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[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 10691 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 10691
To prohibit the use of automatic license plate readers by the Federal
Government without explicit statutory authorization, to withhold grants
awarded by certain agencies from State and local governments that use
automatic license plate readers, and to prohibit the use of Federal
funds to purchase automatic license plate readers.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
October 1, 2026
Ms. Ocasio-Cortez introduced the following bill; which was referred to
the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and in addition to
the Committees on the Judiciary, Transportation and Infrastructure,
Energy and Commerce, Education and Workforce, Ways and Means, Natural
Resources, Financial Services, and Homeland Security, for a period to
be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the
committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To prohibit the use of automatic license plate readers by the Federal
Government without explicit statutory authorization, to withhold grants
awarded by certain agencies from State and local governments that use
automatic license plate readers, and to prohibit the use of Federal
funds to purchase automatic license plate readers.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Ban Flock Act''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Automatic license plate reader.--The term ``automatic
license plate reader'' means a system that--
(A) uses cameras, sensors, software, databases, or
a combination of technologies to capture, record,
analyze, and store vehicle license plate information;
(B) identifies, locates, and tracks a vehicle
through the license plate or other persistent visual
identifier of the vehicle; or
(C) compares license plate numbers against
databases to generate alerts and create records of
vehicle activity.
(2) Captured plate data.--The term ``captured plate data''
means--
(A) any plate number, image, date, time, location,
direction of travel, vehicle characteristics,
confidence score, associated photographs or video, and
any information derived from those records; and
(B) data produced by or derived from fixed cameras,
mobile readers, police vehicles, trailers, drones,
tolling infrastructure, parking systems, private
security networks, homeowners' associations, commercial
parking operators, and data brokers.
(3) Federal agency.--The term ``Federal agency'' has the
meaning given the term ``agency'' in section 551 of title 5,
United States Code.
(4) Federal funds.--The term ``Federal funds'' means
amounts made available by the Federal Government through an
appropriation, grant, subgrant, contract, subcontract,
cooperative agreement, subaward, reimbursement, transfer,
allocation, or other form of Federal financial assistance,
including amounts provided through a pass-through entity.
(5) Federal official.--The term ``Federal official'' means
any officer, employee, agent, contractor, or subcontractor of
the Federal Government.
(6) In the united states.--The term ``in the United
States'' means all areas within the external boundary of the
United States, its territories and possessions, including
airports, ports of entry, and border zones.
(7) State.--The term ``State'' means each of the several
States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto
Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa,
and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON FEDERAL GOVERNMENT USE OF AUTOMATIC LICENSE
PLATE READERS.
(a) In General.--Except as provided in subsections (b) and (c), the
head of any Federal agency and any Federal official, in an official
capacity, and any person acting on behalf of the Federal Government may
not acquire, possess, access, or use in the United States--
(1) an automatic license plate reader; or
(2) captured plate data, including information collected in
any database, derived from an automatic license plate reader
operated by another entity.
(b) Exception.--The prohibition under subsection (a) with respect
to an automatic license plate reader and captured plate data shall not
apply to an activity explicitly authorized by an Act of Congress that
describes with particularity--
(1) the entities permitted to use the automatic license
plate reader or captured plate data, the specific type of
automatic license plate reader or captured plate data
authorized, the purposes for such use, and a prohibition on any
uses not permitted;
(2) standards for use and management of information derived
from the automatic license plate reader or captured plate data,
including sharing, access, audit trails, and data retention of
no more than 48 hours;
(3) auditing requirements to ensure the accuracy of
automatic license plate reader or captured plate data
technologies, standards for minimum accuracy rates, and
compliance with this Act;
(4) rigorous protections for due process, privacy, free
speech and association, and racial, gender, and religious
equity; and
(5) mechanisms to compel compliance with the provisions of
the Act.
(c) Tolling.--
(1) In general.--The prohibition under subsection (a) with
respect to an automatic license plate reader and captured plate
data shall not apply to an automatic license plate reader or
captured plate data derived from an automatic license plate
reader used solely to assess, bill, collect, audit, dispute, or
enforce the payment of a toll.
