Automated license plate reader data restrictions enhanced, data centralized in Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, and use of automated license plate readers by private entities regulated.

A bill for an act

relating to government data practices; enhancing restrictions on automated license

plate reader data; centralizing automated license plate reader data in the Bureau

of Criminal Apprehension; regulating the use of automated license plate readers

by private entities; amending Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 13.824, subdivisions

1, 2, 3, 7, by adding a subdivision; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota

Statutes, chapters 299C; 325M.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 13.824, subdivision 1, is amended to read:

Subdivision 1.

Definitions.

(a) For purposes of this section, the following terms have

the meanings given.

(b) "Automated license plate reader" means an electronic device mounted on a law

enforcement vehicle or positioned in a stationary location that is capable of recording data

on, or taking a photograph of, a vehicle or its license plate and comparing the collected data

and photographs to existing law enforcement databases for investigative purposes. Automated

license plate reader includes a device that is owned or operated by a person who is not a

government entity to the extent that data collected by the reader are shared with a law

enforcement agency. Automated license plate reader does not include a traffic safety camera

system.

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(c) "Law enforcement agency" means a law enforcement agency of the state or a political

subdivision.

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(c)
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(d)
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"Traffic safety camera system" has the meaning given in section
169.011,

subdivision
85a.

Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 13.824, is amended by adding a subdivision to

read:

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Subd. 1a.

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Bureau of Criminal Apprehension to act as central repository of data.

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All

data collected, created, or received by an automated license plate reader must be maintained

by the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension under section 299C.158. The bureau shall allow

a law enforcement agency to access the data consistent with this section.

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Sec. 3.

Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 13.824, subdivision 2, is amended to read:

Subd. 2.

Data collection; classification; use restrictions.

(a) Data collected by an

automated license plate reader must be limited to the following:

(1) license plate numbers;

(2) date, time, and location data on vehicles; and

(3) pictures of license plates, vehicles, and areas surrounding the vehicles.

Collection of any data not authorized by this paragraph is prohibited.

(b) All data collected by an automated license plate reader are private data on individuals

or nonpublic data unless the data are public under section
13.82, subdivision 2
, 3, or 6, or

are active criminal investigative data under section
13.82, subdivision 7
.

(c) Data collected by an automated license plate reader may only be matched with data

in the Minnesota license plate data file, provided that a law enforcement agency may use

additional sources of data for matching if the additional data relate to an active criminal

investigation.
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A central state repository of automated license plate reader data is prohibited

unless explicitly authorized by law.
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(d) Automated license plate readers must not be used to monitor or track an individual

who is the subject of an active criminal investigation unless authorized by a warrant, issued

upon probable cause, or exigent circumstances justify the use without obtaining a warrant.

Sec. 4.

Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 13.824, subdivision 3, is amended to read:

Subd. 3.

Destruction of data required.

(a) Notwithstanding section
138.17
, and except

as otherwise provided in this subdivision, data collected by an automated license plate reader

that are not related to an active criminal investigation must be destroyed no later than
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60

days
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48 hours
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from the
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date
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time
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of collection.

(b) Upon written request from an individual who is the subject of a pending criminal

charge or complaint, along with the case or complaint number and a statement that the data

may be used as exculpatory evidence, data otherwise subject to destruction under paragraph

(a) must be preserved by the law enforcement agency until the criminal charge or complaint

is resolved or dismissed.

(c) Upon written request from a program participant under chapter 5B, automated license

plate reader data related to the program participant must be destroyed at the time of collection

or upon receipt of the request, whichever occurs later, unless the data are active criminal

investigative data. The existence of a request submitted under this paragraph is private data

on individuals.

(d) Data that are inactive criminal investigative data are subject to destruction according

to the retention schedule for the data established under section
138.17
.

Sec. 5.

Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 13.824, subdivision 7, is amended to read:

Subd. 7.

Authorization to access data.

(a) A law enforcement agency must comply

with sections
13.05, subdivision 5
, and
13.055
in the operation of automated license plate

readers, and in maintaining automated license plate reader data.

(b) The responsible authority for a law enforcement agency must establish written

procedures to ensure that law enforcement personnel have access to the data only if authorized

in writing by the chief of police, sheriff, or head of the law enforcement agency, or their

designee, to obtain access to data collected by an automated license plate reader for a

legitimate, specified, and documented law enforcement purpose. Consistent with the

requirements of paragraph (c), each access must be based on a reasonable suspicion that

the data are pertinent to an active criminal investigation and must include a record of the

factual basis for the access and any associated case number, complaint, or incident that is

the basis for the access.

(c) The ability of authorized individuals to enter, update, or access automated license

plate reader data must be limited through the use of role-based access that corresponds to

the official duties or training level of the individual and the statutory authorization that

grants access for that purpose. All queries and responses, and all actions in which data are

entered, updated, accessed, shared, or disseminated, must be recorded in a data audit trail.

Data contained in the audit trail are public, to the extent that the data are not otherwise

classified by law.

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(d) Notwithstanding any other provision in this section, automated license plate reader

data may not be accessed, disseminated, or shared outside the state unless required by a

court order or judicial warrant. For purposes of this subdivision, "outside the state" includes

federal agencies, states other than Minnesota, private entities, and organizations operating

under agreement among the states or between one or more states and the federal government.

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Sec. 6.

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[299C.158] AUTOMATED LICENSE PLATE READER DATA

MANAGEMENT.

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(a) The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension shall administer and maintain all data collected,

created, or received by an automated license plate reader operated by a law enforcement

agency of the state or of a political subdivision. The bureau must store all automated license

plate reader data on a server located within the state.

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(b) Treatment of automated license plate reader data is governed by section 13.824.

Pursuant to section 13.05, subdivision 11, any contract or agreement entered into by the

bureau regarding the administration or management of automated license plate reader data

must comply with this section and section 13.824.

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Sec. 7.

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[325M.40] AUTOMATED LICENSE PLATE READERS.

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Subdivision 1.

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Definition.

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For purposes of this section, "automated license plate

recognition system" or "ALPR system" means a searchable computerized database resulting

from the operation of one or more mobile or fixed cameras combined with computer

algorithms to read and convert images of registration plates and the characters they contain

into computer-readable data.

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Subd. 2.

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Scope; government entities excluded.

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This section does not apply to a

government entity, as defined in section 13.02, subdivision 7a. The use of an ALPR system

by a government entity is governed by section 13.824.

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Subd. 3.

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Private use regulated.

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(a) A person collecting data for an ALPR system must

post a sign or number of signs sufficiently prominent to inform the driver of any vehicle

captured by the camera that the ALPR system is in use.

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(b) A person may not sell, transfer, share, or disseminate ALPR system data about an

individual or an individual's vehicle without the individual's affirmative consent, a court

order, or a judicial warrant.

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(c) Data collected by an ALPR system is personal data, as defined by section 325M.11,

and is subject to sections 325M.10 to 325M.21 as applicable.

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Sec. 8.
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TRANSFER OF AUTOMATED LICENSE PLATE READER DATA TO

THE BUREAU OF CRIMINAL APPREHENSION.
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No later than December 1, 2026, a law enforcement agency that uses an automated

license plate reader or automated license plate reader technology under Minnesota Statutes,

section 13.824, must transfer all automated license plate reader data maintained by the

agency to the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, unless the data is active or inactive criminal

investigative data under Minnesota Statutes, section 13.82, subdivision 7.

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Sec. 9.
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EFFECTIVE DATE.
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This act is effective the day following final enactment.

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