Bill that would restrict license plate data sharing passes House, heads to governor's desk

SANTA FE — New Mexico drivers who have seen cameras appear atop traffic lights in recent years may soon have fewer reasons to worry about how the information those devices collect may be used by the authorities.

In a 42-22 vote Tuesday, the House passed a substitute version of Senate Bill 40, which would set limits on when law enforcement can share data from automated license plate readers (ALPRs) with outside agencies investigating immigration, abortion and gender-care cases.

The bill passed in the Senate last week and now heads to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham's desk for final consideration.

The penultimate legislative hurdle for SB 40 was marked by a final skirmish between the bill's Republican opposition, who disputed its ideological basis, and its sponsors, who couched it in a broader fight to protect privacy in an age of digital ubiquity and expanding federal authority. 

"I 100% agree that there are very important and useful purposes for license plate readers, no questions about it," said Rep. Christine Chandler, D-Los Alamos, who co-sponsored the bill and also chairs the House Judiciary Committee. "This bill is simply looking at a limited number of uses that are prohibited because of our interest in protecting certain values, and that includes access to health care, immigration, supporting immigration and constitutional rights."

Republican Reps. Stefani Lord of Sandia Park and John Block of Alamogordo characterized the bill as a naked attempt to challenge federal policy on immigration, abortion and gender-related care.

"This sounds to me like just another 'messaging bill' to try to trigger the federal government while using tens of thousands of dollars for New Mexicans," Block said, arguing that automated license plate readers obtained through federal funding might have to be replaced by new equipment if SB 40 becomes law.

Some Republicans who ultimately voted against the bill agreed with their Democratic counterparts that improved data protections for New Mexicans are worth legislative consideration.

"I appreciate the fact that we're trying to limit maybe the reach of Big Brother," said Rep. Rod Montoya, R-Farmington. "I'm a little concerned about the surveillance nation that we live in now."

Montoya also questioned whether New Mexico law enforcement would release license plate data to federal law enforcement or other state authorities investigating criminal cases.

In addition to license plate data, ALPRs can also collect time, data and GPS information that has proven useful when solving crimes, contributing to their proliferation across the U.S. in recent years, often with the backing of police agencies combatting staffing shortages.

"Maybe we have an underage girl that is being brought here by a sex trafficker for the purpose of getting an abortion," he posed. "In that instance, would law enforcement in New Mexico be able to work with them to make sure that they're catching that individual who is bringing a young girl over?"

Chandler responded that Montoya's hypothetical provided an example of "appropriate law enforcement activity" that would permit the release of automated license plate data if SB 40 were to become law.

As the debate continued, several legislators from both sides of the aisle complimented Chandler on her stamina after a marathon House session lasted late into Monday night and was immediately followed by a Judiciary Committee meeting that didn't wrap until nearly 2 a.m.

"You've been an absolute beast the last 48 hours," said Marianna Anaya, D-Albuquerque, a strong supporter of the bill, one of several policy proposals still in play this year as the 30-day session enters the homestretch.

Somos Acción, a Santa Fe-based nonprofit that advocates for immigrant protections, was strongly represented in the House gallery during debate Tuesday. The organization lauded SB 40's passage as "the culmination of years of advocacy from a broad coalition of civil rights, healthcare, and immigrant rights organizations."

Somos was also a strong supporter of House Bill 9, known as the Immigrant Safety Act, which the governor signed into law last week and is now the subject of an emergency economic relief bill meant to support communities with immigration detention centers expected to shut down as a result of the legislation.

Like SB 40, HB 9 has been seen by Republican lawmakers in the 30-day session as one of several partisan bills sponsored by the state's Democratic majority in response to actions by the Trump administration.

John Miller is the Albuquerque Journal’s northern New Mexico correspondent. He can be reached at jmiller@abqjournal.com.