(2) Limitation on use.--Captured plate data collected by an
automatic license plate reader to which paragraph (1) applies--
(A) may be used only for the tolling purpose for
which the captured plate data were collected; and
(B) may not be--
(i) compared against a law enforcement hot
list;
(ii) used for any civil or criminal law
enforcement or intelligence purpose;
(iii) use for the monitoring or
reconstruction of the movement of any person;
(iv) incorporated into, made searchable
through, or stored in a law enforcement,
commercial, or general-purpose automatic
license plate reader database; or
(v) sold, licensed, or used for
advertising, product development, or any other
unrelated commercial purpose.
(3) Disclosure.--Captured plate data collected by an
automatic license plate reader to which paragraph (1) applies
may be disclosed only--
(A) to a vehicle owner or person responsible for
payment of a toll;
(B) to a contractor performing a tolling function
on behalf of a tolling operator and subject to the
requirements of this subsection;
(C) to another tolling operator to the extent
reasonably necessary to process or collect the toll
through an interoperable tolling system;
(D) pursuant to a warrant issued upon a finding of
probable cause that particularly describes a vehicle or
license plate, the data sought, and the period covered;
or
(E) to a law enforcement agency if reasonably
necessary to prevent an imminent danger of death or
serious bodily injury if--
(i) disclosure is documented and limited to
the information necessary to address the
emergency; and
(ii) the requesting agency applies for and
obtains a warrant described in subparagraph (D)
within 14 days of requesting the data.
(4) Retention and deletion.--With respect to captured plate
data collected by an automatic license plate reader to which
paragraph (1) applies--
(A) not later than 48 hours after a successfully
reconciled electronic toll payment has been completed
relating to the captured plate data, the captured plate
data shall be deleted;
(B) if the captured plate data is reasonably
necessary for pay-by-plate billing, collection of an
unpaid toll, resolution of a disputed charge, or an
administrative or judicial proceeding, the captured
plate data may be retained until the matter is finally
resolved and for not more than 30 days thereafter;
(C) nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to
prohibit the retention of a financial or accounting
record required by law, provided that any plate image,
precise location information, or other captured plate
data not necessary for that purpose is removed; and
(D) a contractor or other recipient of the captured
plate data shall delete the data according to the same
schedule that applies to the tolling operator.
(5) Security and accountability.--A tolling operator and
any contractor with access to captured plate data collected by
an automatic license plate reader to which paragraph (1)
applies shall--
(A) maintain reasonable administrative, technical,
and physical safeguards against unauthorized access,
use, or disclosure;
(B) maintain an audit log identifying each access
to or disclosure of captured plate data, the person
making the access or disclosure, its date and purpose,
and the legal authority supporting it; and
(C) remain subject to the enforcement, auditing,
reporting, and remedy provisions of this Act.
(d) Judicial Investigations and Proceedings.--
(1) Admissibility.--Except in a judicial investigation or
proceeding alleging a violation of this section, information
obtained in violation of this section shall not be admissible
as evidence introduced by the Federal Government in any
criminal, civil, administrative, or other investigation or
proceeding.
(2) Cause of action.--
(A) In general.--A violation of this section shall
constitute an injury to any individual aggrieved by a
violation of this Act.
(B) Right to sue.--An individual described in
subparagraph (A) may institute proceedings against the
Federal Government for an allegation of a violation of
this section by a Federal agency or Federal official
for the relief described in subparagraph (D) in any
court of competent jurisdiction.
(C) Enforcement by state attorneys general.--The
chief law enforcement officer of a State, or any other
State officer authorized by law to bring actions on
behalf of the residents of a State, may bring a civil
action, as parens patriae, on behalf of the residents
of that State in an appropriate district court of the
United States to enforce this Act, whenever the chief
law enforcement officer or other State officer has
reason to believe that the interests of the residents
of the State have been or are being threatened or
adversely affected by a violation of this Act.
