Texas Discovers Its Car-Insurance Fee Bought 3,200 Surveillance Cameras

AUSTIN—Texas lawmakers added one dollar to every auto-insurance policy to fight catalytic-converter theft, and a state board used the proceeds to help build a 3,200-camera artificial-intelligence surveillance network that can record license plates, vehicle colors, bumper stickers, and dents.

The 2023 fee increase passed unanimously. Lawmakers told the Texas Tribune that using it for Flock cameras was never discussed before the vote, which preserved the traditional legislative efficiency of learning what a fee buys after citizens have already paid it.

The Motor Vehicle Crime Prevention Authority, governed mostly by appointees of Gov. Greg Abbott, devoted at least $30 million to the network. Grants helped local departments acquire about 2,000 cameras, while a $15.9 million contract supported nearly 1,200 more for the Department of Public Safety. Earlier this month, the board approved another $3 million for 583 cameras along toll roads.

Abbott’s office paused state funding as the Tribune prepared to publish its findings. The governor described a broader crackdown driven by privacy concerns and reports of misuse, including criminal charges against a police officer accused of using the system to monitor 11 people for more than a year. Flock says its technology helps officers solve crimes and supports privacy guardrails.

The state has now protected Texans from the surveillance network its own appointees helped finance with a fee Texans were told would protect their catalytic converters. The cameras already installed can preserve a detailed record of the correction.