NC moves to lock in highway license plate reader program permanently

North Carolina lawmakers advanced a bill Wednesday that would make permanent a statewide pilot program expanding the use of highway license-plate readers.

Supporters, including law enforcement groups, say the program has helped speed their ability to solve crimes across the state and locate missing people. 

Opponents raise privacy concerns, saying the measure expands government surveillance and increases opportunities for discrimination.

License-plate readers capture information on vehicles that pass a camera. Each scan records a vehicle's license plate along with the date, time and location.

The State Bureau of Investigation has run the program since 2023, after lawmakers authorized the pilot allowing license-plate readers on state-owned highways and roads.

The program is set to expire on July 1 unless extended. 

The effort, House Bill 206, would allow the program to continue permanently under SBI oversight.

The bill advanced out of a Senate judiciary committee and was assigned to the Senate Rules Committee. It would need approval from both legislative chambers to be considered by Gov. Josh Stein. 

The system has expanded during the pilot, with 32 law enforcement agencies participating. As of mid-March, about 140 cameras had been installed, and the system has recorded more than 150 million license plate scans. The pilot program lets law enforcement keep the footage for up to 90 days. In similar programs in other states, such as New Hampshire, the footage can only be stored for three minutes, unless tied to an active investigation. Civil liberties groups oppose the long-term tracking records of drivers’ movements. 

“What begins as a tool to find missing persons or recover stolen vehicles can gradually expand into broader intelligence gathering, informal information sharing, political monitoring, and other uses,” Liz Barber, an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina, told a Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday.