Texas Comptroller Don Huffines (R) signed an executive order Tuesday barring future grants administered by his office from funding Flock cameras, automated license plate readers and similar vehicle-identification systems, the agency announced.
The restriction covers purchases and contracts, including extensions and renewals. It applies to future grants from the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, rather than imposing a statewide prohibition on the cameras.
“The government has no business tracking where law-abiding Texans drive. Doing it without a warrant is a clear violation of the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution,” Huffines said in the press release.
“Texans should be able to drive to work, to church, or to the grocery store without a government camera logging it in a database.”
What the grant ban covers
The agency will add the restriction to relevant grant solicitations and agreements. Recipients cannot commit or spend the covered grant money to acquire prohibited equipment or services or to enter into, extend or renew contracts for them.
The definition reaches beyond camera hardware. It includes software and algorithms that convert license plates or other images into computer-readable data, whether the systems operate independently or alongside fixed or mobile automated cameras.
Covered products include cameras, sensors, software, subscriptions and data platforms that meet the definition. The release names Flock Group Inc., which does business as Flock Safety, Motorola Solutions Inc. and Axon Enterprise Inc., along with their successors, affiliates and resellers.
Dallas weighs surveillance concerns
The announcement follows scrutiny of license plate surveillance in Dallas. The city narrowed outside access to its Flock data from more than 1,500 law enforcement agencies to 202 agencies in Texas, The Dallas Express reported in September.
Dallas police have cited the technology’s value in identifying vehicles connected to crimes, recovering stolen vehicles and locating missing people, according to that reporting. The department has also emphasized that a Flock alert alone does not establish probable cause and that officers must verify the information before taking enforcement action.
“I am humbled and honored to do my part to restore liberty and stop the erosion of freedoms that are constantly being taken from Texans. Government’s job is to protect your liberty, not take it. No spy cameras,” Huffines said in the release.
