New Mexico limits police access to Flock cameras, San Juan agencies defend

The New Mexico House passed a substitute version of Senate Bill 40 in a 42-22 vote Tuesday, sending the measure to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s desk for final consideration; the bill would set limits on when law enforcement can share automated license plate reader (ALPR) data with outside agencies. Farmington Police Department and the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office have defended local camera deployments, saying the cameras “protect community.”

The House language cited by reporters would restrict sharing ALPR data with outside agencies investigating immigration, abortion and gender-care cases and otherwise limit how private license-plate reader networks such as Flock Safety are used by law enforcement and other entities. ALPR systems collect license plate numbers as well as time, data and GPS information, and those data points have “proven useful when solving crimes,” supporting their proliferation in recent years amid police staffing shortages.

The ACLU of New Mexico’s Jan. 23, 2026 report frames a proposed Driver Privacy and Safety Act and reproduces statutory language that would bar certain transfers and uses of ALPR information. The document states it “enacts the Driver Privacy and Safety Act, prohibiting and allowing the following:” and quotes Section 3(A): “Prohibiting an automated license plate user from selling, sharing, allowing access to or transfer of automated license place reader information if the automated license plate reader information may be used for the purpose of: (1) investigating or otherwise assisting in immigration enforcement; (2) investigating or prosecuting activities legal in the state, including protected health care activity; or (3) efforts to identify or impose civil or criminal liability upon a person or an entity based solely on the person’s or entity’s participation or the Constitution of New Mexico, including assembly, petitioning and speech, except as required by state or federal law.” The ACLU text also quotes Section 3(B) and 3(C) requiring out-of-state written declarations and barring transfers to non-law-enforcement agencies, and preserves the fragmentary Section 3(D): “Affirms that automated license plate reader information is [...]”

Locally, Durango Herald reporting summarized Farmington Police and the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office as saying the cameras protect the community; the companies involved include Flock Safety, identified by the ACLU document as the largest provider of license plate readers in the U.S. Rep. Rod Montoya, R-Farmington, voiced privacy concerns in the legislative debate, saying, “I appreciate the fact that we're trying to limit maybe the reach of Big Brother,” and adding he was “a little concerned about the surveillance nation that we live in now.” Montoya also questioned whether New Mexico law enforcement would release license plate data to federal law enforcement or other state authorities investigating criminal cases.

The ACLU report places New Mexico’s action in a national context, noting that conservative-led states such as Arkansas, Idaho and Montana enacted data-protection laws last year and that several states and Democratic-led cities have blocked federal access or terminated Flock contracts. Key details remain unresolved in public excerpts: the full text of the House substitute for SB 40, any explicit retention periods for ALPR data and the complete language of Section 3(D) are not available in supplied materials. With the bill now at Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s desk, the law’s final contours will depend on the signed statute and any implementing rules that follow.