(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa House has approved a bill to regulate cameras that capture and store images of license plates. The bill calls on the Iowa Department of Public Safety to identify which vendors may be used and it would require cities and counties to pass ordinances disclosing what company has been hired to collect license plate numbers and who is reviewing the data. Representative Megan Jones, a Republican from Sioux Rapids, says the images could only be stored in Iowa for 30 days if the bill becomes law.
“This is a really interesting piece of legislation where we are trying to walk that line between we’re making sure that we are giving law enforcement officers the tools they need to be successful,” Jones said “but also making sure that government isn’t over-collecting data in surveillance of Iowans.” Automated license plate readers in Iowa could NOT be used for facial recognition of drivers or passengers in vehicles if the bill becomes law. Representative David Young, a Republican from Van Meter, says it’s reasonable for Iowans to have questions about the technology and that’s why the bill sets up guardrails.
“We see these cameras popping up, these surveillance cameras and you ask yourself: ‘What’s the purpose?’ There’s no purpose immediately right then and there, just kind of tracking who’s where, not asking why” Young says, “not yet.” Republican Representative Zach Dieken of Granville — a state trooper who’s not seeking re-election — says legislators need to watch what he calls “the enforcement wing of the executive branch” like a hawk.
“My worry isn’t necessarily with the technology,” Dieken said. “…Someday there’s going to be something that comes up and these cameras are going to be used, and I’m going to be asked to track people doing things that should never be illegal.” Republican Representative Ryan Weldon of Ankeny says the bill falls short because it doesn’t directly address how the private companies that operate license plate readers store that data.
“The same information we’re restricting government from using can still be collected, aggregated and sold by private companies with zero oversight,” Weldon said. “A privacy bill that, in my opinion, doesn’t address private vendors isn’t a privacy bill. It is a half measure.” Other lawmakers say the bill gives the Iowa Department of Public Safety that kind of oversight, because the agency will decide which private companies can operate automated license plate readers in Iowa.
Representative J.D. Scholten, a Democrat from Sioux City, says the bill isn’t perfect, but it provides protections that aren’t in place now. “I think this is a challenging situation where we’re trying to balance law enforcement (and) letting them do their job with the fear of a surveillance state.”
The bill originated in the Senate, but the House made significant changes, so it goes back to the Senate for review.
