Measure ‘targeting tribes’ to collect vehicle tag data for toll collection halted by Oklahoma House

OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma House members slammed the brakes on a bill that critics said attempts to force tribes to provide vehicle registration information to the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority for toll collection.

In addition, the House Public Safety Committee, which rejected the measure, took the unusual step of signaling to their Senate colleagues that they will not consider similar plans for the rest of this session or during the next. A House leader said after the vote that “substantial changes” would first have to be made.

Critics said the bill targeted tribal nations who haven’t yet agreed to compacts to provide tribal tag data. Supporters, including Gov. Kevin Stitt, said it’s unfair for Native residents to use turnpikes without paying like everyone else.

Senate Bill 675, authored by Rep. Carl Newton, R-Cherokee, allows the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety to provide OTA with vehicle owner registration information available through the Oklahoma Law Enforcement Telecommunications System network.

Rep. Danny Williams, R-Seminole, said tribes are diligently working with the state on compacts related to the turnpikes in “good faith,” and asked the committee to vote “do not pass” to get negotiations “back on track.”

“Wouldn’t we be better off to allow the government-to-government solution where we have agreement, as opposed to us trying to force them to do things our way,” he said.

The OTA has previously said that it has lost around $12.6 million in turnpike fees through its cashless tolling system because it lacks the vehicle registration information needed to bill some Native drivers with tribal tags.

Rep. Tim Turner, R-Kinta, questioned why the OTA should have access to this kind of data when Oklahoma’s law enforcement isn’t able to access it.

Officials said in 2024 that 27 of the 33 tribes that issue their own tags were sharing their information with the Oklahoma Law Enforcement Telecommunications System, which facilitates a formal exchange of information like driving records and criminal histories between law enforcement agencies.

Stitt has continued to urge tribes to enter into compacts to ensure Indigenous residents are paying their fair share. Late last year, state and the Cherokee Nation leaders announced they had compacted, which allows the tribe to continue to issue its own license plates. The tribe will share driver information with law enforcement as well as the OTA so it can bill motorists.

“The turnpike should not be, the fee should not be based on race,” Stitt said. “It shouldn’t be raised based on where you live in the state. It shouldn’t be based on what tag you have on your car. Everybody that drives a turnpike should pay the same amount, right? … I think Oklahomans find that disgusting. I think Oklahomans find that ridiculous.”

The Republican governor has had previous conflicts with tribal nations in Oklahoma, including over tribal tag information and a recent disagreement over exclusivity on sports betting, if legalized, to the tribes. Stitt said the Muscogee (Creek) Nation “killed” the measure.

Principal Chief David Hill of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation said the governor’s rhetoric was “divisive and ignorant” and called the bill’s fate a “win” in a Facebook post on April 10.

“It’s not the first time we’ve heard this, trust me,” he said in a post. “ ‘Indians get everything for free! Indians don’t pay taxes! They get free college!’ And now, it seems the new one ‘The Creeks want to drive on the turnpikes for free!’ The same turnpikes that were built on our Reservations? That bear our names? That we were never consulted with during their concept or construction? Never mind that we receive zero percentage on the collection of tolls.”

He said thousands of tribal members and “an entire fleet of tribal vehicles” have a PikePass, a transponder within a vehicle attached to an individual’s account, to pay tolls online.

House Speaker Kyle Hilbert, R-Bristow, said while he agrees that everyone using turnpikes should pay tolls, he wants to find a solution by working collaboratively with tribes. He said Hill is a “good friend” and one of his constituents and hopes the state can work with the Muscogee (Creek) Nation on an agreement as it has with other tribal nations.

The measure easily cleared the Senate 39-6 with President Pro Tem Lonnie Paxton, R-Tuttle, one of the lawmakers voting in its favor. He said on April 10 he doesn’t know what happened to the bill when it was sent to the opposite chamber or why the House committee rejected it, but wants to look into the decision more.

Democratic House and Senate leadership said they were pleased that the measure had been halted.

“I don’t know what our obsession is in this building with collecting people’s private information is, but we know that that bill specifically was targeting tribes,” said Minority Leader Cyndi Munson of Oklahoma City.

Senate Minority Leader Julia Kirt, also of Oklahoma City, said the Oklahoma state government needs to respect tribal sovereignty.

“We’ve made compacts with the tribes for their license plates, and we have to respect that process. And if that data is going to come, it should come directly from the tribe,” she said. “I think we’re seeing continual issues with the turnpike going totally to the cameras. And I think this is something we should have planned long before getting rid of the folks who were collecting those tolls on the roads.”

Oklahoma Voice (oklahomavoice.com) is an affiliate of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization, supported by grants and donations. Oklahoma Voice provides nonpartisan reporting, and retains full editorial independence.