Abbott freezes Texas state money for Flock license-plate cameras

Flock cameras are AI license-plate readers that store vehicle characteristics such as make, model, color, bumper stickers, and dents.

Police departments that use Flock can let other agencies tap their cameras, forming a nationwide network.

Agencies that join Flock’s national lookup can search one another’s camera data from anywhere in the country.

A 2023 Texas law added $1 to auto insurance policies to fight catalytic converter theft, and that fee later funded Flock cameras.

The $1 insurance fee was enacted to combat catalytic converter theft.

The 2023 fee law passed unanimously in the Texas House and Senate.

Lawmakers told the Tribune there was no discussion of using the fee money for Flock cameras before the law passed.

The Motor Vehicle Crime Prevention Authority has helped agencies install at least 3,200 Flock cameras since 2023.

The Motor Vehicle Crime Prevention Authority is led by a board mostly appointed by Abbott.

A three-year, $15.9 million Motor Vehicle Crime Prevention Authority contract is paying for about 1,200 Flock cameras at the Department of Public Safety.

A state agency has devoted at least $30 million to building Texas’s Flock camera network through grants to local police.

Gov. Greg Abbott ordered Texas state agencies to stop funding Flock cameras.

Abbott gave the halt-funding order Thursday night, and his spokesman confirmed it Friday.

The order came as the Texas Tribune was about to publish an investigation of the state Flock spending.

Abbott spokesperson Andrew Mahaleris said most city funding for the cameras comes from the federal government.

Mahaleris said Texas agencies are clarifying that state funds cannot be used for Flock cameras.

Texas cities and counties have begun canceling or declining to renew Flock contracts.

At least six Texas police or sheriff’s offices in the past month have placed officers on leave, opened investigations, or filed charges over Flock misuse.

A Lufkin police officer faces 100 counts of misusing public information for allegedly using Flock cameras to surveil people.

Flock Safety said it supports thoughtful legislation with privacy guardrails that still let officers use the product.

Flock Safety said its cameras are an important public-safety tool for Texas law enforcement.

Abbott said in a Friday radio interview that a crackdown on Flock cameras is underway across Texas.

Abbott told Glenn Beck the Flock problem is easily containable and that the cameras are being reduced dramatically.

Abbott said Flock cameras will have to be used responsibly if they are used at all.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Gina Hinojosa released an ad blaming Abbott for the spread of Flock cameras.

Hinojosa’s ad called the devices a method of warrantless surveillance.

Hinojosa asked Abbott on social media to stop turning Texas into a surveillance state.

Hinojosa has criticized Abbott for expanding Flock camera use in Texas.

Democratic and Republican lawmakers have raised concerns about the scale of Flock’s network and the data each camera captures.

Republican U.S. Rep. Keith Self proposed legislation requiring federal agencies to get warrants before accessing Flock camera data.

Self said the bill would restore privacy rights.

Self said Americans’ Fourth Amendment privacy right does not disappear because of new technology or artificial intelligence.