Texas Comptroller Cuts Off Grants for Flock Cameras

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Texas Comptroller Don Huffines (R) signed an executive order on October 13 prohibiting the use of future grants administered by his office to purchase or contract for automated license plate readers (ALPRs), including Flock Safety cameras and other vehicle-identification systems.

The announcement follows earlier actions by Gov. Greg Abbott (R) to suspend state funding for Flock cameras and pause new permits for the technology along state-owned roadways.

Together, the actions reflect increased scrutiny of government surveillance technology in Texas. However, they do not amount to a statewide prohibition on ALPR systems, and they leave broader questions about data collection, retention, and government access unresolved as lawmakers prepare for the upcoming 90th Legislative Session.

Huffines Executive Order Restricts State Grants for ALPR Systems

Under Huffines’ executive order, recipients of future grants administered by the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts may not use those funds to purchase prohibited surveillance equipment or services. Covered grant funds also may not be used to enter into, extend, or renew contracts for those technologies.

The prohibition extends beyond physical cameras. It also covers sensors, software, subscriptions, data platforms, and related technologies that convert license plate images or other vehicle-identification imagery into computer-readable information.

Flock Safety is specifically identified, but the order also covers qualifying products and services from Motorola Solutions, Axon Enterprise, and other vendors that meet the stated definition.

“The government has no business tracking where law-abiding Texans drive,” Huffines said. He added that doing so without a warrant is “a clear violation of the Fourth Amendment.”

The Comptroller’s Office will incorporate the restrictions into relevant future grant solicitations and agreements. The announcement does not estimate how much funding is affected or identify how many existing surveillance contracts the new requirements could influence.

The executive order also does not reach the grant program at the center of the recent controversy. The Motor Vehicle Crime Prevention Authority (MVCPA), which funded thousands of Flock cameras across the state, is not a Comptroller-administered program.

State Grants Funded Thousands of Flock Cameras

Huffines’ executive order follows controversy over the use of taxpayer-supported grants to expand automated license plate surveillance across Texas.

An August investigation by The Texas Tribune found that MVCPA had directed at least $30 million toward the purchase and maintenance of Flock cameras since 2023, supporting the installation of at least 3,200 devices. The funding came in part from a 2023 legislative change that added $1 to an annual assessment on automobile insurance policies. The money was meant to address catalytic converter theft and other motor vehicle crimes.

According to the Tribune, roughly 2,000 of those cameras went to local law enforcement agencies through at least 95 MVCPA grants. Nearly 1,200 more are being installed by the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) under a three-year, $15.9 million contract with the authority. The investigation documented substantial state support for local surveillance networks. This included approximately $1.7 million for 201 cameras in Dallas, as well as grants that largely funded Flock camera networks in Laredo and El Paso.

The findings show how funding authorized for a defined public safety purpose can end up supporting technologies with broader surveillance capabilities.

Abbott Paused Funding and Roadway Permits

The state’s approach to ALPR surveillance began changing before Huffines’ latest action.

In late August, Abbott directed state agencies to pause funding for Flock cameras amid growing scrutiny of their use and the public financing behind their deployment.

In September, at Abbott’s direction, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) suspended new permits for Flock cameras and other ALPR technology along state-owned roadways. The suspension also covers agreements that had been approved but not yet installed.

Each of these actions addresses a separate aspect of government surveillance. Abbott’s initial directive concerns state funding. The TxDOT suspension affects installations along state-owned roads. Huffines’ executive order sets conditions for future grants administered by the Comptroller’s Office.

None of these measures prohibits existing ALPR deployments or prevents local governments from using other funding sources. That includes federal grants, which Abbott’s office has said account for most of the money cities use for the cameras.

Local governments have also begun reevaluating the technology. The City of Manor ended its relationship with Flock Safety in September, the Cities of Wylie and Pflugerville voted in August to end their contracts, and the City of Manvel voted unanimously in September to discontinue its use of the cameras. These decisions came amid questions about privacy, oversight, and public accountability. The Tribune reported in late September that at least 900 Flock cameras had been unplugged statewide since state funding was cut.

Privacy Questions Remain Unresolved

Automated license plate readers capture images of passing vehicles and convert identifying information into searchable records, often tied to locations and timestamps.

Law enforcement agencies use the technology to identify stolen vehicles, investigate crimes, and locate individuals of interest. Supporters argue that ALPR networks provide investigative capabilities that would otherwise require substantial law enforcement resources.

However, collecting and retaining vehicle-location information also allows government agencies to reconstruct the travel patterns of people who are not suspected of any crime.

Other states have taken different approaches to this problem. As previously examined by Texas Policy Research (TPR), Minnesota and North Carolina set statutory retention limits and operational safeguards. Montana generally prohibits government use of ALPR systems on public highways, subject to specified exceptions. Texas has no comparable statewide framework.

What Comes Next in 2027

As lawmakers prepare for the 90th Texas Legislature, these executive actions raise the question of whether limits on government surveillance should remain administrative or be written into statute. The options range from data retention limits and warrant requirements for historical database searches, an issue a recent court ruling has brought into focus, to tighter rules on how grant funds may be spent.

Executive directives and grant conditions can be reversed or narrowed with little notice, while statutory requirements would establish a more durable framework for state and local governments alike. Huffines’ executive order is the latest development in Texas’s changing approach to license plate surveillance. The larger question is whether lawmakers will set statewide rules on when vehicle-location information may be collected, retained, accessed, and shared, regardless of how the technology is financed.

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