What's happening
This bill establishes an automatic uninsured vehicle enforcement program using license plate reader technology to detect and enforce vehicle insurance violations.
Why it matters
Enables local law enforcement to use automated license plate reader (ALPR) technology. to detect uninsured vehicles, potentially increasing the likelihood that uninsured drivers will be identified and prosecuted, which could improve road safety and ensure compliance with insurance laws.
Strictly limits the use and sharing of collected ALPR data. to only enforcement of insurance violations, prohibiting the sale or unauthorized dissemination of this data, which addresses potential privacy concerns and seeks to prevent misuse of vehicle tracking information.
Requires regular reporting and evaluation of the program’s effectiveness,. mandating annual studies and reports to state leadership, which could drive future policy changes, transparency, and accountability regarding the impact and fairness of the enforcement program.
Establishes clear protocols for data retention and destruction,. ensuring that data collected from ALPRs is deleted when no longer needed as evidence, which helps balance the need for enforcement with individual privacy rights.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Catch Uninsured Cars Automatically
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to transportation
- Referred to transportation
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
6053
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
May 16, 2019
Introduced by Sen. KENNEDY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Transportation
AN ACT to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to establishing the automatic uninsured vehicle enforcement program
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. The vehicle and traffic law is amended by adding a new section 319-a to read as follows:
§ 319-a. Automatic uninsured vehicle enforcement program. 1. The commissioner shall establish a program to use technology and software to aid in detection of violations of section three hundred nineteen of this article. Such program shall empower a county, city, town or village to authorize local law enforcement agencies to install and operate automatic license plate reader systems on public highways within such county, city, town or village.
2. (a) Participating law enforcement agencies may use automatic license plate reader systems utilizing individual automatic license plate reader system units to access and collect data for the investigation, detection, analysis or enforcement of section three hundred nineteen of this article.
(b) To accomplish the purposes of the program, authorized local law enforcement agencies shall be allowed to access the database created pursuant to subdivision four of section three hundred thirteen of this article to establish compliance with section three hundred nineteen of this article.
(c) Access to the database pursuant to paragraph (b) of this subdivision shall be restricted to authorized law enforcement agency users in the program, provided, any entity with which a contract is executed to provide necessary technology, equipment and maintenance for purposes of the program shall be authorized, as necessary, to collaborate for required updates and maintenance of their software.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD10813-01-9
S. 6053 2
(d) Any data collected and stored by law enforcement pursuant to the program shall be considered evidence if noncompliance with section three hundred nineteen of this article is confirmed.
3. A law enforcement officer may verify by sworn affidavit that a photograph generated by an automatic license plate reader system unit identifies a particular vehicle operating on or having been operated on a public highway and that the database created pursuant to subdivision four of section three hundred thirteen of this article shows that the vehicle was uninsured at the time such vehicle was being operated. Such affidavit shall constitute probable cause for prosecution.
4. Data collected or retained through the use of an automated license plate reader system pursuant to the program shall be retained by a law enforcement agency when the data is being used as evidence of a violation of section three hundred nineteen of this article; provided, when such data is no longer needed as evidence of a violation, the data shall be deleted or destroyed.
5. (a) Data collected or retained through the use of an automated license plate reader system shall not be used by any individual or agency for purposes other than enforcement of section three hundred nineteen of this article or as otherwise permitted by law.
(b) No law enforcement agency or other entity authorized to operate under this program shall sell captured license plate data for any purpose or share it for any purpose not expressly authorized by this section.
(c) Any and all data collected, retained or shared through the use of an automated license plate reader system, except data retained as evidence of a violation of section three hundred nineteen of this article, shall be exempt from article six of the public officers law.
6. The commissioner, in cooperation with any county, city, town or village which has authorized the use of automatic license plate reader systems pursuant to this section, shall on or before January first of each year conduct a study and submit a report on the results of the automatic uninsured vehicle enforcement program to the governor, the temporary president of the senate and the speaker of the assembly. Such report shall include an evaluation of program operations and any recommendations for improvement of the program.
7. For the purposes of this section the term "automatic license plate reader system" means a system of one or more mobile or law-enforcementcontrolled cameras combined with computer algorithms to convert images of registration plates into computer-readable data.
8. The provisions of the program shall not apply to, or be construed or interpreted in a manner to prohibit the use of, any other automated license plate reader system by an individual or private legal entity for purposes not otherwise prohibited by law.
§ 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have become a law.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to establishing the automatic uninsured vehicle enforcement program
Purpose
To establish an automatic uninsured vehicle enforcement program
Summary of provisions
Section 1. Allows the Commissioner of the Department of Motor Vehicles to establish the automatic uninsured vehicle enforcement program. A county, city, town or village may authorize local law enforcement agen- cies to install and operate automatic license plate reader systems on public highways within such county.
Section 2. Sets the effective date
Justification
According to a recent study, an estimated 1 in 8 drivers in the U.S. did not have auto insurance. This puts insured drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists at risk.
This legislation will municipalities to authorize law enforcement agen- cies to install, operate, and utilize automatic license plate reader systems. Law enforcement may use the automatic license plate reader systems to access and collect data for the investigation, detection, analysis or enforcement of the operation of an uninsured vehicle.
Legislative history
New Bill
Fiscal implications
To be determined.
Effective date
This act shall take effect ninety days after becoming law.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.