State money
Gov. Greg Abbott blocked state agencies from spending money on Flock cameras on Aug. 27, 2026, after Texas Tribune questions about a small state agency, the Motor Vehicle Crime Prevention Authority, that had put at least $30 million toward at least 3,200 cameras. He also told TxDOT to pause installing new license plate readers along state roads; cameras already up can stay (Texas Tribune, Sept. 4 and Oct. 2).
The authority signed a $15.9 million contract with DPS in early 2025 for almost 1,200 cameras and agreed in August to $3 million more for 583 cameras on seven toll roads (Texas Tribune, Sept. 4).
On Oct. 13, Texas Comptroller Don Huffines signed Executive Order DH-2026-03 banning use of state grant money administered by the Comptroller's office to buy or contract for Flock cameras and other license plate recognition systems. It applies to future grants (Comptroller press release).
The DPS network
Neither DPS nor Flock says how many cameras DPS runs. An email shared by a lawmaker showed at least 940 installed as of early September (Texas Tribune, Sept. 4).
Of about 615,000 searches of the DPS network in June, 48% came from outside Texas, 3,075 agencies searched it, and Houston Police had the most searches at 13%.
After the Tribune's questions, DPS said only agencies with signed agreements could search it.
Local reaction
Sherman — On Oct. 19, 2026, the city council voted 7-0 to remove the city's 11 Flock cameras. The city manager is to be alerted to remove them, and any future installation requires a public hearing (KXII, Oct. 19). See the Sherman guide.
Kyle — On Oct. 6, 2026, the city council voted 4-3 to temporarily cover and suspend the city's Flock cameras, weeks after voting to keep them. The council had earlier voted 7-0 to draft language for a nonbinding referendum on the May 2027 ballot (KVUE, Oct. 7).
Dallas will keep more than 300 cameras it planned to remove after Flock paused certain agencies' payments for 90 days. Addison, New Braunfels and Johnson County also got extensions (Texas Tribune, Oct. 2). Dallas police had no further plans for after the three months.
See the Houston guide for Manvel, Willis, Conroe and League City.
Public records
North Richland Hills quoted $2.3 million for records about its Flock use, calculated by the city on labor to review about a terabyte of communications. The police department later said a narrowed request would cost significantly less (Texas Tribune, Oct. 5).
Federal
Rep. Keith Self (R-McKinney) proposed a bill in July requiring federal agencies to get a warrant before accessing Flock data (Texas Tribune, Aug. 3).
Texas on our map
FlockLocations currently lists 16,274 reported Flock camera locations in Texas across 954 cities, of which 145 are Community Confirmed and 16,129 are 3rd Party / Unconfirmed. Locations are labeled Community Confirmed or 3rd Party / Unconfirmed, and this is not an official state list.
Top Texas cities on the map: Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, Austin, Fort Worth.
What is not known
Whether the state funding freeze will be lifted, and how many cameras DPS operates, remain unknown. Reporting notes that local officials are watching the November 3 election as a factor in future decisions; this is stated neutrally and does not constitute an endorsement of any candidate or outcome.