Texas Comptroller Don Huffines has barred future grants administered by his office from funding automated license plate readers, a restriction relevant to police departments in Prosper and Celina that use Flock Safety technology.

The Oct. 13 announcement covers equipment purchases and contracts for vehicle-identification systems, including software, subscriptions and data platforms. Recipients cannot use covered grant funds to enter, extend or renew those contracts.

The restriction applies to future comptroller-administered grants. The announcement does not establish that either town must cancel its current contracts or that its cameras are funded through the affected programs.

Prosper uses license plate readers along inbound roads and major thoroughfares, according to the town’s Technology Transparency page. The cameras capture vehicle images and check plates against state and national databases.

Celina identifies Flock Safety as its ALPR vendor in a department policy effective July 8. The policy limits use to legitimate law enforcement purposes.

Huffines framed the funding restriction as a privacy measure.

“The government has no business tracking where law-abiding Texans drive,” he said. “Doing it without a warrant is a clear violation of the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution.”

That constitutional characterization is Huffines’s position. His funding action does not itself establish a court ruling on the technology.

The restriction extends beyond Flock products to qualifying systems offered by Motorola Solutions, Axon Enterprise and other providers.

It follows Gov. Greg Abbott’s August direction to state agencies to pause Flock funding. The Texas Tribune reported that the Motor Vehicle Crime Prevention Authority had helped install at least 3,200 Flock cameras since 2023.

MVCPA is part of the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles, separate from the comptroller’s office. Prosper’s transparency page says MVCPA grants partially funded its public safety drone program, but that does not establish that Huffines’s new restriction affects those grants or the town’s drone operations.

In September, TxDOT also stopped issuing new permits for Flock cameras and other license plate readers along state roads.

Prosper has faced a separate dispute over access to Flock data. CBS Texas reported in July that three detectives used the system while investigating alleged misconduct by colleagues. Interim Chief Ken Myers said their investigation and use of the readers violated department policies.

Six employees received discipline in that broader case, including the three detectives, their supervisor and the two employees investigated. The disciplinary grounds differed, and all six appealed.

The state funding restrictions do not amount to a statewide prohibition on locally financed license plate readers. For Prosper and Celina, the effect depends on the funding sources and terms of their camera agreements.

The Texas Legislature’s next regular session begins Jan. 12, 2027.