The Overview

Arizona drivers can now go 16 years between license photo updates instead of 12, under a broad transportation law that took effect Saturday, Sept. 12. The law also lets blood bank vehicles use carpool lanes, creates 21 new charity license plates and bars companies that run police license plate cameras from selling the data they collect. ​

Gov. Katie Hobbs (D) signed Senate Bill 1552 on June 22. Sen. Dave Farnsworth (R) sponsored the bill, which makes dozens of changes to rules run by the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT).

What The Law Does

The longer photo cycle applies to driver’s licenses and state ID cards, though ADOT’s director can still require a new photo before 16 years pass. Vehicles owned or run by nonprofit blood banks may use high occupancy vehicle lanes without a passenger if they display removable decals on both sides and the rear, and ADOT can bar them if their use degrades lane traffic.

Police contracts with companies that operate camera systems solely for identifying vehicles must forbid the company from selling or sharing that data with third parties, according to the House summary of the signed law. The law repeals honorary consular official plates, and ADOT must recall them and issue standard plates. Each of the 21 new plates, from skin cancer prevention to the Grand Canyon, will be issued only if someone pays ADOT $32,000 by Dec. 31, and Bronze Star and Silver Star plates for veterans begin after that date.

The signed law also posts junk vehicle notices on ADOT’s website instead of in newspapers, lets the director label some state highways “primitive roads” with limited state liability, and ends a 9 cent per gallon fuel tax on vehicles hauling forest products.

The Debate

The Senate passed the bill 18-10 on Feb. 26, and the House first approved it 45-12 on April 28. A Senate summary of that April version does not list the new plates or the fuel tax change. The House amended the bill again June 12 and passed it 33-22, and the Senate gave final approval 27-1 the same day.

What’s Next

The law is mostly housekeeping, but its reach is wide. Most drivers will notice only the longer photo cycle, while charities have until the end of the year to raise $32,000 for a plate, and police camera contracts must keep vehicle data from being sold.

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