Overview
- Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a petition for a writ of mandate in San Diego County Superior Court seeking to declare El Cajon’s ALPR data-sharing unlawful and to order the city to stop.
- State filings say El Cajon continued to grant access to police in more than two dozen states, including Texas, Florida, Georgia, Utah, Wisconsin, and Virginia, despite prior guidance and warnings.
- California’s SB 34 bars state and local agencies from sharing ALPR information with federal or out-of-state entities because once the data leaves the state it falls outside California’s oversight.
- El Cajon Mayor Bill Wells said the city will defend its practices, arguing cross-state sharing helps solve crimes and calling the lawsuit an overreach.
- Privacy and immigrant-rights groups warn exported plate data can feed federal databases used for immigration enforcement or tracking sensitive activities, and Gov. Gavin Newsom recently vetoed SB 274 that would have tightened retention and audits.