Libertarians working to ban police license plate cameras in Montana; bill seems likely to pass

J. D. Tuccille at Reason Hit and Run (h/t David in open thread comments):

Cops in Big Sky Country aren’t happy about it, but Montana lawmakers look ready to ban the use of license plate cameras by government agencies to track motorists’ movements. The legislative move comes after a stream of revelations of local, state, and federal tracking and databasing of Americans’ movements by car, without cause or warrant.

A year ago, the Department of Homeland Security killed a solicitation for bids to establish and maintain “a National License Plate Recognition (NLPR) database service” after a chorus of public outrage. The DHS plan may actually have been duplication of effort, since the DEA already has a national license plate scanning system maintained with the cooperation of local police. If passed, the Montana measure couldn’t block such efforts from D.C., but it would prevent agencies within the state from contributing to those schemes.

The article goes on to note

According to local press coverage, during the committee hearing on the bill, the measure was supported by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Libertarian Party, and opposed by police.