Auto License Plate Reader Act
SB71 creates the “Automatic License Plate Reader Act” and sets statewide rules for how law enforcement agencies in New Mexico may use automatic license plate reader (ALPR) systems and the data they collect. The bill defines ALPR systems and license plate data broadly, including vehicle characteristics, images, GPS coordinates, and date/time information. It authorizes law enforcement to compare ALPR data against a range of state and federal databases for investigatory purposes, including motor vehicle records, criminal justice databases, missing persons systems, homeland security watchlists, and commercial vehicle compliance databases.
The bill also allows manual entry of license plate data when an officer determines a vehicle is unregistered, uninsured, stolen, linked to a felony warrant or missing person, involved in a felony, or tied to certain commercial vehicle or illegal parking violations. It establishes retention limits: data tied to an alert may be kept for one year, while data with no alert must generally be deleted after 14 days unless preserved for an ongoing investigation, a preservation request, or a probable cause warrant. The bill further requires agencies to adopt policies on retention, deletion, and security, and to report annually to the legislature on ALPR use, arrests, exculpatory uses, preservation requests, and privacy-related policy changes.
SB71 would add a new chapter of state law governing ALPR use by law enforcement agencies and would make license plate data confidential rather than public records under the Inspection of Public Records Act. It would impose operational limits on collection, retention, sharing, and vendor access, while also creating reporting and policy requirements for agencies that deploy the technology. The bill affects state and local law enforcement agencies, and potentially tribal police departments operating under agreement, by standardizing how ALPR data may be used in investigations and how long it may be kept.
Based on the bill text, the measure appears designed to balance law enforcement utility with privacy protections and data security. The inclusion of strict retention limits, confidentiality provisions, anti-discrimination language, and annual reporting suggests a generally cautious, oversight-oriented approach rather than unrestricted surveillance. No committee transcripts or votes were provided, so there is no recorded legislative debate or vote history to indicate broader support or opposition.
The main points of potential contention are privacy, surveillance, and data-sharing concerns versus law enforcement investigatory needs. Supporters would likely emphasize the bill’s limits on retention, confidentiality protections, and restrictions on third-party sharing as safeguards against misuse. Critics may focus on the breadth of data collected, the ability to compare plate data against multiple state and federal databases, and the potential for ALPR systems to be used in ways that implicate civil liberties or disproportionate targeting, even though the bill expressly prohibits intentional targeting based on protected characteristics.