Governor Greg Abbott's office announced Friday evening it is pausing all state funding for local grants intended for Flock surveillance cameras. This decision follows a Texas Tribune analysis revealing that a state agency channeled at least $30 million from a $1 auto insurance fee, passed by the Texas Legislature in 2023 to combat catalytic converter theft, into building a statewide surveillance network. Abbott spokesperson Andrew Mahaleris stated that state agencies are clarifying these funds cannot be used for Flock cameras.
The Motor Vehicle Crime Prevention Authority, a state agency with a board mostly appointed by Governor Abbott, deployed the $30 million to establish at least 3,200 Flock cameras across Texas, from El Paso to the Louisiana border. The agency awarded no fewer than 95 grants, facilitating the purchase and maintenance of approximately 2,000 Flock cameras for law enforcement agencies. An additional $15.9 million supported the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) in adding almost 1,200 more. In early August, the authority approved another $3 million for DPS to install 583 more cameras along Texas tollways over the next year. Miguel Rodriguez, chair of the Motor Vehicle Crime Prevention Authority and Laredo Police Chief, expressed a desire during an August 2023 meeting to use the fee increase to "cover the entire state" with cameras, viewing them as a powerful tool against criminal organizations.
The $1 per year fee increase has raised an estimated $81 million in total. Beyond the Flock cameras, the authority allocated $50.8 million into 234 grants that reimbursed police departments for officers, crime analysts, attorneys to prosecute vehicular crimes, as well as drones and other surveillance devices. Grants specifically for Flock cameras ranged from $7,000 for two cameras in Bellmead, near Waco, to almost $1.7 million for 201 cameras in Dallas. Some city networks, including 165 cameras in Laredo and 150 in El Paso, were entirely subsidized by these grants.
Legislators who approved the original $1 fee expressed surprise at its use for surveillance. State Senator Carol Alvarado, a Democrat from Houston, and Representative Jeff Leach, a Republican from Lewisville and the bill's House sponsor, confirmed that surveillance cameras were never discussed when the bill was considered. Alvarado stated she "did not have that in mind when we passed the bill" and was surprised to learn the insurance fee was funding AI-supported license plate readers. Representative Mitch Little, a Republican from Lewisville, raised concerns about the "sheer volume of information captured" and its implications for the Fourth Amendment.
Flock cameras are widely used license plate readers that use artificial intelligence to create a "vehicle fingerprint," storing details such as license plates, make, model, color, and even bumper stickers in a database accessible by law enforcement nationwide without a search warrant.
The proliferation of these cameras has generated increasing backlash. Kenneth Feagins, an organizer with DFW DeFlock, cited an "alarming trend" of police improperly accessing the network and questioned "how much liberty are we willing to trade for safety?" Recent examples of misuse include a Lufkin officer indicted on 100 counts of misusing official information, a development Governor Abbott cited as concerning. Officers in Baytown, Harris County, Fort Bend County, Temple, and Pasadena have also faced arrest, discipline, or investigation for similar issues.
The Motor Vehicle Crime Prevention Authority was established by the Legislature in 1991 to combat automobile theft. Its funding primarily comes from fees added to annual auto insurance premiums. With the governor's directive, state agencies are now clarifying that grant funds cannot be used for Flock cameras.
