The Senate Transportation, Technology & Legislative Affairs committee approved SB498, which would reconcile state and federal rules about disclosure of motor vehicle and driving records and allow courts and law enforcement access to digital driver's-license photos in certain circumstances.

Sponsor Senator Jim Petty (District 29) told the committee the bill resolves conflicts between federal protections and Arkansas’ prior approach of treating motor-vehicle documents as public records. "SB498 resolves this conflict and provides a bit additional protections to our driving records here in Arkansas law," Petty said. He said the bill also creates a single standard for releasing motor-vehicle records across different code sections.

Alicia Austin Smith of the Department of Finance and Administration (DFA) described the bill as a cleanup to clarify who may obtain motor-vehicle records and driver-service records. She told the committee that access would be limited to the individual, an authorized person, courts with subpoena, attorneys in the course of a proceeding, government and law-enforcement agencies, insurance companies when permitted, and employers for driving-capacity positions under current law. Smith said the only substantive addition is allowing law enforcement and courts access to digital driver’s-license photographs outside the Arkansas Crime Information Center (ACIC) when real-time access is needed.

Committee members raised questions about the prevalence and acceptance of digital driver's licenses across other states. DFA staff said the digital license is relatively new and not every state necessarily accepts it; they recommended citizens continue to carry a physical copy when traveling out of state.

There were no public witnesses recorded. Senator Scott moved the committee motion to pass and Senator Johnson seconded; the chair called the ayes and declared the bill passed.