Gov. Branstad's SUV will now be fair game for traffic cameras

Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad's SUV will no longer be under the radar.

The license plate number on a state-owned Chevy Tahoe used to transport Branstad will now be included in computerized files that can be readily accessed by law enforcement officers, Sgt. Scott Bright said Monday. The plates of 13 other public safety vehicles will also be listed.

"If the plate is run by an officer, it will come back that the ownership is the Department of Public Safety," Bright said.

The Gazette reported in July that 3,200 state vehicles have license plates not listed in computerized files. Agencies can track these plates with a phone call or Teletype query to the Iowa Department of Transportation.

Although the undercover plates are intended for vehicles that need some secrecy, the DOT had granted them for utility vehicles, administrators' cars and agencies not listed as eligible for the plates, a Gazette review showed. A side effect of the undercover designation is that these vehicles can't be ticketed by traffic cameras – which angered many Iowans.

Branstad ordered a review of the plates in July.

The DOT review will likely include plans to reissue undercover plates with tighter and more specific criteria, said Mark Lowe, director of the DOT's Motor Vehicle Division.

The question of whether public officials are skipping speeding tickets arose after an

April incident in which a state-owned SUV carrying Branstad and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds was clocked driving 84 mph on U.S. Highway 20, which has a speed limit of 65. A state trooper who pursued the car did not initially know it contained the governor because the SUV's license plate was not kept in computerized files.