HB 5151: Auto License Plate Recognition Act

More than 5,000 communities across the country – including hundreds here in Illinois – are using automatic license plate readers (ALPRs) to monitor cars moving throughout their community. ALPRs scan and store license plate data from thousands of cars each day in our state, allowing police and other government agencies to track people when they drive and wherever they go.

As we have learned over the past few months, federal agencies and out-of-state law enforcement officers can – and have – accessed ALPR data collected in Illinois to target immigrants, people seeking reproductive or gender-affirming care, and anyone else the government decides is a threat.

Currently there are no statewide standards for ALPRS and no regulations about the use of the data captured by the array of cameras in place across Illinois.

HB 5151– the ALPR Act – fixes this problem by creating statewide, common sense standards and regulations for when and how law enforcement agencies and government entities can use ALPRs.

The ALPR law sets standards for:

• When ALPRs can be used
• How long ALPR data can be retained
• Who can access ALPR data
• Minimizing warrantless surveillance
• Increasing transparency
• Vendor, law enforcement and government accountability

Many community groups across Illinois are working to cancel contracts with ALPR companies and remove them from their town or city. As those efforts continue, the ALPR law provides some basic safeguards and transparency around the use of this powerful surveillance tool.