Title: Director, North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (Roger “Chip” Hawley, the SBI’s 19th director) In this role since: November 2024 (appointed by Gov. Cooper; the legislature had blocked confirmation hearings for over a year, leaving his predecessor to hold over) (governor.nc.gov · WRAL) Term: six years, subject to legislative confirmation
Record on these issues
- The highway program. The SBI’s plate-reader pilot on state rights-of-way (S.L. 2023-151) reached 140 camera locations and 17 agencies by March 2026, with 75 more in the pipeline, 32 agencies requesting about 230 sites, and more than 150 million scans recorded. The SBI’s own report to the General Assembly recommended funding through 2028 with the goal of “covering all entrances and exits to North Carolina.” The July 2026 budget made the program permanent and open to every agency in the state, and requires an annual SBI report to the legislature; the permanent law dropped the pilot’s public reporting of plate-capture counts (Axios Raleigh · Carolina Journal · UNC School of Government · WNC and NC). The SBI asked for $225,000 a year for “database access to data from various vendors”; the vendors are not named.
- The misuse cases. SBI affidavits underlie the first criminal charges in the state for plate-reader misuse, in Charlotte and Mooresville, July and August 2026 (The Abuse Record).
- SB 153 orders the SBI to sign a 287(g) agreement with ICE; as of August 21, 2026 it had not (What the Law Lets the County Do).
The question for him
Has any federal agency requested SBI or partner-agency plate data under G.S. 20-183.32, and will the annual report say so?
Region: State · Last updated: Aug 22, 2026