Prohibition on Federal Government use of automatic license plate readers

(a) In general Except as provided in subsections (b) and (c), the head of any Federal agency and any Federal official, in an official capacity, and any person acting on behalf of the Federal Government may not acquire, possess, access, or use in the United States— (1) an automatic license plate reader; or (2) captured plate data, including information collected in any database, derived from an automatic license plate reader operated by another entity. (b) Exception The prohibition under subsection (a) with respect to an automatic license plate reader and captured plate data shall not apply to an activity explicitly authorized by an Act of Congress that describes with particularity— (1) the entities permitted to use the automatic license plate reader or captured plate data, the specific type of automatic license plate reader or captured plate data authorized, the purposes for such use, and a prohibition on any uses not permitted; (2) standards for use and management of information derived from the automatic license plate reader or captured plate data, including sharing, access, audit trails, and data retention of no more than 48 hours; (3) auditing requirements to ensure the accuracy of automatic license plate reader or captured plate data technologies, standards for minimum accuracy rates, and compliance with this Act; (4) rigorous protections for due process, privacy, free speech and association, and racial, gender, and religious equity; and (5) mechanisms to compel compliance with the provisions of the Act. (c) Tolling (1) In general The prohibition under subsection (a) with respect to an automatic license plate reader and captured plate data shall not apply to an automatic license plate reader or captured plate data derived from an automatic license plate reader used solely to assess, bill, collect, audit, dispute, or enforce the payment of a toll. (2) Limitation on use Captured plate data collected by an automatic license plate reader to which paragraph (1) applies— (A) may be used only for the tolling purpose for which the captured plate data were collected; and (B) may not be— (i) compared against a law enforcement hot list; (ii) used for any civil or criminal law enforcement or intelligence purpose; (iii) use for the monitoring or reconstruction of the movement of any person; (iv) incorporated into, made searchable through, or stored in a law enforcement, commercial, or general-purpose automatic license plate reader database; or (v) sold, licensed, or used for advertising, product development, or any other unrelated commercial purpose. (3) Disclosure Captured plate data collected by an automatic license plate reader to which paragraph (1) applies may be disclosed only— (A) to a vehicle owner or person responsible for payment of a toll; (B) to a contractor performing a tolling function on behalf of a tolling operator and subject to the requirements of this subsection; (C) to another tolling operator to the extent reasonably necessary to process or collect the toll through an interoperable tolling system; (D) pursuant to a warrant issued upon a finding of probable cause that particularly describes a vehicle or license plate, the data sought, and the period covered; or (E) to a law enforcement agency if reasonably necessary to prevent an imminent danger of death or serious bodily injury if— (i) disclosure is documented and limited to the information necessary to address the emergency; and (ii) the requesting agency applies for and obtains a warrant described in subparagraph (D) within 14 days of requesting the data. (4) Retention and deletion With respect to captured plate data collected by an automatic license plate reader to which paragraph (1) applies— (A) not later than 48 hours after a successfully reconciled electronic toll payment has been completed relating to the captured plate data, the captured plate data shall be deleted; (B) if the captured plate data is reasonably necessary for pay-by-plate billing, collection of an unpaid toll, resolution of a disputed charge, or an administrative or judicial proceeding, the captured plate data may be retained until the matter is finally resolved and for not more than 30 days thereafter; (C) nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to prohibit the retention of a financial or accounting record required by law, provided that any plate image, precise location information, or other captured plate data not necessary for that purpose is removed; and (D) a contractor or other recipient of the captured plate data shall delete the data according to the same schedule that applies to the tolling operator. (5) Security and accountability A tolling operator and any contractor with access to captured plate data collected by an automatic license plate reader to which paragraph (1) applies shall— (A) maintain reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards against unauthorized access, use, or disclosure; (B) maintain an audit log identifying each access to or disclosure of captured plate data, the person making the access or disclosure, its date and purpose, and the legal authority supporting it; and (C) remain subject to the enforcement, auditing, reporting, and remedy provisions of this Act. (d) Judicial investigations and proceedings (1) Admissibility Except in a judicial investigation or proceeding alleging a violation of this section, information obtained in violation of this section shall not be admissible as evidence introduced by the Federal Government in any criminal, civil, administrative, or other investigation or proceeding. (2) Cause of action (A) In general A violation of this section shall constitute an injury to any individual aggrieved by a violation of this Act. (B) Right to sue An individual described in subparagraph (A) may institute proceedings against the Federal Government for an allegation of a violation of this section by a Federal agency or Federal official for the relief described in subparagraph (D) in any court of competent jurisdiction. (C) Enforcement by State attorneys general The chief law enforcement officer of a State, or any other State officer authorized by law to bring actions on behalf of the residents of a State, may bring a civil action, as parens patriae, on behalf of the residents of that State in an appropriate district court of the United States to enforce this Act, whenever the chief law enforcement officer or other State officer has reason to believe that the interests of the residents of the State have been or are being threatened or adversely affected by a violation of this Act. (D) Relief In a civil action brought under subparagraph (B) in which the plaintiff prevails, the court may award— (i) actual damages; (ii) punitive damages; (iii) reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs; and (iv) any other relief, including injunctive relief, that the court determines to be appropriate. (e) Civil penalties Any Federal official who is found to have violated this section may be subject to retraining, suspension, termination, or any other penalty, as determined in an appropriate tribunal, subject to applicable due process requirements. (f) Rules of construction Nothing in this section may be construed— (1) to prohibit the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology from testing or researching automatic license plate readers or other similar technologies in commercial use; or (2) to preempt or supersede any Federal, State, or local law that imposes a more stringent limitation than the limitations described in this section.