AUSTIN, Texas — Gov. Greg Abbott has ordered Texas state agencies to pause state funding for Flock license-plate-reader cameras, a significant change in direction as scrutiny of the surveillance technology grows across the state.

Abbott gave the order Thursday night, and his office confirmed it Friday. His spokesperson told The Texas Tribune that state-agency funds cannot be used for Flock cameras.

The order is not a statewide ban. Cities, counties and other agencies may still operate Flock systems using other funding sources, including local or federal money.

But it cuts off a major state-backed source of funding for a network that expanded rapidly in recent years.

A covered Pflugerville Flock license-plate-reader camera after the city shut down its leased network
A Pflugerville Flock camera after the city shut down its leased network earlier this week. Pflugerville later voted unanimously not to renew its Flock agreement. Photo provided to Wilco Liberty Project.

At least $30 million helped expand the network

A Texas Tribune investigation found the Motor Vehicle Crime Prevention Authority has devoted at least $30 million toward Flock and similar license-plate-reader systems.

Since 2023, the authority has helped state and local agencies install at least 3,200 Flock cameras. That includes at least 95 grants supporting roughly 2,000 local cameras, plus a three-year $15.9 million arrangement helping the Texas Department of Public Safety add almost 1,200 more.

And the expansion was still continuing this month. In early August, the authority approved another $3 million to help DPS install 583 additional cameras along Texas tollways.

The funding source is particularly notable: the grants were supported in part by a 2023 law that added $1 to Texas automobile insurance policies to combat catalytic-converter theft.

Lawmakers interviewed by the Tribune said using the money to build out Flock networks was not discussed when the legislation passed.

The policy shift: Texas helped finance thousands of Flock cameras with state-backed grants. Abbott is now directing state agencies to stop putting state money toward further Flock-camera spending.

The order comes amid a wider backlash

Abbott’s action follows growing questions about how Flock systems are used and who can access the data they collect.

He pointed Friday to a Lufkin police officer facing 100 counts of misuse of official information after allegedly using Flock cameras to monitor 11 people for more than a year. The Tribune reported that at least six Texas police departments or sheriff’s offices have recently announced investigations, suspensions or criminal charges involving Flock-related activity.

Flock Safety says the technology remains an important law-enforcement tool and has said it supports privacy safeguards that preserve legitimate public-safety uses.

Pflugerville provides a nearby example

For Central Texas, the statewide move comes only days after Pflugerville shut down and physically covered its city-leased Flock cameras after discovering broader data access than officials intended.

CBS Austin reported that nearly 380 agencies that were not approved sharing partners had access to Pflugerville’s system. The City Council then voted unanimously not to renew the city’s Flock contract.

The Pflugerville episode matters because it moved the privacy debate from theory to practice. The city intended to limit who could access its license-plate data. According to city officials, those restrictions did not work as expected.

Now Texas is stepping back from helping finance further Flock expansion with state funds.

Not a ban, but a different question for local governments

Abbott’s order does not require cities or counties to remove cameras already in use. Federal funding may also remain available.

But for Williamson County governments still operating automated license-plate readers, the decision adds a financial question to the privacy debate:

If state grants are no longer available for Flock cameras, will local officials still consider the systems worth their full local cost?

The broader accountability questions remain the same: who can search the data, how that access is audited, and whether the sharing controls advertised to elected officials actually work in practice.

Pflugerville has already walked away from its contract.

Texas has now taken a major step away from subsidizing further expansion.

Sources