S.B. 156 Summary

• Prohibits government use of facial recognition systems and information obtained from them, with limited exceptions for law enforcement, driver's license agencies, and public health emergencies.

• Allows law enforcement trained personnel to use facial recognition to compare surveillance photos to arrest booking photos from the Hawaii criminal justice data center or conduct photo lineups.

• Permits facial recognition use at state airports when the director of health determines a serious communicable disease outbreak risk exists, combined with thermal scanning technology, with all obtained information destroyed within 60 minutes.

• Allows driver's license and civil identification agencies to use facial recognition to comply with the federal REAL ID Act of 2005.

• Establishes that facial recognition information cannot constitute probable cause for arrest and exempts personal use of privately owned facial recognition systems when government officials act in unofficial capacity.