One measure in the Oklahoma legislature that some in the oil and gas industry will pay close attention to is a bill introduced by Sen. Darrell Weaver of Moore.
It is SB 857, which would allow Automatic License Plate Readers or cameras to be used to police criminal activity beyond not having vehicle insurance while also establishing protocols to prevent their abuse. ALPRs take a picture of the license plate on a vehicle and search law enforcement databases to determine if the vehicle has been stolen, involved in a crime, or reported as being driven by a missing, endangered, or wanted person for a serious crime.
Why is the oil and gas industry interested? It might offer support for the use of ALPRs to prevent or stop oilfield thefts. Some energy companies in the Permian Basin have installed their own ALPRs to monitor the vehicles entering their leases which in the case of West Texas, are spread over long distances. Thefts of oilfield equipment from sites in Texas and New Mexico where the Permian Basin is located have seen increases in the past several years. By installing their own ALPRs, the energy firms can assist law enforcement in tracking down the thieves.
Some in the energy industry believe the controlled use of ALPRs in Oklahoma would allow oil and gas companies to better coordinate with law enforcement on equipment thefts by legitimizing the use of ALPRs. But Weaver’s bill will likely face criticism and opposition because of questions raised about privacy concerns.
The issue of ALPRs and warrantless searches was the focus of a House State Powers Committee hearing last October led by Rep. Tom Gann, R-Inola.
“On the issue of automated license plate readers, our state laws are inadequate in keeping up with the fast pace of technological advances being made,” Gann said.
“Unfortunately, how those advances are used is without regard to due process. My desire is to have these concerns taken into consideration as we work with the Senate and other lawmakers to develop laws to govern the activity already taking place.”
Current state law allows ALPRs to legally be used only to identify uninsured motorists who are in violation of Oklahoma’s compulsory insurance law. Gann’s study found that many of the cameras across the state are illegally placed and being used to track much other activity.
“These uses are not authorized by Oklahoma law,” Gann said. “We are for the rule of law, and that requires us to have law enforcement,” he said. “But nowhere in the Constitution does it require government to make you safe. The Constitution is a restriction on government to keep us free. Even though we all want to be safe, we have a duty first to ensure the laws that we make respect the rights granted by God and preserved by the U.S. and Oklahoma Constitutions.”
The State Senate last year voted down a proposal to install the license plate readers on highways. While the energy industry might support their use in preventing oilfield thefts, others believe there will likely be strong pushback to SB857 in the approaching legislative session.