Pennsylvania lawmakers advance bill to regulate Flock cameras

Lawmakers in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly on Monday to advance legislation that would limit how Flock cameras and automated license plate readers can be used in the state, in response to growing public concerns about the misuse of ALPRs. 

House Bill 2771, sponsored by Democratic state Rep. Jennifer O’Mara, passed the House on Monday with a bipartisan 190-13 vote. The legislation, if approved by the state Senate and signed into law by the governor, would prohibit ALPRs from being used for personal, political or commercial purposes, and would limit the use of ALPR systems to investigations involving outstanding arrest warrants for homicides and felonies, stolen vehicles, missing persons and traffic violations. 

O’Mara noted that while ALPRs have proven “very useful and very impactful” for law enforcement, highly publicized cases of law enforcement misusing ALPRs to stalk and surveil people require lawmakers to set guardrails. “It is our job as legislators to both respond to the need and the desires of our constituents to act to protect their privacy, and to respond to the ever-changing technology,” she said Monday on the House floor. 

Republican state Rep. Brenda Pugh noted that regulating ALPRs is a thorny issue for lawmakers and they will need to continue working on a legislative solution. “We need more work on this bill. We need to protect the rights of people, but we also need to protect public safety – and it’s going to be a very fine line to get that done,” she said. 

Ultimately, 13 lawmakers voted against the bill. One of those lawmakers, GOP state Rep. Timothy Bonner, said he understood the need to regulate the use of ALPRs and Flock cameras, but didn’t understand why the legislation wouldn’t allow ALPRs to be used to solve misdemeanor or juvenile cases. 

“House Bill 2771 brings some good parameters to the use of these cameras, and I support those parameters,” he said in remarks on the House floor. “But it goes too far, and it is illogical to say we can’t use them in cases of misdemeanors which involve serious crimes.”

The legislation passed by House lawmakers would prohibit ALPRs from being used to take frontal images of vehicles, and would also bar ALPR systems from being used to identify drivers, passengers and the interior contents of vehicles. 

Per the bill, those who are authorized to use ALPRs would be required to complete a training course approved by the Pennsylvania State Police and the Municipal Police Officers’ Education and Training Commission. 

Lawmakers in both chambers of the General Assembly have introduced a slate of bills seeking to regulate ALPRs as concerns have grown across the country over their potential for misuse. 

Following the House’s vote on the bill, the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania praised lawmakers for passing the bill in a bipartisan manner. 

“It’s refreshing to see a staunchly bipartisan effort to protect Pennsylvanians from this intrusive technology and we are eager to see this legislation get across the finish line,” Elizabeth Randol, the legislative director for the ACLU of Pennsylvania, said in a statement. 

“Privacy is not a Democratic or Republican issue; it is a constitutional value. Protecting our personal data and limiting surveillance are essential to safeguarding freedom, safety and equity,” she said. “All tools of surveillance must be carefully constrained to prevent misuse, abuse and overreach. We are happy to see state lawmakers taking meaningful steps to these ends.”

Having passed the House, HB 2771 now awaits consideration in the state Senate. Gov. Josh Shapiro previously expressed support for banning Flock cameras and ALPRs, telling The Center Square in August: “Flock cameras are not a tool that I support.”