SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - A Utah Republican lawmaker proposes a measure that would allow anyone, not just police agencies, to take pictures of license plates from public vantage points.
Woods Cross Republican Sen. Todd Weiler sponsors the bill. He says it protects First Amendment rights but places due restrictions on police access to the data.
Utah currently limits license plate monitoring to police and parking enforcement. The state requires the data be kept no longer than nine months.
But some private companies say the current rule blocks them from exercising their free speech rights to take those pictures and store them however long they wish.
The Salt Lake Tribune reports (https://bit.ly/1cXTotn ) the measure would bar government agencies from buying the pictures dating back more than nine months, which Weiler likened to a warrantless search.
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Information from: The Salt Lake Tribune, https://www.sltrib.com
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