A new Oregon law regulates police use of license plate readers. Here's how it works

Oregonians will soon be able to sue private companies that sell or otherwise improperly use data captured by license plate-reading cameras under a new state law.

Senate Bill 1516, signed into law by Gov. Tina Kotek on March 31, went into effect immediately due to an emergency clause lawmakers tucked into the legislation. The 16-page law was part of a public safety omnibus package that received bipartisan support, but it stood out for its restrictions placed on the use of automated license plate reading software and the street cameras it employs. Law enforcement agencies have used that technology to dismantle criminal networks, but their use has drawn increased scrutiny amid increased federal immigration enforcement.

“We have the possibility of multiple law enforcement agencies in the state entering into contracts that may not have those private protections of data,” Sen. Floyd Prozanski, a Eugene Democrat who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, told the Capital Chronicle in January. “There may be the ability for other entities (to be) getting access to that material for purposes that are not lawful within the state, specifically sharing with the federal government or other states.”

Oregon’s sanctuary laws prevent state and local law enforcement from assisting federal immigration enforcement without a court order. But civil rights advocates have raised concerns that the data collected by cameras could be used to track immigrants and people seeking abortions, even in states including Oregon that have laws to protect access to reproductive care and bar local police from working to enforce immigration law.

https://washingtonstatestandard.com/2026/04/23/repub/a-new-oregon-law-regulates-police-use-of-license-plate-readers-heres-how-it-works/