Date: April 22, 2026
To: Chair Lightner and Members of the House Judiciary Committee
From: Rachel Richards, Fiscal Policy & Government Relations Director, Michigan League
for Public Policy
Subject: Support for HB 5492-5493 (Wozniak, Wilson Jr.) – ALPR Data Regulation
The Michigan League for Public Policy is pleased to support House Bills 5492-5493 (Wozniak, Wilson Jr.), which set common-sense guardrails that will clarify when and how data collected from automatic license plate readers (ALPRs) can be used across the state.
The League is a nonpartisan research and advocacy organization that promotes economic opportunity for all and analyzes the impact of public policy and budget decisions on the lives of Michiganders who have been systemically left out of prosperity. The League is also the state’s Kids Count organization, working as a part of a national effort to measure child well-being at the state and local levels and use that information to shape public policies and programs to improve the lives of children and their families.
ALPRs are small, high-speed cameras often mounted on police vehicles, road signs, traffic lights, bridges or other objects along streets that can photograph thousands of license plates per minute. They work by automatically photographing a car and checking the license plate number against lists to search for stolen vehicles, outstanding warrants or persons needed for ongoing investigations. Authorities are then automatically notified if a match is found.
While ALPRs can legitimately enhance law enforcement’s ability to investigate possible legal infractions or criminal conduct, that ability should not jeopardize the privacy of the vast majority of law-abiding Michiganders, whose data are also captured and stored. ALPRs can serve as a form of location surveillance, recording the location, date and time of drivers that pass by. Additional information can also be captured, including the make, model and color of the vehicle, along with other identifying information, such as roof racks and bumper stickers, images of passengers and details of the surrounding area. These cameras can be mounted near sensitive locations, like places of worship and doctors’ offices. Taken together, this information can be used to build a detailed picture of people’s lives and track their whereabouts without a warrant, which vehicle-mounted GPS tracking requires.
Most Michiganders have no idea of the scale of this surveillance and the amount of data that is collected. In the Michigan city of Taylor alone, 50 mounted cameras, along with 27 more vehicle-mounted ALPRs, scanned over 9 million plates per month. ALPRs are now installed across at least 125 Michigan cities and counties and enable authorities to tap into a country-wide network of over 80,000 cameras, enabling authorities to track individuals across state lines.
With so many Michiganders affected, it is incumbent upon our state government to take steps to ensure our data is protected. While ALPRs are an emerging technology, there have already been documented instances of abuse. Investigations have found that ALPR databases have been searched for protester information, including by the Grand Rapids Police Department. In Florida, an officer used license plate reader technology to track his girlfriend’s location 108 times during a seven-month period. Requiring a warrant to access these databases is crucial to protecting the data of drivers, when in Michigan’s Grosse Ile, 99.92% of scans between 2016 and 2017 were of innocent drivers.
Drivers in Michigan can also be vulnerable to undue stops or arrests due to ALPR reading errors. One study in Vallejo, California, found that these cameras misidentified hits 35% to 37% of the time. A six-month investigation conducted by CBS found more than a dozen cases where ALPRs, sometimes in combination with human error, led to wrongful stops. In New Mexico, an ALPR that mistook the number 2 for the number 7 led to the handcuffing of an innocent 12-year-old girl. In Detroit, police handcuffed a mother and put her and her 2-year-old autistic child in a squad car, impounding her car for over three weeks after using ALPRs to mistakenly tie her vehicle to a shooting two miles away.
These bills provide common-sense restrictions and limitations to the use of ALPRs and the retention of data collected by ALPRs. At least sixteen states, including Florida and Alabama, have addressed either the use of ALPRs and/or the retention of data. Several states, such as Georgia, Montana, Tennessee and Utah, limit how long the data can be retained. Other states, like Oklahoma, prevent data gathered from ALPRs from being sold, and some states, including Nebraska and North Carolina, require routine audits or reporting on the use of ALPRs and the storage of associated data.
As an automotive state where so many of us spend time traveling in a car, we must uphold the fundamental right to free movement without undue surveillance, where probable cause is not established. House Bills 5492 and 5493 would help protect that right and prevent data from being leaked or abused by requiring judicial warrants to access camera information for criminal cases, limiting data retention to 14 days and providing public reporting on the use of ALPRs. We are pleased to support these bills and urge the Legislature’s swift action.
Betsy Zobl-Tar 
Jay Cutler joined the League in March 2026 as the Kids Count Senior Data Analyst, where he collects, analyzes, and prepares data for Kids Count in Michigan.
Danielle Taylor-Basemore joined the League as the Development Data and Stewardship Coordinator in June 2025. She brings with her five years of nonprofit experience with a special focus on community engagement, data visualization and strategic programming. Prior to joining the League, Danielle served as the Business District, Safety, and Digital Manager at Jefferson East, Inc.
