Texas Comptroller Bars His Grants From Paying for Flock Cameras
An Oct. 13 order bars future grant money from the comptroller's office from buying or renewing automated license plate readers from Flock, Motorola, Axon or anyone else.
Texas Comptroller Don Huffines signed an executive order Oct. 13 barring state grant money from his office from being used for Flock cameras and other automated license plate readers, his office announced.
"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. "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 it covers
The order applies to all future grants administered by the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Grantees may not spend or commit that money to buy the equipment or services, or to enter, extend or renew contracts for them.
The definition is broad: any system, software or algorithm that converts license plates or other images into computer-readable data, including cameras, sensors, subscriptions and data platforms. It names Flock Safety, Motorola Solutions and Axon Enterprise, along with their successors, affiliates and resellers.
What it does not do
This is not a statewide ban on the cameras, the Dallas Express noted. It reaches only grants from the comptroller's office. FOX 7 Austin reported that it is unclear how much local law enforcement will be affected, and that the governor's office has said most funding for these cameras comes from federal sources.
A wider pullback
The order comes amid growing doubts about the cameras. FOX 7 reported that Wylie, Pflugerville and Midland have ended Flock contracts, Midland by a unanimous council vote Tuesday. Gov. Greg Abbott ordered state agencies in September to pause funding for Flock cameras and called for TxDOT to stop permitting them on state roads, while saying the devices need to be used responsibly.
Police say the cameras help find stolen cars, missing people and suspects. Dallas police have stressed that an alert alone is not probable cause and must be verified, the Dallas Express reported. Critics point to cases nationwide where officers misused the data, including to track former partners.
Dock Line has covered the local side of this debate in Harris County and Conroe, El Paso's decision to bar new fixed license plate camera contracts, Laredo's federal police grant application that leaves out Flock, and Huffines' earlier order on medical records taxes.
Liberty and order
Catching criminals is a real good, and so is the freedom to drive to church without being logged in a database. The Fourth Amendment exists because both matter. Tools this powerful deserve clear limits written by elected lawmakers, with warrants where warrants belong. Texans should ask their own cities how these cameras are used and who sees the data.
Hero photo: Tony Webster via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0, cropped and resized.
