The Hood County Republican Party has unanimously adopted a sweeping resolution calling for tighter restrictions on government surveillance technology and urging Granbury officials to deactivate the city’s network of Flock Safety license plate reader cameras.
The resolution, sponsored by Hood County Precinct Chair Kolton G. Krottinger, calls for new statewide safeguards governing automated license plate readers, drones, cell-site simulators, and the sharing of surveillance data between private entities and law enforcement.
The move comes as concerns over Flock cameras continue to grow in Hood County.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, Hood County, located roughly 50 miles southwest of Fort Worth, unplugged and covered its county-operated Flock cameras after commissioners and residents raised concerns about privacy and mass surveillance.
The Hood County GOP is now calling for similar action in Granbury, where the resolution says the city operates approximately 26 Flock cameras. According to the resolution, vehicle information captured by that network can be retained for 30 days.
GOP Calls for Statewide Restrictions
The resolution argues that the central concern is not simply cameras photographing license plates, but the government’s ability to retain, search, and share information documenting where vehicles have traveled.
Among its proposals, the Hood County GOP wants Texas lawmakers to prohibit state funding for surveillance systems that fail to meet privacy standards and prevent law enforcement from accessing live ALPR or surveillance feeds supplied by private businesses and homeowners’ associations.
The party also wants information from vehicles that do not generate an immediate match against verified law enforcement “Hot Lists” to be permanently deleted rather than stored as a historical record of motorists’ movements. Any legally retained records would require a probable-cause warrant before authorities could search or analyze them.
Other provisions would require public hearings before local governments install surveillance technology and mandate monthly reports disclosing the number of license plates scanned, alerts generated, traffic stops initiated, and convictions resulting from those stops.
The resolution goes beyond Flock cameras. It also calls for prohibiting warrantless aerial surveillance connected to ALPR networks and restricting law enforcement’s use of cell-site simulators and IMSI catchers without a judicially approved warrant based on probable cause.
Granbury Cameras Targeted
While calling for statewide legislation, the Hood County GOP is also pressing Granbury officials to act immediately.
The resolution urges the Granbury City Council and Police Department to implement stronger privacy protections before the Texas Legislature acts. It specifically calls for Granbury’s Flock network to be removed or deactivated until safeguards governing data collection, retention, access, sharing, and warrants are established.
Krottinger told The Dallas Express that he views the debate as a broader fight over the limits of government surveillance.
“This is bigger than Flock cameras,” Krottinger said. “This is about whether we still believe government answers to the people, or whether citizens are expected to accept being tracked, cataloged, and stored in a database without suspicion of a crime.”
“The Fourth Amendment is not a suggestion, and we will not trade liberty for convenience,” he added.
The Hood County GOP plans to send the resolution to state and local officials, including Gov. Greg Abbott, the Republican Party of Texas, local lawmakers, the Hood County Commissioners Court, Granbury City Council, and Granbury Police Department, asking that the issue be made a legislative priority.
