SB 1013: Automated license plate recognition systems.

Official summary

Legislative Counsel’s Digest (official, as of the latest version). Written by nonpartisan legislative staff; reproduced verbatim.

Existing law prohibits a public agency, which includes the state, a city, a county, a city and county, or any agency or political subdivision of the state, a city, a county, or a city and county, including, but not limited to, a law enforcement agency, from selling, sharing, or transferring automated license plate recognition (ALPR) information, except to another public agency, and only as otherwise permitted by law. Existing law defines ALPR information as information or data collected through the use of an ALPR system.

This bill would provide that “public agency” does not include a transportation agency, a public transit operator, department of transportation, public works department, or campus transportation agency, as specified, a public agency or contracted parking operator when engaging in specified activities in a parking facility, a state agency operating specified parking facilities, or the State Air Resources Board. The bill would require a public agency that accesses or provides access to ALPR information to maintain a record of that access, as provided. The bill would, beginning January 1, 2027, require new, updated, renewed, extended, expansions of, or addendums of contractual agreements with ALPR vendors, manufacturers, or suppliers to mandate that no default access is provided to any national ALPR database and that an agency’s collected scans are by default not accessible to any other agency, except as specified, and would impose new requirements on sharing between California state law enforcement agencies.

This bill would authorize a law enforcement agency to use ALPR information only for purposes of locating vehicles or persons when either are reasonably suspected of being involved in the commission of a public offense or locating an individual who has been reported as missing to a law enforcement agency. The bill, as of January 1, 2028, would require a public agency to archive all ALPR information that has been held for more than 60 days within 14 days, unless that ALPR information is retained in the evidence file of an active investigation or criminal proceeding or matches information on an authorized hot list, as defined, and retain ALPR information that becomes part of an investigation or criminal proceeding in the evidence file as long as the evidence file is required to be held by state law or court order. The bill would prohibit a public agency from querying any archived information except pursuant to a warrant, as specified.

By imposing new requirements on public agencies, which include local agencies, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

Existing law defines an ALPR operator as a person that operates an ALPR system, which does not include a transportation agency. Existing law defines an ALPR end-user as a person that accesses or uses an ALPR system, which does not include, among other things, a transportation agency.

This bill would additionally exclude from the definitions of “ALPR operator” and “ALPR end-user” a public transit operator, department of transportation, public works department, campus transportation agency, or an airport or airport operator, as provided. The bill would also exclude from the definition of “ALPR operator” the Department of General Services and its operators when engaging in specified activities in a parking facility and would exclude from the definition of “ALPR end-user” a state agency operating specified parking facilities and the State Air Resources Board.

Sponsors

Sponsors by party (alphabetical): Democratic 2

“Support” is shown only as formal sponsorship recorded by the legislature. Roll-call votes are available on the official bill page.

Recent official actions

1. August 27, 2026Ordered to third reading.
2. August 27, 2026Read third time and amended.
3. August 27, 2026Joint Rule 61(b)(16) suspended. (Ayes 58. Noes 1. Page 6727.)
4. August 21, 2026Ordered to third reading.
5. August 21, 2026Read third time and amended.
6. August 21, 2026Assembly Rule 69(b)(1) suspended. (Ayes 55. Noes 17. Page 6296.)
7. August 18, 2026Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
8. August 17, 2026Read second time and amended. Ordered to second reading.
9. August 17, 2026From committee: Do pass as amended. (Ayes 11. Noes 3.) (August 13).
10. August 17, 2026Assembly Rule 63 suspended.
11. August 5, 2026August 5 set for first hearing. Placed on suspense file.
12. July 2, 2026From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 9. Noes 2.) (July 1). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.