Rep. Thomas Massie says he will introduce bill to deny federal funds to agencies using ALPRs

First reported: July 26, 2026 · 1 source

Kentucky Republican Rep. Thomas Massie announced on X that he intends to sponsor legislation withholding federal money from municipalities and police departments that deploy Flock Safety-style automated license plate reader cameras. No bill text has been released and the proposal remains preliminary. A Flock Safety spokesperson told Newsweek the measure would carry consequences for public safety and urged Congress to legislate safeguards rather than restrict the technology.

Why this matters

Federal funding conditions would be a new lever for regulating ALPR networks that have so far been governed mostly by local contracts and policies, and the debate frames whether Congress pursues restrictions or mandated oversight rules.

Key facts

Massie announced the plan in a post on X; formal bill text has not been released.
Flock Safety says it works with more than 5,000 law enforcement agencies across more than 6,000 communities.
Flock's spokesperson said the company estimates its technology supported more than one million public safety investigations in 2025, assisted in 20% of solved cases in partner jurisdictions, and helped locate over 10,000 missing people — figures provided by the company.
Massie previously introduced the Surveillance Accountability Act with Rep. Lauren Boebert, which would require probable-cause warrants for certain surveillance and bar warrantless facial recognition and vehicle tracking of individuals.
NPR reported that Flagstaff, Arizona; Cambridge, Massachusetts; and Santa Cruz, California ended or declined to renew Flock contracts over data ownership, privacy, and sharing concerns.

Sources

This summary was written from the published reporting below and links to it; BlockFlockNow does not reproduce article text.

Massie Pushes Bill to Withhold Funds From Police Using Flock License Plate Readers (newsweek.com, July 26, 2026)

About this record

BlockFlockNow documents reported incidents involving Flock Safety cameras and automated license plate readers: council votes, contract decisions, misuse by authorized users, lawsuits, audits, and community response. Every record is reviewed by a person before publication. New to the topic? Start with What is Flock?, find meetings near you, or learn how to request your town's camera records.

Updated August 11, 2026. Corrections: blockflock@bytebunny.io. See all documented incidents or search the full article archive.