Oklahoma Halts Plan to Use Cameras to Snag Uninsured

Oklahoma is suspending a plan to use highway traffic cameras to identify uninsured motorists that it had hoped would add some $50 million to the state’s coffers in its first year.

The project was put on hold because there is no single company the state could contract the work out to that has insurance verification data on all motorists in all 50 states. Also, lawmakers didn’t authorize the state’s general fund to receive money collected from such a program, said state Treasurer Scott Meacham.

Without such a provision the money would go to the state’s court systems.

“Those two problems have sort of put the brakes on this concept. Honestly, I don’t see it happening this fiscal year,” Meacham said.

The state estimated the program would bring in about $50 million in its first year.

Meacham said legislators should get the appropriate language passed during next year’s session to allocate the proceeds to the general fund. He said it may be possible, by then, to check insurance verification data from every state.

The $50 million expected revenue is less than 1 percent of the $5.5 billion in state funds that goes into the state’s $6.7 billion budget for this fiscal year, Meacham said.

“It’s a small portion of the overall budget, and what we’ll see is we’ll be over and under on multiple sources (of revenue),” Meacham said. “Our state’s economy’s actually doing better than the (state) Tax Commission forecast, so we’re picking up revenues. I really don’t think we’re going to feel it.”

In the meantime, state and local law officers will continue to use Oklahoma’s computerized system to check whether vehicles licensed in the state are covered by qualifying liability insurance.

Effective Nov. 1, law officers will have the authority to tow vehicles of drivers who do not have insurance or are driving with a suspended driver’s license. Law officers also will be required to run insurance verification checks on all traffic stops.