Democratic challenger Eileen Hartnett Albillar wants Sen. Frank Farry to drop his co-sponsorship of a bill expanding license plate reader cameras across Pennsylvania.

The demand puts automated surveillance at the center of the Bucks County 6th State Senate District race ahead of the Nov. 3 election. Albillar called on Farry to remove his name from Senate Bill 933, which would allow automated license plate readers, commonly called ALPRs, on roadways and PennDOT-owned infrastructure statewide, the Bucks County Beacon reported. The bill is sponsored by Sen. Joe Picozzi, a Philadelphia Republican. Farry is one of six GOP co-sponsors.

"Sen. Farry should remove his name from this legislation instead of helping expand a surveillance network that puts enormous amounts of personal data into the hands of Big Tech," Albillar said.

Farry, in an email to the Beacon, called the bill "vital" for law enforcement and said it is not yet a finished product. He said the bill would be amended to include stricter data policies and public protections if it ever reaches a vote. He did not specify what amendments he would seek or what penalties would apply to misuse of the technology.

Farry pointed to cases where plate readers helped track a suspect in a 2023 Bensalem killing and a 2025 Bensalem arson and attempted murder involving a Michigan man.

Gov. Josh Shapiro has weighed in against the technology. He said at a press conference that PennDOT does not currently use Flock cameras or other license plate data readers.

The cameras are already a local reality. Roughly 60 ALPRs have been mapped across Bucks County as of Aug. 11, according to DeFlock, a crowdsourced tracking project, as BucksCo.Today reported. New Britain Township police began using a Flock system in June 2025 and say it has helped resolve more than 20 incidents, Central Bucks Now reported. The township currently retains plate data for 30 days but plans to cut that to seven.

New Britain Police Chief Richard Clowser told the township's Board of Supervisors at its Aug. 18 meeting that his department controls who can access its data. "We do not share data with any federal agencies," Clowser said. "We decide who can access it."

A bipartisan group of state House members is pushing separate legislation that would regulate ALPRs rather than expand them. State Rep. Jim Prokopiak of Bucks County is among seven co-sponsors of a memo that would establish audit trails, data retention standards and civil penalties for unauthorized access. In an Aug. 20 Bucks County Beacon report on that effort, Prokopiak said the state needs "strong regulations that ensure that our constitutional rights and personal data are protected … and that any use of data is confined to serious public safety issues."

Nationally, nearly 50 law enforcement officers have been charged or accused of misusing Flock and similar systems to spy on spouses or partners, according to a Washington Post report cited by the Beacon. At least 50 communities have canceled Flock contracts or deactivated cameras since the start of 2026, according to Stateline.

Voters will decide the 6th Senate District race on Nov. 3.