Gov. Abbott blocks state agencies from spending money on Flock cameras

Gov. Greg Abbott ordered all Texas state agencies Thursday night to halt funding for Flock camera systems, the automated license plate readers that local police departments across the state have used state grants to acquire.

The move came as the Texas Tribune was finalizing an investigation revealing that a state agency had directed at least $30 million in grants toward building out Texas's Flock surveillance network. Abbott's office confirmed the order Friday, with spokesperson Andrew Mahaleris saying that any state agency funds flowing to cities for the cameras must stop.

For Lubbock, that distinction matters. Mahaleris noted that most city-level funding for Flock cameras comes from the federal government, not state agencies, so the order does not automatically shut down existing local systems. What it does do is cut off one funding path that police departments around Texas have relied on to expand their networks.

The $30 million figure is striking on its own, but the timing makes the story bigger. A sitting governor pausing a program mid-investigation, before the reporting even published, tends to generate more questions than answers about how that network grew so fast and who approved the spending along the way.