Texas agencies betting that Abbott will restore funding keep Flock cameras on
4 hours ago
- Flock Safety will pause payments for 90 days, allowing Dallas and several other Texas jurisdictions to keep cameras that were slated for removal after Gov. Abbott's state funding freeze.
- Addison, New Braunfels and Johnson County also received extensions; officials said without Flock's help they would have shut down the affected devices.
- Flock's intervention is seen as a way to wait out the political uncertainty, with some officials hoping Abbott will restore funding after the November election.
- Johnson County Commissioner Rick Bailey called the move 'very political' and linked it to fears of upsetting voters.
- Abbott halted state funding in late August after a Texas Tribune investigation revealed a state agency spent at least $30 million on more than 3,200 Flock cameras.
- The freeze forced hundreds of cameras to be shut down across the state, and Abbott also paused new license plate reader installations on state roads.
- During the 90-day pause, cities won't make payments but will keep full access to their Flock cameras, and can exit contracts without penalties if funding doesn't return.
- El Paso has already voted to remove its 150 cameras, and thirteen other cities and counties have shuttered cameras since the funding block.
- State-funded cameras include more than 900 operated by DPS, which will keep existing devices but hasn't said how long they'll stay on or how they'll be funded.
- Flock cameras remain controversial due to privacy concerns and political backlash, with lawmakers from both parties planning to introduce restrictions or bans.