WASHINGTON — A bipartisan group of House lawmakers has introduced legislation that would sharply restrict the use of federal money for automated license-plate readers and biometric surveillance camera systems used by government agencies across the country.
The bill, formally titled the Flock-Off Act, was introduced Sept. 2 by Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., with Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Mo., as a co-lead. It is designated H.R. 10221 and has been referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
The legislation would prohibit federal funds from being used to purchase, install, maintain, operate, repair, replace or upgrade covered automated license-plate reader systems and biometric surveillance cameras.
That prohibition would also extend beyond the physical cameras themselves.
According to Massie’s office, federal funds could not be used for associated contracts, subscriptions, cloud services, databases or data-sharing arrangements tied to those systems. The proposal also covers AI-enhanced license-plate readers and biometric systems capable of using facial recognition, voiceprints, iris or retinal scans, fingerprints and gait recognition.
180-Day Deadline
One of the bill’s most consequential provisions is a 180-day compliance deadline.
Federal agencies would be required to remove covered systems that had been purchased or operated with federal money. State and local governments receiving federal program funds would be required to stop operating covered systems within 180 days as a condition of continuing to receive funding under the affected federal program.
The legislation also provides a financial enforcement mechanism.
Recipients found to have used federal money in violation of the restrictions could have program funds withheld until the improperly spent money is repaid to the U.S. Treasury.
Massie said the proposal is aimed at preventing federal taxpayers from financing surveillance systems that he believes can be used to monitor people who are not suspected of crimes.
“The federal government shouldn’t provide ‘security’ grants to cities and police departments that have gone beyond the pale and turned their communities into a version of 1984,” Massie said in announcing the bill.
Burlison framed the legislation around Fourth Amendment protections, arguing that advances in surveillance technology should not come at the expense of privacy and constitutional rights.
Flock Safety Has Built a Large National Network
Although the bill is written broadly enough to cover qualifying surveillance systems from multiple vendors, its name is an unmistakable reference to Flock Safety, one of the largest providers of automated license-plate reader technology in the United States.
Flock says its technology is used by more than 5,000 law-enforcement agencies, 6,000 communities and 1,000 businesses. The company also says its agency-controlled license-plate reader network connects agencies in 49 states.
Flock describes its license-plate readers as investigative tools designed to identify vehicles connected to crimes, missing persons and other public-safety cases.
According to the company, agencies can receive alerts when vehicles match customer-defined or National Crime Information Center hot lists, search partial or temporary license plates and share information with participating agencies across jurisdictions.
The company says its platform includes audit logs, local agency control over data and privacy and compliance safeguards.
Flock also states that facial recognition is not included and is not planned as part of its license-plate reader product.
The company has separately acknowledged that public concerns have emerged around access and data sharing. In published material discussing state laws governing license-plate readers, Flock says it has implemented filters and other controls intended to comply with restrictions involving immigration enforcement, reproductive-health investigations and other state-specific requirements.
Bill Includes Limited Exceptions
The Flock-Off Act would not eliminate every federally supported use of automated license-plate technology.
The legislation specifically allows federal funding for ALPR systems used solely for collecting, administering or enforcing tolls.
It also creates an exception for certain surveillance cameras located within one mile of the northern or southern U.S. border when they are used for detecting or intercepting unlawful entry, human trafficking or drug smuggling.
Those exceptions underscore that the proposal is primarily aimed at broader domestic surveillance networks rather than eliminating every government use of camera technology.
Unusual Bipartisan Coalition
The bill has attracted an unusual mix of lawmakers.
Massie introduced H.R. 10221 alongside Burlison and original cosponsors Reps. Ro Khanna, D-Calif.; Victoria Spartz, R-Ind.; Paul Gosar, R-Ariz.; Chip Roy, R-Texas; and Lauren Boebert, R-Colo.
Khanna is the lone Democrat among the original sponsors listed in the bill.
That coalition reflects how concerns over government surveillance can cut across conventional party lines, even when lawmakers disagree on many other issues.
What Happens Next
The Flock-Off Act is currently only an introduced bill. It has not been approved by the House, passed by the Senate or signed into law.
Its next legislative step would come through the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, which can consider the measure, amend it, hold hearings or decide whether to advance it toward a House vote.
For now, the legislation places a growing national debate over automated license-plate readers squarely before Congress: whether the federal government should continue helping state and local agencies pay for technology capable of tracking vehicle movements across increasingly interconnected networks.