate alicense law-enforcementplate officerreaders as providedauthorized inpursuant to this section.

BAny B.license plate readers placed in the right-of-way of highways under the jurisdiction of the Commonwealth Transportation Board or the Department of S Transportation shall comply with the regulations of the Board governing activities in the right-of-way as authorized pursuant to § 33.2-210.

AnyU stateC. or local law-enforcement agency may install, maintain, and operate license plat2 readers as authorized pursuant to this section.

AnyData licenseand plateinformation readerscollected placedby ina thelicense right-of-wayplate ofreader highwaysshall underbe thelimited jurisdictionexclusively ofto theBata Commonwealthand Transportationon Board or the Departmentvehicle's oflicense Transportationplate shalland comply(ii) with the regulationsdate ofand thetime Board governing activities in the right-of-waydata asand authorizedinformation pursuantwere tocollected. § 33.2-210.

C.

Data and information collected by a license plate reader shall be limited exclusively to data and on the vehicle's license plate and (ii) the date and time the data and information were collected.

The use of a license plate reader and access to a data trust is restricted to T law-enforcement agencies.

35I D.

License plate readers shall only be used to scan, detect, and identify license plate numbers for the 36: purpose of identifying:

/36 37purpose 1.of identifying a vehicle that is (i) associated with a wanted, missing, or endangered pTrson or 38 humE.

StolenThe vehicles;law-enforcement agency may enter into agreements with private vendors for the installation 39 and maintenance of license plate readers, including all related support services such as operations and 40 administration.

38Any 2.law-enforcement agency using a license plate reader shall enter into an agreement with such vendor or another responsible non-law-enforcement entity to operate and maintain a daEa trust.

Vehicles associated with missing or endangered persons for whom a SP-67, SP-183, or equivalent Sta3.

Vehicles involved in human trafficking as described in § 18.2-355;

4.

Vehicles involved in the killing of a police animal as described in § 18.2-144.1;

5.

Vehicles involved in suspected acts of terrorism as described in § 18.2-46.4;

6.

Vehicles involved in violent felonies as described in § 19.2-297.1;

and 7.

Vehicles involved in a violation of §§ 18.2-154, 18.2-279, 18.2-89, 18.2-90, 18.2-91, 18.2-93, and 18.2-423 through 18.2-423.2.

However, license plate readers shall not be used for (i) identifying vehicles involved in suspected violations of probation or parole for the offenses listed in this subsection or (ii) enforcement of speed limE.

The law-enforcement agency may enter into agreements with private vendors for the installation and maintenance of devices, including all related support services such as operations and administration.

Any law-enforcement agency using a license plate reader shall enter into an agreement with such vendor or another responsible non-law-enforcement entity to operate and maintain a data trust.

Only law-enforcement officers may access such data trust and such access shall be limited as provided in this section.

Upon application by an eligible law-enforcement officer for data and information related to a vehicle (i) involved in an investigation for an offense listed in subsection D or (ii) for which a search data and information related to such vehicle collected in the eight hours prior to such application, HB920 2 of 3 unless the search warrant or court order identifies a different search period.

In the affidavit or application for such warrant or court order, the law-enforcement officer shall (a) define the geographic area to be searched, (b) provide a description of the vehicle being searched for, and (c) identify the relevant period of time to be searched.

NotwithstandingAny thedata provisionsor ofinformation thiscaptured subsection,by accessa to license plate reader andin dataaccordance trustwith recordssubsection shallD may be authorizedaccessed onby a case-by-caselaw-enforcement basisofficer unrestricted for auditeight verificationhours purposes.from the time the data or inHormation was captured.

After eight hours from the time the data was captured by a license plate reader, 9he data trust shall release such data or information to a law-enforcement officer only pursuant to a se0rch warNotwithstanding the provisions of this subsection, access to license plate reader and data trust records shall be authorized on a case-by-case basis for audit verification purposes.

The officer must HB920H1 2 of 3 develop independent reasonable suspicion for the stop, which may include visually confirming the license plate number on the vehicle.