Documented Incident
California bill SB 1013 would cap license plate data retention at 30 days as police groups object
First reported: August 7, 2026 · 4 sources
Senate Bill 1013, authored by Riverside Democratic Sen. Sabrina Cervantes, would generally limit how long California agencies can retain automated license plate reader data to 30 days, with exceptions for active investigations and missing-person searches, and would add access, training and search-logging requirements. It would also bar contracts with camera vendors that give federal or out-of-state police default access to local plate data — a provision supporters attribute to Flock Safety's federal pilot program. The bill has cleared votes with only Republicans opposed and is pending in the Assembly Appropriations Committee; Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a similar measure last year and his office declined to state a position on this one. Separately, U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky said on Facebook he will sponsor a bill to withhold federal funds from agencies deploying such cameras.
California hosts one of the largest ALPR footprints in the country, with at least 230 law enforcement agencies using the cameras, so retention and data-sharing rules set here shape vendor practices and oversight debates nationally. The dispute also tests whether documented misuse and prior violations of state sharing law prompt statutory limits or continued reliance on agency-level policy.
Key facts
- SB 1013 would generally cap plate data retention at 30 days; Newsom's vetoed 2025 bill had used 60 days.
- At least 39 police agencies and officers' unions oppose the bill; CalMatters' Digital Democracy database puts their combined legislative campaign spending at $5.6 million since 2000.
- Berkeley reported that 52 Flock cameras installed last year were used in 121 cases, contributed to 58 arrests and recovered 37 stolen vehicles, with robbery clearance rising from 34% in 2024 to 49% the next year.
- Flock Safety, which did not grant an interview, states on its website that federal sharing is off by default, that ICE lacks direct access, and that it ended its federal pilot programs.
- Newsom's veto message cited harm to cold cases and missing-person searches plus a lack of funding for required DOJ audits; the new bill ties audits to future funding.
Sources
This summary was written from the published reporting below and links to it; BlockFlockNow does not reproduce article text.
- ‘Don’t Flock me’: California, US lawmakers debate license plate reader technology (Santa Cruz Sentinel, August 7, 2026)
- ‘Don’t Flock me’: California, U.S. lawmakers debate license plate reader technology (heysocal.com, August 6, 2026)
- ‘Don’t Flock Me’: California, U.S. Lawmakers Debate License Plate Reader Technology (Folsom Times, August 8, 2026)
- ‘Don’t Flock me’: California, U.S. lawmakers debate license plate reader technology (ridgecrestca.com, August 3, 2026)
More from California
Everything we have documented in California, or search every California article in the archive.
About this record
BlockFlockNow documents reported incidents involving Flock Safety cameras and automated license plate readers: council votes, contract decisions, misuse by authorized users, lawsuits, audits, and community response. Every record is reviewed by a person before publication. New to the topic? Start with What is Flock?, find meetings near you, or learn how to request your town's camera records.
Updated August 18, 2026. Corrections: blockflock@bytebunny.io. See all documented incidents or search the full article archive.