(D) Relief.--In a civil action brought under
subparagraph (B) in which the plaintiff prevails, the
court may award--
(i) actual damages;
(ii) punitive damages;
(iii) reasonable attorneys' fees and costs;
and
(iv) any other relief, including injunctive
relief, that the court determines to be
appropriate.
(e) Civil Penalties.--Any Federal official who is found to have
violated this section may be subject to retraining, suspension,
termination, or any other penalty, as determined in an appropriate
tribunal, subject to applicable due process requirements.
(f) Rules of Construction.--Nothing in this section may be
construed--
(1) to prohibit the Director of the National Institute of
Standards and Technology from testing or researching automatic
license plate readers or other similar technologies in
commercial use; or
(2) to preempt or supersede any Federal, State, or local
law that imposes a more stringent limitation than the
limitations described in this section.
SEC. 4. MORATORIUM ON STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT USE OF AUTOMATIC
LICENSE PLATE READERS.
Beginning on the first day of the first fiscal year beginning after
the date of the enactment of this Act, no Federal financial assistance
administered, awarded, allocated, transferred, or otherwise made
available by the Department of Justice, the Department of
Transportation, the Department of Health and Human Services, the
Department of Housing and Urban Development, or the Department of
Homeland Security may be obligated, awarded, disbursed, or otherwise
provided directly or indirectly, to a State or unit of local government
unless the State or unit of local government has in effect a law or
binding policy that prohibits the use of automatic license plate
readers by its agencies, officials, employees, contractors, and persons
acting on its behalf to the same or greater extent as the prohibition
applying to the Federal Government under section 3(a).
SEC. 5. PROHIBITION ON USE OF FEDERAL FUNDS TO PURCHASE AUTOMATED
LICENSE PLATE READERS.
(a) Prohibition.--Except as provided in subsections (c) and (d), no
Federal funds may be obligated or expended, directly or indirectly,
to--
(1) purchase, acquire, lease, install, operate, maintain,
or upgrade an automatic license plate reader;
(2) purchase, license, obtain, access, search, retain,
analyze, or disclose captured plate data or information derived
from captured plate data;
(3) enter into, renew, or extend a contract, subscription,
data-sharing agreement, or other arrangement for the use of an
automatic license plate reader or captured plate data; or
(4) reimburse or replace non-Federal funds used for an
activity described in paragraphs (1) through (3).
(b) Conditions on Awards.--
(1) In general.--The head of each Federal agency providing
an award with Federal funds shall include the prohibition under
subsection (a) in the terms and conditions of the applicable
award.
(2) Prohibition.--A recipient or subrecipient of an award
with Federal funds may not--
(A) treat an activity prohibited under subsection
(a) as an allowable direct or indirect cost; or
(B) evade the prohibition under subsection (a) by--
(i) transferring Federal funds among
accounts;
(ii) using Federal funds to pay costs that
would otherwise have been paid with non-Federal
funds; or
(iii) directing another entity to conduct
the prohibited activity on its behalf.
(c) Exception.--The prohibition under subsection (a) shall not
apply to an activity explicitly authorized pursuant to section 3(b).
(d) Tolling Exception.--The prohibition under subsection (a) shall
not apply to an automatic license plate reader or captured plate data
used solely to assess, bill, collect, audit, dispute, or enforce
payment of a toll, subject to the limitations and requirements of
section 3(c).
(e) Enforcement.--
(1) In general.--Federal funds used in violation of this
section shall be treated as an unallowable cost and shall be
repaid to the United States.
(2) Suspension and termination.--The head of a Federal
agency--
(A) may suspend or terminate the portion of an
award connected to a violation of subsection (a); and
(B) impose additional remedies otherwise available
under Federal law.
(3) Considerations.--Before imposing a remedy under
paragraph (2) for a violation of subsection (a), the head of a
Federal agency shall consider the nature, circumstances,
extent, and severity of the violation, including whether--
(A) the recipient acted knowingly; and
(B) the violation was corrected promptly.
(f) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section shall be
construed to prohibit a State, political subdivision, or other non-
Federal entity from using non-Federal funds for an activity that is
otherwise lawful under this Act.
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