Gov. Kehoe executive order restricts license plate reader use

Our Take

Credit to KMOV St. Louis for flagging that Missouri now has its first statewide guardrails on automatic license plate readers, courtesy of an executive order from Gov. Mike Kehoe. That's notable — most states have let ALPR networks like Flock Safety spread county by county with zero coordinated oversight. An executive order at least puts Jefferson City on record that this technology can't run completely unchecked.

But let's not get ahead of ourselves. Executive orders can be rewritten or rescinded by the next governor with a stroke of a pen. They don't carry the weight of statute, they don't necessarily come with enforcement mechanisms, and they rarely address the core problem: data sharing across jurisdictions, retention periods, and who gets to query a statewide surveillance dragnet without a warrant. Real accountability requires the legislature to act, not just the executive branch to issue a memo.

Missouri residents should treat this as a starting point, not a finish line. Keep pressure on state lawmakers to codify actual limits, and check our camera map to see how many ALPRs are already watching your commute. If you want to push back locally, our take-action guide walks through what to say at your next city council meeting.