An act relating to motor vehicles, the official text

1                            STATE OF OKLAHOMA

2   1st Session of the 60th Legislature (2025)

3 HOUSE BILL 1626                     By: George

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5

6                            AS INTRODUCED

7   An Act relating to motor vehicles; defining terms;

    authorizing certain use of automatic license plate

8   reader systems; making certain exceptions; requiring

    certain permit prior to use; authorizing issuance of

9   permits; allowing access for official purposes only;

    requiring adoption for certain written policy;

10  listing minimum requires for policy; listing certain

    requirements for use; providing for codification; and

11  providing an effective date.

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14 BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:

15  SECTION 1.      NEW LAW  A new section of law to be codified

16 in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 15-133 of Title 47, unless there

17 is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:

18  A. For purposes of this section:

19  1. "Alert" means a notification generated by an automated

20 license plate recognition system indicating that a vehicle passed an

21 automated license plate recognition system camera with a license

22 plate or vehicle characteristics that match data held by the

23 National Crime Information Center or other database or hot list;

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1   2. "Automatic license plate reader system" means a system of

2 one or more law-enforcement-controlled cameras combined with

3 computer algorithms to convert images of registration plates into

4 computer-readable data;

5   3. "Highway right-of-way" means a public road being maintained

6 by the Oklahoma Department of Transportation.

7   4. "Hot list" means a list of license plates or vehicle

8 characteristics against which vehicles passing by automatic license

9 plate recognition system cameras are checked for matches;

10  5. "Law enforcement agency" means any county sheriff, municipal

11 police department, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, and any state or

12 local public body that employs public safety personnel; and

13  6. "License plate reader data" means the global positioning

14 device coordinates, date and time, photograph, license plate number,

15 and vehicle characteristics captured by an automatic license plate

16 reader system;

17  B. In accordance with applicable state and federal laws

18 governing the use and management of highway rights-of-way and

19 subject to the approval of the Federal Highway Administration as

20 required by federal law, automatic license plate reader systems may

21 be utilized on highway rights-of-way to the extent that such use is

22 consistent with the continued use, operation, maintenance, and

23 safety of the highway facility and does not interfere with the free

24 and safe flow of traffic. Except as provided in Sections 7-606.1

    Req. No. 10364                                                 Page 2
1 and 7-606.2 of this title, such devices shall not be used to enforce

2 state or local traffic violations or issue citations for such

3 violations.

4   C. Prior to installing an automatic license plate reader system

5 camera on a highway right-of-way, a law enforcement agency shall

6 obtain a permit from the Department of Transportation. The

7 Department shall issue a permit to the law enforcement agency that

8 meets standards set by the Department.

9   D. In addition to Sections 7-606.1 and 7-606.2 of this title,

10 operation of and access to an automatic license plate reader system

11 by law enforcement agencies shall be for official law enforcement

12 purposes only.

13  E. Prior to the use of an automatic license plate recognition

14 system, a law enforcement agency shall adopt and make publicly

15 available a written policy governing the use of the automatic

16 license plate recognition system that includes, at a minimum:

17  1. Supervisory oversight of the automatic license plate

18 recognition system;

19  2. Training protocol for automatic license plate recognition

20 system users;

21  3. Protocol for ensuring hot lists stay up to date;

22  4. Rules for access to and security of license plate reader

23 data;

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    Req. No. 10364                                                 Page 3
1   5. Rules for retention and destruction of license plate reader

2 data; and

3   6. An audit schedule and process to ensure that the system is

4 used in accordance with this section and agency policy.

5   F. A law enforcement agency using an automatic license plate

6 recognition system shall comply with the following:

7   1. Upon receipt of an alert and prior to performing a traffic

8 stop, an officer, dispatcher, or other law enforcement agency

9 employee shall visually confirm that the scanned plate matches the

10 alert with regard to plate letters, numbers, and issuing state and

11 confirm that the stop meets criteria laid out in the policies of the

12 law enforcement agency and applicable law;

13  2. License plate reader data shall be deleted within thirty

14 (30) days of being recorded in such a manner that the record is

15 destroyed and not recoverable, unless the record is a part of an

16 ongoing investigation, in which case the data shall be retained and

17 destroyed in accordance with applicable records retention laws;

18  3. License plate reader data shall be encrypted in transmission

19 and at rest, utilizing industry-recognized encryption protocols to

20 safeguard against unauthorized access. The data must be stored in a

21 manner that meets or exceeds the requirements set forth by

22 recognized standards such as IS0/IEC 27001, ensuring comprehensive

23 security measures including, but not limited to, physical security,

24 access control, and regular security assessments;

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1   4. Any license plate or vehicle added to a hot list in order to

2 trigger an alert and any search performed of license plate reader

3 data shall be supported by a legitimate, specific, and documented

4 law enforcement purpose;

5   5. Access logs for the automatic license plate recognition

6 system shall be maintained to provide a clear audit trail for

7 oversight and accountability purposes;

8   6. A law enforcement agency authorized to use an automatic

9 license plate recognition system under this section shall own the

10 license plate reader data and shall not sell license plate reader

11 data for any purpose; and

12  7. Law enforcement agencies may share license plate reader data

13 with other law enforcement agencies for legitimate law enforcement

14 purposes.

15  SECTION 2. This act shall become effective November 1, 2025.

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17  60-1-10364      JBH       03/25/26

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