State Powers

Rep. Collin Duel, R-Guthrie, recently led an interim study examining the Oklahoma Foreign Agent Registration Act (FARA) and the Oklahoma Foreign Adversary Divestment Act (FADA). IS24-060 was held before the House State Powers Committee. The interim studies' purpose was to analyze the effectiveness of current federal and state laws in addressing foreign adversary activities within Oklahoma, focusing on the Foreign Agent Registration Act of 2025 and the Foreign Adversary Divestment Act. Alex Gray, Chief Executive Officer of American Global Strategies LLC and former Chief of Staff to the National Security Council, opened the interim study, stating that America's adversaries are actively seeking to bring conflict to U.S. soil. "The Chinese Communist Party views our states and localities as less prepared to resist Chinese Communist Party aggression than the U.S. at the federal level," Gray said. "So, taking these steps now to harden ourselves at the state and local level is a critical part of deterring a future conflict." Frances Hui, policy and advocacy coordinator at the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation, who was the first Hong Kong activist to secure asylum in the United States, spoke about personal accounts as a target of transnational repression carried out by Beijing.    "I always find it important to remind Americans and people living in democracies: freedom is not free," Hui said. "It's something that requires fighting for and continuously defending." Matthew du Mee, Partner at Fusion Law, provided an overview of FARA, which is intended to protect U.S. national security by requiring enhanced transparency into the activities of organizations operating in the U.S. on behalf of foreign adversaries. The study highlighted three main issues with FARA: lobbyists, commercial activity, and academic research are often exempt. As a result, adversary espionage and influence campaigns can operate relatively unhindered across the U.S. through these loopholes. Organizations such as TikTok, the drone manufacturer DJI, and others with ties to China have been allowed to operate without FARA registration despite being recognized as foreign-controlled entities. Michael Lucci, founder and CEO of State Armor, wrapped up the section on FARA, providing future considerations at the state level that would differ from the federal level. Lucci's considerations included adversary national application, removing academic, commercial, and lobbying loopholes, looking back at accountability, and a state proposal with civil-only penalties. Duel then had Lucci provide a brief overview of FADA. FADA's purpose is to divest assets in the People's Republic of China to maintain compliance with fiduciary duty. "There are moral, national security reasons, but I think that the closing argument on holding Chinese assets is really fiduciary at this point," Lucci said. "The fiduciary argument, I believe, would be to get out now." Investments in Chinese assets have long carried moral risks; for example, pension dollars have funded human rights abuses and China's military buildup. Indiana, Florida, Kansas, Missouri, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, Texas and other states have divested some or all their PRC assets. Sweden also recently divested its public pensions from China. "This is really an accelerating trend that we're seeing with the state, the federal government, and American allies," Lucci said. Other speakers include Dr. Jacqueline, founder and CEO of Long-Term Strategy Group and Ambassador Kelley Currie, Founder of Kilo Alpha Strategies, and former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Commission on Women's Rights. Duel thanked everyone for attending and presenting at the interim study. "All the information provided is extremely valuable," Duel said. "I look forward to seeing what we can do as the state of Oklahoma in order to help prepare ourselves for a threat from the CCP. "

OKLAHOMA CITY – Rep. Tom Gann, R-Inola, on Tuesday led a study on the use and abuse of surveillance cameras and warrantless searches before the House State Powers Committee. Gann particularly looked at the use of Automated License Plate Readers (ALPRs), which under state law only legally can be used to identify uninsured motorists who are in violation of the state's compulsory insurance law. The cameras, however, - many of them illegally placed, he said – are being used to track much other activity. According to Gann, many local government entities have entered into contracts with a nationwide big-tech firm, Flock, to install 24/7 vehicle scanning technology with data being shared with the municipalities and law enforcement – despite such actions being prohibited by Oklahoma law. "On the issue of automated license plate readers, our state laws are inadequate in keeping up with the fast pace of technological advances being made," Gann said. "Unfortunately, how those advances are used is without regard to due process. My desire is to have these concerns taken into consideration as we work with the Senate and other lawmakers to develop laws to govern the activity already taking place." Gann said one issue is that legitimate criminal cases are being thrown out of court because of the illegally obtained license plate data. Verifiable criminals are being released from custody on the technicality. The law should be updated, he said, to specify that with a probable cause affidavit or a warrant the cameras could be used to search for specific criminals on a "hotlist." He used the illustration of how law enforcement in Florida used license plate data to catch the person accused of trying to assassinate former President Donald Trump. The other – and more glaring issue, according to Gann – is the threat to personal privacy. Gann said ALPRs could be used to track personal visits to the doctor, to political rallies, to places of worship and much more. That data could then be used against individuals in numerous ways. "These uses are not authorized by Oklahoma law," Gann said. "We are for the rule of law, and that requires us to have law enforcement," he said. "But nowhere in the Constitution does it require government to make you safe. The Constitution is a restriction on government to keep us free. Even though we all want to be safe, we have a duty first to ensure the laws that we make respect the rights granted by God and preserved by the U.S. and Oklahoma Constitutions." Gann said there also needs to be much more transparency about where surveillance cameras are located, who the data is being shared with, and the policies of the technology companies that are providing the cameras need to be shared publicly. He said there needs to be no wall of separation between private industry and government entities when it comes to the use of the cameras and the sharing and storing of the data collected. Gann asked members of the Pryor Creek City Council and OK2A to speak during the study. Participants also heard from Chad Marlow, senior policy counsel with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), who summed up the issue related to government use of ALPRs. "The truth is ALPRs are no magic bullet when it comes to solving crimes," Marlow said. "In fact, they are more like a real bullet, and that if not used properly and safely they can pose a significant threat to Oklahomans." Gann said his intent with studying this issue is to determine how best to modify the law to allow for constitutional protections for individual privacy while allowing law enforcement to catch criminals. "It is not necessary, nor is it acceptable to put a camera on every street corner," he said. "We must have constitutional protections in place." Gann's full study can be viewed on the House website, OKHouse.gov under the News & Media Tab. Click on Live Proceedings, and search Calendar-Day/Month for Oct. 8, then select the State Powers Committee.