SB 2215

This bill prohibits a government official from access ing a database that reveals historical location data except in any of the following scenarios:  The government official obtains a search warrant, not in the form of a subpoena, to access the database in pursuit of a felony investigation .  The defendant in a criminal case requests that the government preserve the defendant's historical location data, in which case the government must preserve the defendant's historical location data .  All individuals whose historical location data would be revealed give the government official informed and express consent for the government official to access their historical location data in a specific database .  The registered owner of a vehicle reports the vehicle lost or stolen, and gives the government official informed and express consent for the government official to access the vehicle's historical location data in a specific database .  Exigent circumstances exist at the time of access, including a call for emergency services or during an emergency situation that involves the risk of death or serious physical harm , that make it impractical to obtain a search warrant before the exigency expires .  The government official uses the historical location data solely for (i) toll collection and enforcement , (ii) traffic enforcement , (iii) parking enforcement , or (iv) information security as necessary to implement the requirements of this bill. MAINTENANCE OF HISTORICAL LOCATION DATA Except in the scenarios listed above, this bill prohibits a government official or governmental entity that collects historical location data from shar ing it outside of the official's or governmental entity's scope of employment or sell ing or convey ing such data to a private, non-governmental third party for any reason. Requirements This bill requires a governmental entity that collects historical location data to do all of the following:  Adopt and observe a written policy ensuring that the security and access provisions of this bill are followed .  Destroy all historical location data not less than two days and not more than seven days after the data is collected, except when a criminal defendant requests that their historical location data be preserved .  If permitted to maintain data for a lawful purpose, encrypt or otherwise render historical location data unreadable to an unauthorized accessor, using methodology or technology generally accepted in the field of information security .  Create and maintain a record for every instance in which historical location data is accessed. Such records must include (i) t he identity of the government official or entity seeking access , (ii) the purpose for which access was sought , (iii) the exception from the list above that permitted access and the specific factual basis for believing that the provision was satisfied , (iv) the identity and written approval of the supervisor permitting access , (v) a full description of the historical location data accessed , and (vi) the redaction of license plate numbers, facial images, or other personal information .  Require that a supervisor audit such records on a monthly basis to verify and evaluate (i) t hat all information required has been provided , (ii) that the specific purpose for which access was sought complies with this bill , (iii) that the scope of the historical location data accessed was appropriate , and (iv) whether any other factors suggest noncompliance with this bill.  Annually report on compliance with this bill to the judiciary committee of the senate and the committee of the house of representatives with jurisdiction over criminal justice. The report must summarize all records that the governmental entity created and maintained in the past year . Training This bill requires e ach government official whose duties include accessing a database that contains historical location data to undergo training on compliance with this bill . The training must not be created or administered by a private entity whose business involves collecting historical location data. VIOLATIONS If a governmental entity learns that a government official within that governmental entity has violated this bill , then this bill generally requires the governmental entity to suspend that government official's access to any database that contains historical location data for s even days upon a first violation , 30 days upon a second violation , and p ermanently upon a third violation. However, this bill does not preclude a government official or governmental entity from taking additional or more severe disci plinary actions when such official becomes aware of a violation of this bill . If the attorney general learns that a government official or governmental entity has violated this bill , then this bill authorizes the attorney general to bring a civil action for declaratory and injunctive relief to prevent ongoing or future violations. PROHIBITION ON LESS RESTRICTIVE LOCAL LAWS This bill prohibits a municipality, county, metropolitan government, or other political subdivision of this state from enact ing a law, ordinance, resolution, regulation, rule, or policy that permits a government official or governmental entity to access historical location data in a manner less restrictive than as provided in this bill. CAPTURED PLATE DATA Present law requires c aptured plate data from automatic license plate reader systems to be treated as confidential and are not open for inspection by members of the public. However, it is repealed effective July 1, 2026 . This bill removes such repeal and adds that h istorical location data, as defined in this bill, is confidential and not open to inspection by members of the public. This bill further provides that this paragraph does not limit public access to a governmental entity's annual compliance re port required by this bill. INADMISSIBLE AS EVIDENCE This bill provides that h istorical location data accessed in violation of t his bill is not admissible as evidence in a criminal or civil proceeding. "H istorical location data "" m eans a record that, when accessed, reveals an individual's or vehicle's location at specific points in time more than 24 hours prior to the date of access . However, such term d oes not include video or image recordings generated by cameras on or in government-owned buildings, or dashboard or body-worn cameras owned and operated by governmental entities, regardless of whether such cameras transmit, store, or back up recordings to a local or centralized storage system, so long as the recordings are not indexed, searchable, or analyzed by an individual, vehicle, biometric identifier, or another unique identifier for the purpose of tracking or reconstructing an individual's or vehicle's historical location data ."