Texas Democrats Move to Ban $30 Million Flock Camera Grant Program

Texas Senate Democrats filed legislation Monday to block a state agency from funding roadside automated license plate readers — a program that spent more than $30 million installing at least 3,200 Flock surveillance cameras across the state.

The bill, sponsored by Sen. Carol Alvarado, D-Houston, targets the Motor Vehicle Crime Prevention Authority. It is one of four measures filed this week that would ban or restrict the cameras. Sens. Roland Gutierrez, José Menéndez and Taylor Rehmet co-authored the bill, which Alvarado's office said aims to "put an end" to vehicle authority grants for license plate readers.

How did a catalytic converter fee pay for cameras?

The money trail starts in 2023. Alvarado's bill that year added a $1 annual fee to Texans' auto insurance policies to combat catalytic converter theft. The bill passed both chambers unanimously.

Roadside cameras were never discussed as the bill moved through the Legislature, Alvarado said. Then, according to an August investigation by The Texas Tribune, the authority steered more than $30 million of that fund into Flock cameras — part of a stated effort to "cover the entire state" with the devices.

The spending did not stop at grants to cities and police departments. The authority also drew on the insurance fund for a $15.9 million contract to help the Texas Department of Public Security install more than 1,200 cameras. In the end, 940 Flock cameras went up with that money. In June, thousands of law enforcement agencies nationwide accessed the resulting network an average of once every four seconds.

What do the cameras actually capture?

Flock cameras build "vehicle fingerprints" that record make, model and color. They also log details as fine as bumper stickers and dents. Flock's software lets departments query databases compiled by other camera networks, creating a web of surveillance across Texas roadways.

Texas had an estimated 13,000 Flock cameras in late August. That number has shrunk. Public sentiment has soured, and cities and counties have ended contracts covering hundreds of cameras.

Gov. Greg Abbott deepened the retreat. He froze state funding for the cameras, including vehicle authority grants, after the Tribune sent his office questions about the agency's grants. The freeze pushed several municipalities to end their contracts. Abbott appoints six of the vehicle authority's seven board members.

Flock Safety offered some cities a 90-day reprieve from payments, hoping funding would return after the election. That hope now looks thin. Gov.-elect Gina Hinojosa made opposition to the cameras a centerpiece of her campaign against Abbott.

In a September interview, Hinojosa called the authority's move to spread cameras without legislative approval particularly egregious.

"What should really happen is they should be taken down and taxpayers should get their money back for this fiasco," Hinojosa said. "They were never authorized. They shouldn't be standing."

What else is on the table for 2027?

Bill filing for the 2027 legislative session began Monday, and the Flock debate already spans several proposals:

• Rep. John Bucy, D-Austin, filed a bill to ban public agencies from using automated license plate readers altogether. Law enforcement also uses Axon, Vigilant and other brands, though those systems are not interconnected the way Flock's network is.
• Rep. Mary González, D-Clint, proposed requiring a warrant before any search that uses a license plate reader. Her bill would also clarify which device data count as public records — a live question, since departments have changed what information they release, including audit logs of officer queries.
• Rep. Brian Harrison, R-Midlothian, filed a bill requiring a warrant and restricting camera use to violent crime investigations. He filed similar bills the last two sessions.

The Alvarado bill would cut the funding pipe itself. Without vehicle authority grants, cities wanting cameras would have to pay from their own budgets — a cost the state has quietly carried since 2023.