A new federal bill called the Flock-Off Act has been introduced in Congress, taking direct aim at federal funding for automated license plate readers and other surveillance camera systems increasingly used by police departments across the United States.
Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, joined by Rep. Eric Burlison of Missouri, introduced H.R. 10221 on September 2. The proposal would prohibit federal funds from being used to purchase, install, maintain, operate or upgrade automated license plate readers, including systems similar to those operated by Flock Safety. It would also cover certain biometric surveillance cameras.
Under the proposal, federal agencies would have to remove covered systems purchased with federal money. State and local governments receiving relevant federal funding would also have to stop operating federally funded systems within 180 days of the law taking effect or risk losing funding under those programs.
The legislation goes beyond the cameras themselves. Federal money could not be used for related subscriptions, cloud services, databases, contracts or data-sharing arrangements connected to the covered surveillance systems. Exceptions are included for certain cameras near the U.S. borders and license plate readers used solely for toll collection.
Despite its name, the Flock-Off Act would not automatically ban every Flock camera in the country. Massie has said municipalities could still choose to operate the cameras with their own money; the bill is designed primarily to prevent federal taxpayer dollars from financing the systems.
The proposal has attracted support from lawmakers from both parties. Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna of Californiajoined Republican lawmakers including Victoria Spartz, Paul Gosar, Chip Roy and Lauren Boebert as original cosponsors.
For now, the measure is only a proposed law. H.R. 10221 has been referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and would still need to pass Congress and be signed into law before its restrictions could take effect.
Sources: U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie — Flock-Off Act announcement; Congress.gov / GovInfo — H.R. 10221, Flock-Off Act
Spectrum News 1 — Coverage of the proposed legislation
By NJ RADAR Team