Oregon lawmakers will likely consider restrictions on Automatic License Plate Reader technology next year.
Sen. Floyd Prozanski, D-Eugene, told KLCC he’s convened a workgroup that includes the ACLU, local anti-surveillance group Eyes Off Eugene, and law enforcement.
Eugene recently cut ties with Flock Safety, one of the most popular vendors, after it found out one of its cameras had been turned back on without its knowledge.
The cameras, often placed at major intersections and highway off-ramps, capture thousands of images a day of license plates, or characteristics of vehicles like color or model. It can also capture images of bikes.
All of that data is searchable with AI, and is stored in a database for 30 days. That data can allow local police, or anyone else who has access to the system, to map a person's movements over a period of weeks.
Prozanski said as more law enforcement agencies explore license plate cameras, ground rules are needed. The regulations also need to be broad enough to cover any company that enters the ALPR market.
"Part of this is ensuring that individual private rights are protected,” Prozanski said. “That's why I think putting some of these baselines and requirements and foundations together is really important in 2026 so we don't see a lot of contracts in the next 12 months before we come back into the 2027 session that could establish protocol that we are trying to prohibit or limit.”
California lawmakers attempted to regulate ALPR technology, but the state’s governor, Gavin Newsom, vetoed the legislation in October. Illinois has regulated ALPRs and its compliance audit uncovered uses of Flock’s technology that ran afoul of state law barring police resources being used to aid immigration enforcement.
Oregon lawmakers heard from law enforcement as well as concerned community members on this issue during an interim committee that Prozanski chaired last month.
The Oregon Association Chiefs of Police executive director told lawmakers at that time that Oregon police had been using the technology in a way that followed the state’s existing sanctuary laws.
Prozanski said Oregon’s regulations must align with the state’s existing shield and sanctuary laws, which also bar cooperation with immigration enforcement and protect access to gender affirming care and abortion. That means the restrictions will likely limit data sharing outside Oregon.
Springfield never turned its cameras on, but also had an inadvertent activation. Lane County never installed its cameras, but also ended its contract. Junction City and Veneta were both considering ALPR technology, according to the Register Guard. Veneta would have joined Lane County’s network and Junction City was looking at two vendors.
Prozanski said his goal is to allow police to track groups like the ring that was targeting Asian-American business owners in his district, without violating individual privacy rights.
"I think it's really important that we, as we do in many, many areas around the criminal justice system, find that that balance of what we believe is appropriate, and allowing for that to occur,” Prozanski said, “but ensuring that we have the safeguards and that we have the ability to hold people accountable."
Prozanski said next’s year’s short session may mean the new rules get folded into a broader package of legislation called an omnibus.
He said lawmakers could also use the session to consider consumer protection safeguards for ALPR technology in the private sector, as well as other ubiquitous surveillance tools like Ring cameras.
