BILL ANALYSIS

H.B. 1893

By: Cook

Delivery of Government Efficiency

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Under state public information law, vehicle license plates captured on video are currently considered confidential despite being readily visible in the public domain on roadways. The bill author has informed the committee that this confidentiality creates significant challenges for law enforcement agencies across the state that spend numerous hours redacting vehicle license plates from police dashcam footage, body worn camera recordings, and building surveillance footage. For example, law enforcement officers have noted that one hour of video footage from the scene of an auto accident may take 5 to 10 hours to redact and that automatic redaction is largely insufficient in handling constant movement, thus requiring body worn camera footage to be redacted by a skilled specialist. Because both forms of redaction are costly and time-consuming, law enforcement agencies with limited or no redaction capabilities may be forced to withhold video recordings solely on the basis that the footage contains a license plate, which restricts public access and transparency. Individuals may not be able to obtain critical evidence, including recordings of witness statements captured by body worn cameras or recordings of an accident captured by surveillance cameras. H.B. 1893 seeks to address these issues by establishing that motor vehicle license plate numbers captured in a video recording obtained or maintained by a law enforcement agency are not considered confidential and may be disclosed in response to a public information request, and thus would not need to be redacted.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

ANALYSIS

H.B. 1893 amends the Government Code to establish that the license plate number of a motor vehicle captured visually or audibly in a video recording obtained or maintained by a law enforcement agency is not confidential under the Motor Vehicle Records Disclosure Act or the exception to disclosure under state public information law for certain motor vehicle records and may be included in a video recording disclosed under the public availability requirement of state public information law. The bill expressly does not preclude a law enforcement agency from asserting other exceptions to the disclosure of the information available under state public information law.

H.B. 1893 amends the Transportation Code to authorize a law enforcement agency to release under the Motor Vehicle Records Disclosure Act a video recording obtained or maintained by the agency that includes the license plate number of a motor vehicle captured visually or audibly in the video in response to a public information request. The bill establishes that the agency is not required to redact any license plate numbers before releasing the video.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2025.