I
119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 10691
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.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the Ban Flock Act
.
Definitions
In this Act:
Automatic license plate reader
The term automatic license plate reader means a system that—
uses cameras, sensors, software, databases, or a combination of technologies to capture, record, analyze, and store vehicle license plate information;
identifies, locates, and tracks a vehicle through the license plate or other persistent visual identifier of the vehicle; or
compares license plate numbers against databases to generate alerts and create records of vehicle activity.
Captured plate data
The term captured plate data means—
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
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.
Federal agency
The term Federal agency has the meaning given the term agency in section 551 of title 5, United States Code.
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.
Federal official
The term Federal official means any officer, employee, agent, contractor, or subcontractor of the Federal Government.
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.
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.
Prohibition on Federal Government use of automatic license plate readers
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—
an automatic license plate reader; or
captured plate data, including information collected in any database, derived from an automatic license plate reader operated by another entity.
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—
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;
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;
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;
rigorous protections for due process, privacy, free speech and association, and racial, gender, and religious equity; and
mechanisms to compel compliance with the provisions of the Act.
Tolling
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.
Limitation on use
Captured plate data collected by an automatic license plate reader to which paragraph (1) applies—
may be used only for the tolling purpose for which the captured plate data were collected; and
may not be—
compared against a law enforcement hot list;
used for any civil or criminal law enforcement or intelligence purpose;
use for the monitoring or reconstruction of the movement of any person;
incorporated into, made searchable through, or stored in a law enforcement, commercial, or general-purpose automatic license plate reader database; or
sold, licensed, or used for advertising, product development, or any other unrelated commercial purpose.
Disclosure
Captured plate data collected by an automatic license plate reader to which paragraph (1) applies may be disclosed only—
to a vehicle owner or person responsible for payment of a toll;
to a contractor performing a tolling function on behalf of a tolling operator and subject to the requirements of this subsection;
to another tolling operator to the extent reasonably necessary to process or collect the toll through an interoperable tolling system;
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
to a law enforcement agency if reasonably necessary to prevent an imminent danger of death or serious bodily injury if—
disclosure is documented and limited to the information necessary to address the emergency; and
the requesting agency applies for and obtains a warrant described in subparagraph (D) within 14 days of requesting the data.
Retention and deletion
With respect to captured plate data collected by an automatic license plate reader to which paragraph (1) applies—
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;
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;
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
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.
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—
maintain reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards against unauthorized access, use, or disclosure;
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
remain subject to the enforcement, auditing, reporting, and remedy provisions of this Act.
Judicial investigations and proceedings
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.
Cause of action
In general
A violation of this section shall constitute an injury to any individual aggrieved by a violation of this Act.
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.
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.
Relief
In a civil action brought under subparagraph (B) in which the plaintiff prevails, the court may award—
actual damages;
punitive damages;
reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs; and
any other relief, including injunctive relief, that the court determines to be appropriate.
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.
Rules of construction
Nothing in this section may be construed—
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
to preempt or supersede any Federal, State, or local law that imposes a more stringent limitation than the limitations described in this section.
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).
Prohibition on use of Federal funds to purchase automated license plate readers
Prohibition
Except as provided in subsections (c) and (d), no Federal funds may be obligated or expended, directly or indirectly, to—
purchase, acquire, lease, install, operate, maintain, or upgrade an automatic license plate reader;
purchase, license, obtain, access, search, retain, analyze, or disclose captured plate data or information derived from captured plate data;
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
reimburse or replace non-Federal funds used for an activity described in paragraphs (1) through (3).
Conditions on awards
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.
Prohibition
A recipient or subrecipient of an award with Federal funds may not—
treat an activity prohibited under subsection (a) as an allowable direct or indirect cost; or
evade the prohibition under subsection (a) by—
transferring Federal funds among accounts;
using Federal funds to pay costs that would otherwise have been paid with non-Federal funds; or
directing another entity to conduct the prohibited activity on its behalf.
Exception
The prohibition under subsection (a) shall not apply to an activity explicitly authorized pursuant to section 3(b).
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).
Enforcement
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.
Suspension and termination
The head of a Federal agency—
may suspend or terminate the portion of an award connected to a violation of subsection (a); and
impose additional remedies otherwise available under Federal law.
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—
the recipient acted knowingly; and
the violation was corrected promptly.
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.