2019 Oklahoma Statutes
Title 47. Motor Vehicles
§47-7-606.1. Uninsured Vehicle Enforcement Program.

A. There is hereby created the Uninsured Vehicle Enforcement Program.

B. The Uninsured Vehicle Enforcement Program shall be implemented and administered by the district attorneys of the State of Oklahoma within their respective districts or at the District Attorneys Council. To implement this program, the use of technology and software to aid in detection of offenses involving uninsured motorists is necessary and district attorneys and participating law enforcement agencies shall have the authority to enter into contractual agreements with automated license plate reader providers to provide necessary technology, equipment and maintenance thereof.

C. 1. Participating law enforcement agencies may use automatic license plate reader systems utilizing individual automatic license plate reader system units to access and collect data for the investigation, detection, analysis or enforcement of Oklahoma's Compulsory Insurance Law.

2. To accomplish the purposes of the program, law enforcement agencies shall be allowed to access the online verification system for motor vehicle liability policies to establish compliance with the Compulsory Insurance Law as provided in Section 7-600.2 of Title 47 of the Oklahoma Statutes.

3. Access to the system shall be restricted to authorized law enforcement agency users in the program; provided, any entity with which a contract is executed to provide necessary technology, equipment and maintenance for purposes of the program shall be authorized, as necessary, to collaborate for required updates and maintenance of their software.

4. Any data collected and stored by law enforcement pursuant to the program shall be considered evidence if noncompliance with the Compulsory Insurance Law is confirmed.

D. A law enforcement officer may verify by sworn affidavit that a photograph generated by an automatic license plate reader system unit identifies a particular vehicle operating on or having been operated on a public road, highway, street, turnpike, other public place or upon any private road, street, alley or lane which provides access to one or more single-family or multifamily dwellings and that the online verification system shows that the vehicle was uninsured at the time such vehicle was being operated. The affidavit shall constitute probable cause for prosecution under applicable state law.

E. Data collected or retained through the use of an automated license plate reader system pursuant to the program shall be retained by a law enforcement agency when the data is being used as evidence of a violation of the Compulsory Insurance Law; provided, when the data is no longer needed as evidence of a violation, the data shall be deleted or destroyed.

F. Data collected or retained through the use of an automated license plate reader system shall not be used by any individual or agency for purposes other than enforcement of the Compulsory Insurance Law or as otherwise permitted by law.

1. No law enforcement agency or other entity authorized to operate under this program shall sell captured license plate data for any purpose or share it for any purpose not expressly authorized by this section.

2. Any and all data collected, retained or shared through the use of an automated license plate reader system, except data retained as evidence of a violation of the Compulsory Insurance Law, shall be exempt from the Oklahoma Open Records Act.

G. The provisions of the program shall not apply to, or be construed or interpreted in a manner to prohibit the use of, any other automated license plate reader system by an individual or private legal entity for purposes not otherwise prohibited by law.

H. The provisions of the program shall not be implemented until such time that the Insurance Department verifies that the following conditions have been met:

1. At least Ninety-Five Percent (95%) of the personal lines auto insurance market in the state participates in the Oklahoma Compulsory Insurance Verification System using a real-time web portal system; and

2. The Oklahoma Compulsory Insurance Verification System is updated in such a way to allow for the provisions of the program to be implemented without interrupting or impeding any other lawful uses of the system.

I. Following the implementation of the program and every year thereafter, the District Attorneys Council shall publish an annual report for the previous fiscal year of the Uninsured Vehicle Enforcement Program by September 1. An electronic copy of the report shall be distributed to the President Pro Tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the chairs of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees. The report shall comprise an evaluation of program operations, and may include any information and recommendations for improvement of the program deemed appropriate by the entity submitting the report.

J. For purposes of this section:

1. "Automatic license plate reader system" means a system of one or more mobile or law-enforcement-controlled cameras combined with computer algorithms to convert images of registration plates into computer-readable data;

2. "Law enforcement agency" includes the district attorney's office of any county, the Department of Public Safety, the sheriff's office of any county, and the chiefs of police of any city or town having a population of more than one hundred thousand (100,000) residents; and

3. "Program" means the Uninsured Vehicle Enforcement Program.

Added by Laws 2016, c. 365, § 1. Amended by Laws 2017, c. 74, § 2, eff. Nov. 1, 2017.