Watch / Try it yourself
One car.
Two rules.
Both readers scan a plate. What happens next is the difference.
Your car passes a plate camera. You’re not on a police alert list. What gets saved?
68 seconds / Our proposed city law
Scan first.
Save only a match.
A car is not on the police list. One system saves its scan anyway. The other deletes it. Watch both paths.
We want to ban scans saved with no match. “Save first. Search later” means saving those scans for a future search. Both types read the plate first.
These are made-up examples. The draft is not law yet. A match is a lead for police to check, not proof of a crime.
Try the two rules
What gets saved?
Pick a reader and a plate. Run the scan. Then try to find it later.
Run the scan, then try a search.
This is a simplified example, not real police software or real vehicle data. A valid list entry must exist before the scan. A possible match needs staff review.
Our proposal
Keep useful alerts.
Stop saving other trips.
Ban all City use of history-storing readers, including in patrol cars and through another agency or company. Allow hit-only readers at approved New Braunfels city entry points and in moving patrol cars.
What we give up
Police could no longer search old plate records for cars that were not on a valid list when they passed. We do not yet know if the current cameras can meet our rules.
What happens next
Join the contact list now. After legal review and the signing papers are ready, we’ll arrange a visit. A team member will see you sign on paper. This online signup is not your petition signature or a vote.
Full video transcript
0:00 / Your car
Your car passes a plate camera. You’re not on a police alert list. What gets saved?
0:06 / History-storing reader
A history-storing reader keeps the scan anyway: your plate, the time, and the place. Someone can search those old records later.
0:17 / City ban
We want to ban City use of these systems — including getting those records from someone else.
0:23 / Hit-only reader
A hit-only reader checks a valid police list. No match? Delete the scan right away. No saved plate, photo, time, or place.
0:37 / Listed plates
Already on the list? Alert police. Staff must check the match. Strict rules limit what they keep.
0:46 / Where allowed
Allow these readers at approved city entry points and in moving patrol cars. Make these limits city law.
0:53 / Join and sign
Join our list now. After the paperwork is ready, we’ll arrange a visit and witness your paper signature. Signing up online is not your petition signature.
Political advertising paid for by Texas Privacy Coalition.
What else is in the draft?
No mass face tracking or files that link people’s trips and contacts across cameras. A judge could allow a limited face search for a specific crime case.
Share by choice only with allowed Texas state and local agencies. Post who gets the data and why. A binding law or court order could still require sharing.
Have outside experts check the system before use and at regular times. Post the results. Shut off features that break the rules.
Read every rule and the full legal draft ↗Current program: NBPD’s explanation ↗. Our proposal and its legal-review limits: discussion draft. Petition process: how paper signing would work. Checked October 11, 2026.