Alabama lawmakers could weigh flock camera legislation in 2027 session

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) - An Alabama lawmaker says he wants to file legislation regulating flock cameras in the state.

Automated license plate readers, also referred to as flock cameras, are able to automatically capture vehicle license plate information, which law enforcement nationwide has said is a crime-fighting tool.

Sen. Arthur Orr (R-Decatur) said he wants to establish warrant requirements for flock camera usage, set limits for the amount of time data can be kept after it is collected and determine courses of action if the cameras are misused or abused.

Law enforcement officials nationwide have said the cameras help in fighting crime by helping to track down suspects and people of interest.

He said lawmakers have an optional of keeping the state’s minimal regulations, ban them entirely or carve their own middle path.

“Somewhere in between those two points I think that’s where the legislature will fall and we’ll have to see where we go in February when we reconvene,” he said. “What is totally unacceptable is that we keep the current status quo which is just a nonstarter for me. We just have to get some guardrails and parameters on these cameras if we’re going to allow their continued use in the state of Alabama.”

Sen. Robert Stewart (D-Selma) also said he wants to see change.

“I am concerned about the expansion of the surveillance state,” he said. “Yes, it is important to fight crime but not at the expansion and the erosion of civil liberties.”

In 2021, Senator Orr tried unsuccessfully to get legislation passed to establish regulations on these cameras. It got bipartisan support in the Senate but stalled in the House of Representatives.

Since it is an election year, official prefiled bills will be available starting after the Nov. 3 election.

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