Legislation
Back the bills
Two asks, two bodies. Write your state legislators about the state bill and your members of Congress about the federal one. Private cameras stay legal. What ends is government purchase, operation, access and bulk sharing of these systems and the data they produce.
Used once to find your districts, then dropped. Never stored.
Push it in Austin
Back the state bill
Texas Automated License Plate Reader Prohibition Act
A circulating draft, not yet filed. Filing for the 90th Legislature opens November 9, 2026. The session convenes January 12, 2027. As of September 10, 2026.
Sponsors have to be recruited before November. A bill filed on the first day gets a committee referral and time to move.
Texas has done this once. In 2019, HB 1631 banned red light cameras statewide on due-process grounds, with Attorney General enforcement, and the Governor signed it.
What it does
- It names the capability, not the product. It covers plate readers by what they do, and also systems that identify a car from its make, color, damage or decals without reading the plate. A new product name does not get around it.
- It closes every government door. No state or local agency may buy, lease, run, query or take a feed from these systems, whoever pays — grants, forfeiture money and donated equipment included.
- It keeps a narrow path for real cases. Government may receive records a private party holds for a particular investigation. The private party does the searching and hands over only what fits. Government never touches the index.
- It shuts the workarounds. No logins to someone else's system, no live feeds or bulk transfers, no standing arrangements, and no asking a vendor or a regional database to search on the government's behalf.
- It freezes, then shuts down. No new contracts, renewals or cameras from day one. Then existing systems come down on a fixed clock, the data is destroyed, and an official certifies it in a public record.
- It has teeth without a new crime. Evidence gathered in violation can be excluded, people can sue, and the state can enforce it. Officials who break it face existing misconduct law.
Who represents you in Texas
Enter your address above to see your state senator and representative.
Write them
Short
I live in [ZIP]. I'm asking you to support a prohibition on government use of automated license plate readers and related vehicle-identification systems. Private cameras aren't the issue. A government database of where residents drive, searchable without a warrant, is.
Longer
I live in [ZIP] in Montgomery County, Texas. I'm asking you to file, co-author or vote for a prohibition on government use of automated license plate readers and related vehicle-identification technology, on the terms of the Texas Automated License Plate Reader Prohibition Act. Private cameras are not the issue. A business, church or homeowner may keep a lawful camera. What I'm asking you to end is government purchase, operation, access and bulk sharing of systems that photograph every passing vehicle and put the time and place into a searchable database. The Woodlands is paying about $90,000 a year for a camera network it doesn't own, can't access, and has no contract for. The Sheriff's Office runs it. Nobody voted on it. Texas has drawn this line before: in 2019 the Legislature banned red light cameras statewide. Please also vote against any grandfather clause. A plate reader left running keeps adding to the database the bill exists to stop. [Add one sentence of your own.]
Push it in Washington
Back the federal bill
H.R. 10221 — Flock-Off Act
Bars federal money for buying, installing or maintaining license plate readers and biometric surveillance cameras, and requires federally funded systems to come down within 180 days. Border cameras within a mile of the border and toll systems are exempt.
Introduced September 2, 2026. Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. No vote yet. As of September 10, 2026.
It needs cosponsors and a committee hearing. Ask your member of Congress to sign on.
Who represents you in Congress
Enter your address above to see your U.S. representative and senators.
Write them
Short
I live in [ZIP]. I'm asking you to support a prohibition on government use of automated license plate readers and related vehicle-identification systems. Private cameras aren't the issue. A government database of where residents drive, searchable without a warrant, is.
Longer
I live in [ZIP] in Montgomery County, Texas. I'm asking you to support H.R. 10221, the Flock-Off Act, which ends federal funding for license plate readers and requires federally funded systems to come down. Federal grant money is one of the ways these systems arrive without a local vote. Please also support requiring a warrant before government may search plate-reader data. Private cameras are not the issue. A government database of where residents drive, searchable without a warrant, is. [Add one sentence of your own.]