Gov. Greg Abbott has ordered state agencies to stop using Texas money to buy or support Flock license plate cameras, his office confirmed Friday as cities and counties pull back from the network.
Abbott spokesman Andrew Mahaleris told The Texas Tribune and The Dallas Morning News that agencies are clarifying state funds cannot be used for Flock. “There is a crackdown across Texas,” he said. He added that most cameras are city-owned and that most local funding comes from the federal government. The office did not say whether money already awarded must be returned.
The freeze landed as the Tribune prepared a report that the Motor Vehicle Crime Prevention Authority spent at least $30 million helping departments install more than 3,200 Flock cameras since 2023. That money came from a $1 fee lawmakers added to auto insurance policies in 2023 to fight catalytic converter theft.
Dallas police say more than 670 cameras operate in the city. The Dallas Morning News reported the City Council’s 2025 Flock contract used nearly $1.7 million from the catalytic-converter grant fund. A Dallas police spokesperson told the paper Friday that the department had not received a letter from the governor’s office about the change.
In Collin County, FOX 4 reported Princeton will not use six Flock cameras bought with a state grant last year. The mayor wants the council to revisit the purchase over privacy concerns.
Abbott’s office pointed to alleged misuse, including a Lufkin officer indicted on 100 felony counts tied to Flock data. Communities such as Wylie, Hood County and Pflugerville have canceled or declined to renew contracts.
Secure Justice, an Oakland advocacy group, told Ars Technica it has recorded 214 cities and counties dropping Flock since 2021, including 90 in August 2026 alone. Flock said new city contracts still outpace cancellations and that it supports privacy rules while keeping the tools available to police.
