Connecticut HB 5449: AN ACT REQUIRING EXPANSION OF THE CRISIS INITIATIVE PILOT PROGRAM THROUGHOUT THE STATE.

Bill Text

LCO 1 of 11

General Assembly Substitute Bill No. 5449
February Session, 2026

AN ACT CONCERNING AUTOMATED LICENSE PLATE READER
SYSTEMS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:

Section 1. (NEW) (Effective from passage) (a) As used in this section and 1
sections 2 and 3 of this act: 2
(1) "Automated license plate reader system" means a mobile or fixed 3
electronic image recording device that is capable, in combination with 4
computer programs or algorithms, of converting images of license 5
plates or vehicle descriptors into computer-readable data; 6
(2) "Automated license plate reader data" includes any data captured, 7
recorded, stored, processed or derived from an automated license plate 8
reader system, including, but not limited to, license plate characters, 9
vehicle still or video images, vehicle attributes, location data, time 10
stamps and metadata; 11
(3) "Gender-affirming health care services" has the same meaning as 12
provided in section 52-571m of the general statutes; 13
(4) "Hotlist" means a list of registration numbers displayed on license 14
plates maintained for comparison against a registration number 15
obtained by an automated license plate reader system; 16

Substitute Bill No. 5449

LCO 2 of 11

(5) "Law enforcement agency" means a department or agency for 17
which a law enforcement officer is an employee of or otherwise paid by 18
or acting as an agent of, including, but not limited to, a municipal police 19
department or the Division of State Police within the Department of 20
Emergency Services and Public Protection; 21
(6) "Public agency" has the same meaning as provided in section 1-22
200 of the general statutes; and 23
(7) "Reproductive health care services" has the same meaning as 24
provided in section 52-571m of the general statutes. 25
(b) (1) On and after October 1, 2026, no public agency or law 26
enforcement agency may operate an automated license plate reader 27
system or use automated license plate reader data, except as follows: 28
(A) A public agency may operate an automated license plate reader 29
system or use automated license plate reader data for the following 30
purposes: (i) Performing weigh station duties; (ii) monitoring or 31
maintaining the agency's vehicles or equipment; (iii) assisting in the 32
control of access to a secured area; (iv) conducting traffic analytics; or 33
(v) enforcing traffic violations and collecting associated fines through 34
the use of work zone speed control systems, as defined in section 13a-35
261 of the general statutes, and automated traffic enforcement safety 36
devices, as defined in section 14-307b of the general statutes; and 37
(B) A law enforcement agency may operate an automated license 38
plate reader system or use automated license plate reader data for the 39
following purposes: (i) Comparing such data with (I) data contained in 40
a hotlist, (II) records of the Connecticut Online Law Enforcement 41
Communications Teleprocessing System, (III) data contained in the 42
Federal Bureau of Investigations Kidnapping and Missing Persons list, 43
(IV) data contained in the Connecticut Criminal Justice Information 44
System, (V) data contained in the Federal Terrorist Screening Database, 45
(VI) data contained in the National Crime Information Center database, 46
or (VII) data contained in the National Center for Missing and Exploited 47
Children database; or (ii) entering a license plate number into an 48

Substitute Bill No. 5449

LCO 3 of 11

automated license plate reader system upon a law enforcement officer's 49
determination that data in the system may (I) be relevant and material 50
to a specific active investigation of a criminal offense in which there is 51
reasonable suspicion that the offense has been or is being committed, 52
provided any access by an officer of automated license plate reader data 53
for such purpose shall result in a record of the factual basis for the access 54
and any associated case number for the complaint or incident that is 55
being investigated and is the basis for the access, (II) assist in the 56
apprehension of an individual with an outstanding felony warrant, (III) 57
assist in locating a missing or endangered individual, or (IV) assist in 58
the recovery of a stolen motor vehicle. 59
(2) Any automated license plate reader data collected or held by a 60
public agency or law enforcement agency shall not be retained for a 61
period in excess of thirty days, or for a shorter period when required 62
pursuant to the terms of a contract between a public agency or law 63
enforcement agency with a private vendor that accesses an automated 64
license plate reader system or stores such data, unless such data is being 65
retained (A) pursuant to a warrant or court order issued by a judge or 66
magistrate on behalf of the state or federal judicial branches, or pursuant 67
to court rules governing the preservation of evidence, (B) for the 68
purpose o