Case Explained: Bipartisan bill would limit Colorado law enforcement’s ability to access data from Flock cameras and other license plate readers – Legal Perspective

Colorado lawmakers are seeking to narrow law enforcement’s ability to access data on drivers whose information is captured by automatic license plate reading cameras. 

The effort comes amid a proliferation of license plate reading cameras on Colorado roads, including in mountain towns and along the Interstate 70 mountain corridor. These cameras, the products of technology companies like Flock Safety, are different from speed cameras and are used to compile a database on drivers that law enforcement agencies say has become a key tool for investigating and solving crimes. 

Local governments and private companies have contracted with companies like Flock to install cameras in communities across the state, creating a network of cameras with the ability to track drivers’ movements. 

License plate readers have sparked blowback, however, from residents and some local officials from the metro areas to the Western Slope who have raised concern over what they see as mass surveillance. Hundreds of Denver residents took to a town hall last fall to push back on the city’s contract with Flock. Earlier this month, Glenwood Springs city officials said they were blocking law enforcement from outside the city from accessing Flock data in response to privacy concerns raised by residents. 

Now, a bipartisan group of state lawmakers are proposing legislation, Senate Bill 70, that they say will put guardrails on who can access license reader data and when and how it can be used. 

“This is an area where we can come together,” Sen. Judy Amabile, D-Boulder, standing alongside Sen. Lynda Zamora Wilson, R-Colorado Springs, during a news conference Monday. Both are prime sponsors of SB 70. 

“We can say, ‘We support law enforcement — we want them to have access to this tool,” Amabile said. “But we also want people in Colorado to feel safe in their movements around their community and to not feel like we are having mass surveillance.” 

Under the bill, law enforcement and government officials would be prohibited from accessing information on an individual in most circumstances unless they have a valid warrant or the person’s consent. It would provide exceptions for parking and traffic enforcement. 

Additionally, the bill prevents officials from sharing data with out-of-state jurisdictions and requires agencies to keep a record of when they access a database, and limits how long agencies hold onto drivers’ data. 

Zamora Wilson said she has listened to feedback from stakeholders, mainly law enforcement, who have raised concerns that the bill could stymie their ability to fight crimes. She stressed that SB 70 is not about taking Flock or other license plate readers off the streets. 

“But we do want to put guardrails up,” Zamora Wilson said. “It’s this delicate balance of enabling our law enforcement to use this technology but also protecting citizens’ information.” 

In a written statement, the Colorado Association of Chiefs of Police said license plate readers and the database they collect are critical for helping solve missing persons cases, sexual assault and organized auto theft investigations, cases they say unfold over time.

“Senate Bill 70 slows investigations, fragments regional coordination and puts justice on a clock,” the police chiefs association said. 

The association raised several issues with the bill as originally introduced, including the provision requiring a warrant to access data, which the group said can take days or longer. The association also took issue with the bill’s data-sharing limitations, which they said would impede cross-jurisdictional operations. They added that state law already provides guardrails for how facial recognition and license plate readers are used. 

Colorado Democrats have passed legislation in recent years limiting data sharing for purposes like federal immigration enforcement and prosecuting out-of-state residents who seek an abortion of gender-affirming care in Colorado. 

Civil rights groups have raised concerns that license plate reading technology could be used by the Trump administration to target those groups and others. 

“Given that that is our political backdrop, it is imperative that we act now to keep our communities safe,” said Rep. Yara Zokaie, D-Fort Collins, who is sponsoring SB 70 in the House alongside Rep. Kenny Nguyen, D-Broomfield. 

Several progressive and civil rights groups, including immigrant advocacy organizations like the Western Slope-based Voces Unidas and the Colorado Organization for Latina Opportunity and Reproductive Rights, are supporting SB 70. 

Lawmakers approved several amendments to the bill during its first hearing Monday before the Senate Judiciary Committee, which were aimed at making the measure more palatable for law enforcement.

That included allowing license plate reader data to be stored for up to 30 days, up from five days in the original bill, and requiring a warrant for data that is older than 72 hours, up from 24 hours originally. The bill also now allows law enforcement to access data in emergency situations where getting a warrant may not be practical, and clarified that limitations on data-sharing only apply to out-of-state agencies, not between local jurisdictions. 

Other changes were made to address the bill’s projected fiscal impact. An analysis by the nonpartisan Legislative Council Staff estimated the bill could cost the state nearly $2 million next fiscal year, and nearly $1.5 million the year after. Amabile said the amendments to data-sharing between jurisdictions should help reduce the bill’s fiscal impact to the state. 

SB 70 passed on the Senate Judiciary Committee on a vote of 7-2. Rep. Sens. John Carson, R-Highlands Ranch, and Dylan Roberts, D-Frisco, both voted against the measure. 

Along with that bill, Zamora Wilson is also sponsoring another measure, Senate Bill 71, which would institute rules for how law enforcement uses broader surveillance technology. In addition to license plate readers, the bill targets face ID systems and drone cameras and requires law enforcement to only deploy that technology for issues like traffic enforcement, crime prevention and active investigations. 

SB 71 would also create limitations on data storage and information sharing, with exceptions for active investigations. The bill would require data from traffic cameras to be deleted after 30 days, with data from pole-mounted cameras and drones deleted after 90 days. Face ID data could not be kept for more than a week. 

It is awaiting its first committee hearing.