Washington Governor Bob Ferguson signed a new law Monday that sets guardrails for the use of automated license plate readers throughout the state.
The law’s passage came after concerns that federal immigration authorities are tapping into data from automated license plate readers to aid their searches. The bill was mostly opposed by law enforcement but supported by immigration advocates.
Pierce County Sheriff Keith Swank, one of the most vocal opponents against the legislation, responded to the new state law by deactivating his entire automatic license plate reader system, claiming it’s now useless…