SB 1111

Senate Engrossed
automatic
  license plate readers
(now: license
  plate readers; privacy; violations)
State of Arizona
Senate
Fifty-seventh Legislature
Second Regular Session
2026
SENATE BILL 1111
AN
ACT
Amending title 28, chapter 3, Arizona
Revised Statutes, by adding article 23; relating to automated license plate
readers.
(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:
Section 1. Title 28, chapter 3, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended by adding article 23, to read:
ARTICLE
23. AUTOMATED LICENSE PLATE READERS
START_STATUTE28-1241. Definitions
IN THIS ARTICLE, UNLESS THE CONTEXT OTHERWISE
REQUIRES:
1. "AUTOMATED LICENSE PLATE
READER" MEANS A TECHNOLOGY THAT PROVIDES STATIONARY or mobile AUTOMATED
DETECTION OF LICENSE PLATES AND THAT CAPTURES DATA ASSOCIATED WITH LICENSE
PLATES FOR OFFICIAL LAW ENFORCEMENT PURPOSES.
2. "OFFICIAL LAW ENFORCEMENT
PURPOSES" includes THE IDENTIFICATION OF STOLEN OR WANTED VEHICLES, STOLEN
LICENSE PLATES, HUMAN TRAFFICKING AND MISSING PERSONS, the GATHERING OF
INFORMATION RELATED TO ACTIVE WARRANTS, SUSPECT INTERDICTION AND STOLEN
PROPERTY RECOVERY. END_STATUTE
START_STATUTE28-1242. Automated license plate readers; allowable uses; training;
authorized access
A. A law enforcement agency shall use
an automated license plate reader only for the following purposes:
1. Legitimate and official law
enforcement purposes.
2. In conjunction with any patrol
operation or criminal law enforcement investigation.
3. canvassing license plates around
any crime scene.
4. checking Any partial license plate
number reported during a major crime to identify persons of interest.
B. If practicable, a law enforcement
officer shall verify an automated license plate reader response through an
authorized central law enforcement database that is accessible to law
enforcement officers in this state before taking enforcement action based only
on an alert from an automated license plate reader.
C. an employee of a law enforcement
agency may not operate an automated license plate reader until the employee
successfully completes law enforcement agency-approved training for the
automated license plate reader.
D. an operator of an automated
license plate reader may not access data from an authorized central law
enforcement database that is accessible to law enforcement officers in this
state or a national law enforcement database unless the operator is authorized
to access the data.
E. notwithstanding
section 28-1243, subsection D, data from an automated license plate
reader may be accessed by law enforcement agencies only
if a trackable criminal case number or a trackable INCIDENT number is provided
for the data being accessed.END_STATUTE
START_STATUTE28-1243. Automated license plate readers; data and image collection;
requirements; violation; classification
A. All
data and images collected by an automated license plate reader are for official
use by the law enforcement agency that collected the data and
images. this section does not prohibit the law
enforcement agency from allowing a vendor to process de-identified or
redacted derivatives of data or images collected by an automated license plate
reader pursuant to a written AGREEMENT if the vendor uses the data or images
only to operate, secure, test or improve the automated license plate reader
system.
B. Any data or images collected by
automated license plate readers are not subject to a public records request,
except a law enforcement agency shall share any data or images collected by an
automated license plate reader pursuant to a duly authorized subpoena or any
other law.
C. A law enforcement agency that
operates an automated license plate reader is responsible for ensuring proper
collection and retention of the data and images collected.
D. A person may not access an image
of a license PLATE or any other accompanying data that is captured by an
automatic license plate reader more than forty-eight hours after
notification to law enforcement of an INCIDENT or AN occurrence OF A crime
unless a judge has issued a search warrant or a city ATTORNEY, a county
ATTORNEY or the ATTORNEY general issues a subpoena for the image or data,
except a search warrant or subpoena is not required for any of the following
circumstances:
1. If the owner of a vehicle gives
voluntary consent authorizing the operator of an automatic license plate reader
to access data or images of the owner's vehicle.
2. If the owner of a vehicle files a
report with a law enforcement agency attesting that the vehicle is lost or
stolen.
3. If exigent circumstances make it
impractical to obtain a search warrant or subpoena before the exigent
circumstances no longer exist.
4. If searching for evidence related
to an amber alert.
5. If searching for evidence related
to an alert issued pursuant to section 41-1726, 41-1728 or 41-1728.01.
6. If searching for evidence related
to a violation of section 13-1307, 13-1308 or 13-3212.
E. A law enforcement agency that uses
an automated license plate reader shall:
1. Ensure all automated license plate
reader data is accessible only through a password-protected system
capable of documenting all access information by the name of the person who
accessed the data and the date and time of access.
2. Ensure any person who is approved
to access automated license plate reader data and images pursuant to this
article is allowed to access the data and images only for official law
enforcement purposes.
3. Release automated license plate
reader data and images to other authorized and verified law enforcement
officials and agencies for official law enforcement purposes only if the date
and time of access to, the reason for access to and the name of the agency that
accessed the automated license plate reader data and images are documented in
the system, unless the law enforcement agency's policies prohibit the release
of license plate reader data and images.
4. Perform annual system audits of
the law enforcement agency's automated license plate reader system.END_STATUTE
START_STATUTE28-1244. Violations; classification
A person who wilfully and intentionally queries,
accesses, uses, sells, shares or disseminates an image of a license plate or
any captured data from an automated license plate reader in violation of this
article is guilty of a class 6 felony, except that a third-party vendor
is not liable under this section for disclosing automated license plate reader
data or images pursuant to a duly authorized subpoena, warrant or court order. END_STATUTE