A bipartisan proposal to ban Flock license-plate cameras and similar surveillance devices statewide is gaining support from U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden and the American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon ahead of next year’s legislative session. At a Monday news conference near Clackamas Town Center, Wyden warned that the cameras can expose people to broad surveillance. The devices scan license plates and record vehicle data, generally for use by law enforcement. “Let’s call this Flock camera — and hundreds more like it across our state — what it is: it is a weapon of mass inspection,” Wyden said. About 400 Flock Safety cameras are operating in Oregon, including 58 in Eugene and 49 in Portland, according to figures compiled by Flock Scanner and reported by the company. Flock operates cameras in all 50 states, while some communities and states are seeking to restrict or prohibit them. State Rep. Willy Chotzen, a Portland Democrat sponsoring the proposal, said he was confident it would pass. Republican state Rep. Alek Skarlatos of Douglas County is co-sponsoring the bill, which is expected to be introduced during the session beginning in mid-January. Supporters say the cameras create privacy risks because they collect information about drivers without requiring evidence or suspicion of wrongdoing. Jessica Maravilla, policy director for the ACLU of Oregon, also raised concerns that the technology could support federal immigration enforcement or other uses people may not know about. Law enforcement officials have argued that the cameras help locate stolen vehicles and wanted suspects. They have cited the technology’s potential usefulness in serious investigations, including the search for the man suspected of killing five people in Forest Grove this summer. Civil rights advocates and policymakers, however, warn that surveillance data can be misused or contribute to mistaken accusations. In Denver, police reportedly relied on Flock data when they wrongly accused a woman of stealing an Amazon package. The proposed ban would put Oregon among a growing number of jurisdictions weighing limits on automated plate-reading technology as officials and residents debate public safety benefits against the privacy costs of collecting vehicle movements at scale.