Scott Preston is a Senior Policy Analyst with the Michigan League for Public Policy, where he leads the organization’s immigration and criminal justice reform portfolios. In the three years prior to joining the League, Scott facilitated the Southeast Michigan Refugee Collaborative and managed a small business economic development program at Global Detroit. His work included launching Michigan’s first Refugee Film Festival and building on a trusted connector model that linked marginalized communities with crucial resources. Scott’s work at the League is informed by his background in journalism and research. He spent four years covering the Syrian refugee crisis in the Middle East for publications such as The Economist, and later worked with unaccompanied refugee minors through Samaritas. Scott holds a master’s degree in international migration and public policy from the London School of Economics and Political Science.
Kate Powers joined the League as the Chief Development Officer in February 2025. Prior to joining the League, Kate held leadership positions at many Michigan nonprofit organizations, most recently serving as the COO and Chief Development Officer of Ele’s Place. Kate has spent the bulk of her career in fundraising, with a short stint in the state Legislature as a legislative aide to members in both chambers. Kate is a graduate of Michigan State University’s James Madison College with a Bachelor of Arts in Social Relations and has a certificate in fundraising management from the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at Indiana University. Additionally, Kate served on the East Lansing Public Schools Board of Education and is a past President of the Junior League of Lansing. In her free time, she enjoys traveling with her husband and her son and saving outfit of the day and home decor ideas on Pinterest. 
Nicholas Hess joined the League as the Fiscal Policy Analyst in September of 2024. In this role, Nicholas focuses on tax policy, government revenue, and their impact on working families and racial equity, including the effects of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Child Tax Credit (CTC). Nicholas values the role that judicious fiscal policy can play in the improvement of people’s lives and the economy, alleviating inequities along the way.
Audrey Matusz joined the League as the Visual Communications Specialist in September 2024. She supports the team with implementing social media strategies and brainstorming creative ways to talk about public policy. She brings with her nearly a decade of experience in producing digital products for evidence-based social justice initiatives. 
Jacob Kaplan 
Donald Stuckey 
Alexandra Stamm 
Amari Fuller
Mikell Frey is a communications professional with a passion for using the art of storytelling to positively impact lives. She strongly believes that positive social change can be inspired by the sharing of data-driven information coupled with the unique perspectives of people from all walks of life across Michigan, especially those who have faced extraordinary barriers. 
Yona Isaacs (she/hers) is an Early Childhood Data Analyst for the Kids Count project. After earning her Bachelor of Science in Biopsychology, Cognition, and Neuroscience at the University of Michigan, she began her career as a research coordinator in pediatric psychiatry using data to understand the impacts of brain activity and genetics on children’s behavior and mental health symptoms. This work prompted an interest in exploring social determinants of health and the role of policy in promoting equitable opportunities for all children, families, and communities. She returned to the University of Michigan to complete her Masters in Social Work focused on Social Policy and Evaluation, during which she interned with the ACLU of Michigan’s policy and legislative team and assisted local nonprofit organizations in creating data and evaluation metrics. She currently serves as a coordinator for the Michigan Center for Youth Justice on a project aiming to increase placement options and enhance cultural competency within the juvenile justice system for LGBTQIA+ youth. Yona is eager to put her data skills to work at the League in support of data-driven policies that advocate for equitable access to healthcare, education, economic security, and opportunity for 0-5 year old children. In her free time, she enjoys tackling DIY house projects and trying new outdoor activities with her dog.
Rachel Richards rejoined the League in December 2020 as the Fiscal Policy Director working on state budget and tax policies. Prior to returning to the League, she served as the Director of Legislative Affairs for the Michigan Department of Treasury, the tax policy analyst and Legislative Director for the Michigan League for Public Policy, and a policy analyst and the Appropriations Coordinator for the Democratic Caucus of the Michigan House of Representatives. She brings with her over a decade of experience in policies focused on economic opportunity, including workforce issues, tax, and state budget.
Simon Marshall-Shah joined the Michigan League for Public Policy as a State Policy Fellow in August 2019. His work focuses on state policy as it relates to the budget, immigration, health care and other League policy priorities. Before joining the League, he worked in Washington, D.C. at the Association for Community Affiliated Plans (ACAP), providing federal policy and advocacy support to nonprofit, Medicaid health plans (Safety Net Health Plans) related to the ACA Marketplaces as well as Quality & Operations.
Renell Weathers, Michigan League for Public Policy (MLPP) Community Engagement Consultant. As community engagement consultant, Renell works with organizations throughout the state in connecting the impact of budget and tax policies to their communities. She is motivated by the belief that all children and adults deserve the opportunity to achieve their dreams regardless of race, ethnicity, religion or economic class.
Emily Jorgensen joined the Michigan League for Public Policy in July 2019. She deeply cares about the well-being of individuals and families and has a great love for Michigan. She is grateful that her position at the League enables her to combine these passions and work to help promote policies that will lead to better opportunities and security for all Michiganders.
Megan Farnsworth joined the League’s staff in December 2022 as Executive Assistant. Megan is driven by work that is personally fulfilling, and feels honored to help support the work of an organization that pushes for more robust programming and opportunities for the residents of our state. She’s excited and motivated to gain overarching knowledge of the policies and agendas that the League supports.
