H.F. 2556 Section 1. LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 1 1. Automatic registration plate readers enable persistent, 2 indiscriminate, and suspicionless tracking of persons, 3 including their movements, associations, habits, and locations 4 over time. 5 2. Continuous or mass collection of location data 6 implicates reasonable expectations of privacy under the 7 provisions of the fourth amendment to the Constitution of the 8 United States and Article I, section 8, of the Constitution of 9 the State of Iowa, particularly when aggregated. 10 3. The general assembly finds that bulk location 11 surveillance without individualized suspicion is fundamentally 12 incompatible with a free society and invites misuse, mission 13 creep, data breaches, and political or retaliatory abuse. 14 4. Less intrusive investigative tools remain available to 15 law enforcement officials and such tools respect constitutional 16 limits and traditional warrant requirements. 17 5. A categorical prohibition, coupled with narrow 18 exceptions based on warrant requirements, is the least 19 restrictive means of protecting Iowans’ privacy while 20 preserving public safety. 21 6. Strong civil remedies, including a private right 22 of action, are necessary to deter violations and provide 23 meaningful relief. 24 Sec. 2. NEW SECTION . 321Q.1 Definitions. 25 As used in this chapter: 26 1. “Automatic registration plate reader” or “plate 27 reader” means any system, device, software, or service that 28 automatically captures, analyzes, stores, or transmits images 29 of motor vehicle registration plates or associated vehicle 30 characteristics, including date, time, location, vehicle 31 movement, travel patterns, or metadata, whether fixed, mobile, 32 or cloud-based. 33 2. “Covered entity” means a state agency, political 34 subdivision, law enforcement agency, public official, public 35 -1- LSB 6810HH (3) 91 th/ns 1/ 5

H.F. 2556 employee, contractor, vendor, or private entity acting on 1 behalf of or in coordination with a governmental entity. 2 3. “Department” means the state department of 3 transportation. 4 4. “Plate reader data” means an image, record, metadata, 5 derived data, or analytic output generated by a plate reader. 6 5. “Use” means to acquire, install, operate, access, 7 analyze, query, share, sell, retain, or otherwise benefit from 8 plate reader systems or plate reader data. 9 Sec. 3. NEW SECTION . 321Q.2 Use of plate reader prohibited. 10 1. A covered entity shall not use an automatic registration 11 plate reader for any purpose. 12 2. A covered entity shall not do any of the following: 13 a. Use, acquire, or possess plate reader equipment or 14 services. 15 b. Contract with any private vendor for plate reader 16 services. 17 c. Use, access, or receive plate reader data from another 18 jurisdiction or private party. 19 d. Retain, analyze, or share plate reader data, regardless 20 of where the data was collected. 21 3. This section preempts a local ordinance or policy 22 authorizing and regulating the use of an automatic registration 23 plate reader. 24 4. A covered entity that used an automatic registration 25 plate reader before the effective date of this Act shall remove 26 every plate reader and shall destroy all plate reader data not 27 later than thirty days after the effective date of this Act. 28 Sec. 4. NEW SECTION . 321Q.3 Private right of action. 29 1. A person whose vehicle, movements, or data have been 30 collected, accessed, or used in violation of section 321Q.2 31 has standing to sue the covered entity who used an automatic 32 registration plate reader, regardless of whether actual damages 33 can be proven. 34 2. A covered entity that uses an automatic registration 35 -2- LSB 6810HH (3) 91 th/ns 2/ 5

H.F. 2556 plate reader in violation of section 321Q.2 is liable for all 1 of the following damages: 2 a. Not less than one thousand dollars per violation per day 3 or actual damages, whichever is greater. 4 b. Punitive damages for willful or reckless violations. 5 c. Injunctive and declaratory relief. 6 d. Plaintiff’s attorney fees and costs. 7 3. Sovereign immunity, governmental immunity, and qualified 8 immunity are waived for purposes of actions brought under this 9 section. 10 4. Actions may be brought in state district court, with 11 venue where the plaintiff resides or where the violation 12 occurred. 13 5. This section applies to actions involving plate reader 14 use and data retention brought on or after the effective date 15 of this Act, including actions based on the use or retention of 16 data collected before the effective date of this Act. 17 Sec. 5. NEW SECTION . 321Q.4 Exclusion and suppression. 18 Evidence derived directly or indirectly from an automatic 19 registration plate reader, including derivative evidence, 20 is inadmissible in any criminal, civil, or administrative 21 proceeding, except when offered by a plaintiff as evidence that 22 a violation of this chapter occurred. 23 Sec. 6. NEW SECTION . 321Q.5 Enforcement and civil 24 penalties. 25 1. A covered entity that violates section 321Q.2 is subject 26 to a civil penalty of not less than ten thousand dollars per 27 violation, to be collected by the department and deposited in 28 the road use tax fund. 29 2. The department shall adopt rules pursuant to chapter 17A 30 providing for escalating penalties for repeated violations. 31 3. A person who knowingly uses or authorizes unlawful use 32 of a plate reader by a covered entity is personally liable for 33 penalties under this section. 34 4. The attorney general may bring actions against a private 35 -3- LSB 6810HH (3) 91 th/ns 3/ 5

H.F. 2556 entity or person for violating section 321Q.2 and such action 1 shall not preempt an action brought by a person other than the 2 attorney general. 3 Sec. 7. REPEAL. Section 321P.4, Code 2026, is repealed. 4 Sec. 8. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Act, being deemed of immediate 5 importance, takes effect upon enactment. 6 EXPLANATION 7 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 8 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 9 Under current law, the operator of an automatic registration 10 plate reader (plate reader) is required to permanently delete 11 every image of a vehicle registration plate captured by the 12 plate reader, and any other accompanying data, within 30 days 13 after the image was captured. Prior to deletion from the plate 14 reader, a law enforcement agency is authorized to copy and 15 store an image of a vehicle registration plate captured by a 16 plate reader, and any other accompanying data, if the image and 17 data are relevant to an ongoing criminal case or investigation. 18 Copies maintained by a law enforcement agency are not required 19 to be deleted, but the law enforcement agency must maintain 20 the copies in accordance with the agency’s evidence retention 21 policies. A person who violates the deletion requirement 22 commits a simple misdemeanor. A simple misdemeanor is 23 punishable by confinement for no more than 30 days and a fine 24 of at least $105 but not more than $855. This bill repeals 25 these provisions. 26 The bill instead prohibits a state agency, political 27 subdivision, law enforcement agency, public official, public 28 employee, contractor, vendor, or private entity acting on 29 behalf of or in coordination with a governmental entity 30 (covered entities) from using a plate reader. 31 The bill specifically preempts local ordinances or policies 32 authorizing and regulating the use of plate readers. A covered 33 entity that used an automatic registration plate reader before 34 the bill takes effect must remove every plate reader and 35 -4- LSB 6810HH (3) 91 th/ns 4/ 5

H.F. 2556 destroy all plate reader data not later than 30 days after the 1 effective date of the bill. 2 The bill provides for a private right of action against 3 covered entities that violate the bill, limits the 4 admissibility of evidence obtained by a plate reader, and 5 provides enforcement provisions and civil penalties. A person 6 who knowingly uses or authorizes unlawful use of a plate reader 7 by a covered entity is personally liable for penalties under 8 the bill, and the attorney general may bring actions against 9 such persons. 10 The bill takes effect upon enactment. 11 -5- LSB 6810HH (3) 91 th/ns 5/ 5