A House bill that would restrict the use of information obtained by license plate scanners in Georgia has stalled in the state Legislature.
House Bill 93's Republican sponsor is now saying that while he is not giving up on the measure it may have to wait until next year for a chance at final passage.
HB 93 — sponsored by state Rep. John Pezold of Columbus — is aimed at protecting motorists’ privacy. It would require police departments to develop policies and training for using the scanners. They would also have to delete the information they capture with the scanners within 90 days, with some exceptions.
The bill won approval in the House Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee this month. But it failed to get a vote on the House floor by Friday — or Crossover Day — the deadline for legislation to pass one chamber and still have a chance of getting final approval this year.
Pezold is among many House Republicans who voted against a major transportation funding bill favored by House Speaker David Ralston, R-Blue Ridge. Asked whether that had anything to do with HB 93 failing to get a vote on the House floor, Pezold dismissed the idea, saying, “I like to think that bills pass on their own merits.”
“I am certainly looking to see if there is maybe a vehicle to maybe insert the language [from HB 93] into a bill that is in the works on either side,” he said. But he added: “If it waits until next year, it won’t be the worst in the world. I think it is import just to get it right. I certainly don’t want to do a halfway compromise and then have to revisit the same thing next year.”
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