Highland Village's Flock camera program faces new uncertainty after Texas blocked permits for license plate reader installations on state roads.

Gov. Greg Abbott directed the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) to stop issuing permits for Flock cameras and other automated license plate readers along state-owned roadways. A TxDOT spokesperson confirmed the suspension on Thursday, Sept. 17, the Texas Tribune reported.

The freeze covers permits not yet issued and agreements already approved but not yet installed, according to the Denton Record-Chronicle. Cameras already in place along state rights-of-way are not affected, including more than 900 operated by the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS).

A presentation by the Schertz police chief indicated the freeze began Sept. 8. TxDOT did not confirm that date. The agency said it approves permits but does not install the devices or access data from cameras on state roads.

Highland Village and Flower Mound

Highland Village Police Chief Doug Reim briefed the city council on Aug. 25 about the department's use of Flock automated license plate reader technology. Reim walked through how the system works, what data it collects, privacy safeguards and how the cameras have helped officers with investigations, arrests and locating missing people. Whether any of Highland Village's cameras sit on state road rights-of-way, where the permit freeze would apply, is not clear from public records.

Flower Mound does not own any Flock cameras. The town council tabled a $133,750 contract proposal in May 2023 and never moved forward. Flock cameras visible in Flower Mound belong to HOAs and commercial property owners, according to Communications Director Melissa Demmitt and Mayor Pro Tem Adam Schiestel.

"I also have significant concerns about Flock Safety's data collection, retention, sharing, and governance practices, including the contractual ability of the company to use aggregated data for other purposes," Schiestel wrote in a July 14 North Texas Sun article explaining his opposition to public funding for stationary plate readers.

Third state action in a month

The permit freeze is the third state-level action against Flock cameras since late August. Abbott on Aug. 27 blocked state agencies from spending money on the cameras after the Texas Tribune reported that a small state agency, the Motor Vehicle Crime Prevention Authority, had directed at least $30 million to fund more than 3,200 Flock cameras statewide. DPS then announced it would limit access to its plate reader data to agencies with signed agreements and pause new installations.

An estimated 13,000 Flock cameras were operating across Texas in August 2026. Hundreds have since been shut down. City councils and county commissions across the state have also been disconnecting cameras amid resident privacy concerns and cases of officers arrested or investigated for misusing the technology to stalk people.

Rep. Mitch Little, R-Lewisville, told the Texas Tribune on Aug. 28 that he intends to file legislation banning the devices. "The sheer volume of information captured is not something that is entertained, in my view, by the Fourth Amendment," Little said during the same interview.

Texas has no statewide law governing how long plate reader data can be stored or who can access it. Each city sets its own rules. The TxDOT suspension has no stated end date.