Texas (KBTX) – A Texas state leader is pulling the plug on state funding for automated license plate readers, citing serious privacy concerns.
On Tuesday, Texas Comptroller Don Huffines announced a ban on using state grant money to buy or contract for Flock cameras, automated license plate readers, and other vehicle-identification systems that convert license plate images into computer-readable data.
Huffines tied the decision to privacy rights.
“The government has no business tracking where law-abiding Texans drive. Doing it without a warrant is a clear violation of the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution,” Huffines said. “Texans should be able to drive to work, to church, or to the grocery store without a government camera logging it in a database.”
Going forward, every grant issued through the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts will include this restriction, written directly into solicitations and agreements for anyone applying for state funding.
Under the ban, grant recipients won’t be allowed to spend the money on the banned equipment, nor use it to sign, extend, or renew a contract to get it.
The restriction isn’t limited to Flock cameras by brand name. It covers any camera, sensor, software, or data system, whether sold on its own or bundled together, that turns license plate images into searchable, computer-readable data. Huffines’ office specifically called out Flock Group Inc. (which operates as Flock Safety), Motorola Solutions Inc. and Axon Enterprise Inc., along with any of their affiliates or resellers selling comparable technology.
“Government’s job is to protect your liberty, not take it. No spy cameras,” Huffines said.
The ban does not prohibit local governments or police departments from using Flock cameras or similar technology purchased through other funding sources. It applies only to grants issued by the Comptroller’s office.
Follows Abbott’s August order
The announcement follows an order Gov. Greg Abbott gave in late August directing all state agencies to pause funding for Flock cameras.
Abbott’s order came as the Texas Tribune was preparing to publish an investigation detailing how the Motor Vehicle Crime Prevention Authority had devoted at least $30 million to building up the state’s Flock surveillance network through grants to local police departments.
“To the extent that cities get any funding for those cameras, most of it comes from the federal government. To the extent any funding comes from Texas agencies, those agencies are clarifying that those funds cannot be used for Flock cameras,” Abbott spokesperson Andrew Mahaleris said in a statement at the time.
The Motor Vehicle Crime Prevention Authority, led by a board mostly appointed by Abbott, had helped state and local agencies install at least 3,200 Flock cameras since 2023. The Texas Department of Public Safety installed almost 1,200 of those cameras under a three-year, $15.9 million contract with the authority. The authority’s grants came from a 2023 law that added $1 to Texas auto insurance policies to combat catalytic converter theft.
In an August radio interview, Abbott described a “crackdown” as cities and counties began canceling Flock Safety contracts amid privacy concerns and reports of misuse. Abbott pointed to a Lufkin police officer facing 100 counts of misusing public information for allegedly using the area’s Flock cameras to surveil 11 people for more than a year. At least six police departments and sheriff’s offices across Texas had announced in the preceding month that officers were being placed on leave, investigated or criminally charged.
RELATED: Former Lufkin officer pleads to 5 years for 100 counts related to Flock camera misuse
“This is something that is easily containable, easily controllable, and we’re ensuring that whether it be through criminal crackdowns, whether it be through cancellation of contracts, whatever the case may be, Flock cameras are being reduced dramatically,” Abbott said in the August interview. “They’re going to be required to be used responsibly if they’re used at all.”
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